Fostering a supportive environment that lifts up talent and recognizes an individual’s or project’s contribution to the organization or community is key.
Our third-annual in-person Women in Rail Conference, taking place in Chicagoland on Oct. 15-16, will be filled with dynamic panels, a celebratory luncheon for Railway Age 2024 Women in Rail and RT&S 2025 Women in Railroad Engineering award honorees, and the chance to network with a wide-reaching group of like-minded professionals. All this will take place at a new, larger venue: Hyatt Regency Schaumburg. Plus, don’t miss a special tour of Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) Bensenville Yard.
Allyship to Action Panel
Join us on Oct. 15 to be part of a conversation with Paul Hubler, Chief Strategy Officer, Metrolink; Joe Gioe, President and CEO, The Indiana Rail Road; and Scott Sandoval, AVP, Engineering, American Region, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc. The panel will be moderated by Barbara Wilson, Senior Advisor, Railroad Financial Corporation.
Our panelists will reveal how they work to uphold a culture of respect, sensitivity, and acknowledgement. Learn how you can best partner with your allies to help advance your career and the careers of your industry colleagues.
Barbara Wilson is Senior Advisor at Railroad Financial Corporation. She served previously as President and CEO of short line holding company RailUSA, providing strategic leadership and implementing long-range goals, plans and policies. Prior to joining RailUSA in 2019, she was President of Wells Fargo Rail, where she led business growth by acquiring three industry competitors to build the largest railcar leasing business in North America. Wilson also serves as one of the judges for Railway Age’s Women in Rail awards. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and an MBA from Babson College.
“I am excited to lead a discussion on the importance, as leaders, to take meaningful, ongoing action to create and sustain an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and included. Intentions matter, but impact comes from action.” – Barbara Wilson
Meet the Panel
Paul Hubler, Chief Strategy Officer, Metrolink
Paul Hubler is Chief Strategy Officer for Metrolink, Southern California’s regional passenger rail operator. He joined Metrolink in early 2022 and provides executive oversight and leadership to the Planning and Development, Government and Community Relations, Sustainability, Grants and Railroad Services departments. He is responsible for advising the CEO and Metrolink Board of Directors on strategic planning, legislative programs, and regulatory strategies and funding major implementation initiatives.
Hubler has more than 25 years of experience in transportation policy and legislative and public affairs. Prior to joining Metrolink, he was the Director of Government and Community Relations for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, responsible for securing grant funding for the $2 billion Alameda Corridor-East rail crossing improvement program in Los Angeles County. Hubler formerly served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Congressman and current U.S. Senator Adam Schiff and as editor of a community newspaper.
Joe Gioe, President and CEO, The Indiana Rail Road
Joe Gioe, a successful railroad leader with 20 years of industry experience, was named President and CEO of The Indiana Rail Road in August 2024. He brings a strong focus on safety, service, efficiency, and employee development.
Gioe began his railroad career as a locomotive engineer and front-line supervisor in 2005 and rose through management roles of increasing responsibility. He has held leadership positions at two Class I railroads with the majority of his career spent at BNSF Railway, where he was twice named employee of the year for intermodal train execution and delivery of major infrastructure projects. Gioe also served as Vice President of Transportation for Norfolk Southern.
Scott Sandoval, AVP, Engineering, American Region, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc.
With a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Florida, Scott Sandoval’s leadership has been invaluable to G&W. He began his career as a management trainee at Norfolk Southern before joining G&W in 2014. He started in front-line management and worked up to his current position in the engineering department. Sandoval established himself as an expert in rail integrity while leading G&W’s track testing group and played a strong role in implementing laser, X-ray, and LiDAR use in tie inspections. He was a major catalyst in the transition G&W has made to the digitalization of the company’s inspections, records, and various forms of data and the resulting capability for analysis.
Sandoval has consistently taken steps to ascend to higher levels of leadership in the company and is eager to continually develop his career and build the experience required for the highest level of management. His positive influence and integrity earn the respect of the people he leads. G&W continually sees employees who have worked under Sandoval become safety leaders and fill the lists of potential candidates when there are promotion opportunities.
In his current position (since May 2024), Sandoval has taken on a division with challenging track conditions and shown an immediate impact on track safety stats. He accomplished this through changing the work culture and inspiring his employees to be the best.
About Railway Age / RT&S Women in Rail 2025
The Allyship to Action panelists will be joined at the 2025 Women in Rail Conference by a diverse group of railroaders with a shared commitment to our industry’s future. Among them: Annie Adams, Chief Human Resources Officer, Norfolk Southern; Jennifer Hamann, EVP & Chief Financial Officer, Union Pacific; Kari Gonzales, President & CEO, MxV Rail; Henrika Buchanan, SVP, National Practice Consultant, Transit & Rail Market Sector, HNTB; Sarah Watterson, President, Brightline West; Herman E. Crosson, Chief Safety & Compliance Officer, Anacostia Rail Holdings; Jenni Benton, SVP Commercial, Patriot Rail; Jim Derwinski, CEO/Executive Director, Metra, and many more.
Speakers will offer their candid thoughts on topics ranging from marketing yourself and building a leadership “toolkit”—from field to management—to ESG and new technologies.
Supporting Organizations
Industry support for the 2025 Women in Rail Conference is already strong, including sponsorship from: AITX, GATX, TrinityRail, CN, CPKC, RailPros, R. J. Corman, API, Genesee & Wyoming, The Greenbrier Companies, UTLX, Progress Rail, Patriot Rail, The National Association of Railway Business Women, and The League of Railway Women.
Learn More
To inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact Jonathan Chalon at jchalon@sbpub.com or (212) 620-7224.
