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Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS)
Engineering Portable
EPOB4 1.100
Email: railwaysafety@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-8878
Fax: (956) 665-8879
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Advisory Board

Kari L. Gonzales

President and CEO, MxV Rail
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Kari L. Gonzales

Biography

As the President at MxV Rail — formerly Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) — Kari Gonzales leads the world’s premier rail research organization based in Pueblo, CO. Prior to assuming this role in 2021, Gonzales served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for TTCI where she was responsible for company-wide strategic planning and business functions associated with day-to-day operations. Gonzales, a Pueblo-native, has been a part of MxV Rail’s organization since 2000 when she started as a student intern and was later hired full-time as a research engineer upon completing her degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in December of 2002. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from Regis University, Denver (2015). During her time as a research engineer, Gonzales excelled in conducting research and managing a diverse set of projects in support of the industry’s Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) program and MxV Rail’s commercial customers. She contributed a body of work that resulted in authoring/co-authoring of over 25 technical publications. In early 2012, Gonzales was selected as the inaugural candidate for MxV Rail’s Railroad Exchange Program and spent a year as a visiting professional with BNSF Railway in Fort Worth, TX on the railroad’s Condition Based Maintenance team. This experience enhanced her understanding of railroad operations and extended her expertise in wayside inspection systems. Upon her return to MxV Rail, she managed the industry’s senior technical committee, the Equipment Engineering Committee, and revamped MxV Rail’s Internal Research and Development (IR&D) program. In 2014, Gonzales was selected as one of Progressive Railroading’s “Rising Stars.” In addition to her commitment to MxV Rail, Gonzales volunteers her time in several industry and community organizations. She is currently the Education Chair for the League of Railway Women and serves on several community boards.

President and CEO, MxV Rail

Kim Bowling

Director of Wayside Diagnostics, CSX Transportation
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Kim Bowling

Biography

Kim Bowling has been with CSX Transportation since 1991. She has worked her way around the Mechanical Operations group including stints in Locomotive Engineering, Car Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and AAR Services. For the last 10 years, she has focused on Wayside Detection development and integration. Her latest role in Advanced Engineering involves integrating the wayside detector data to reduce derailment risks and to move the company towards predictive maintenance. Kim is also the chairman of the AAR’s Equipment Health Monitoring Committee (EHMC) and a member of the Asset Health Task Force (AHTF). She has degrees in Mechanical and Materials Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from University of Florida and has completed Six Sigma training.

Director of Wayside Diagnostics, CSX Transportation

Edward “Ed” F. Boyle, Jr.

Vice President of Engineering, Norfolk Southern Corp.
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Edward “Ed” F. Boyle, Jr.

Biography

Ed Boyle is the VP-Engineering for the Norfolk Southern Railway, a position he has held since May 1, 2019, with headquarters in Atlanta, GA. He started his career as a Management Trainee in 1994 after graduating with a BS Degree in Civil Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Ed has held positions in Engineering and Operations throughout his 26-year career with NS including Track Supervisor, Assistant Division Engineer, Division Engineer, Chief Engineer Line Maintenance, Assistant General Manager, AVP Communications and Signals, and AVP Maintenance of Way and Structures. He is the Chairman of the AAR Infrastructure Systems Research Committee, a member of the AAR Railway Technology Working Committee, and a member of the AREMA Board of Governors.

Vice President of Engineering, Norfolk Southern Corp.

Alan E. Calegari, Ph.D.

President and CEO, MERMEC Inc.
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Alan E. Calegari, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Calegari serves as Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of MERMEC Inc. Dr. Calegari in previous executive tenures was Director and Site Manager with PanAm World Services; Director and General Manager with Johnson Controls FMS Inc.; President & CEO Union Switch & Signal (US&S) lately named Ansaldo STS; President Siemens Building Automation-Security; President and CEO, Expert System USA Inc., President & CEO Alenia North America Inc. Dr. Calegari throughout his career brought the vision and reliable tools to initiate the needed changes and achieve the necessary consensus in reaching mission-critical objectives. Dr. Calegari received the Businessman of the Year Award by American Solutions for Winning the Future. He was named Pacesetter of the Year by Smart Business magazine. Dr. Calegari was early educated by the Jesuits, received a Doctoral Degree in Arts and Science from the University of Study of Rome International Program and a Ph.D. equivalency from Harvard University. At Harvard University, Dr. Calegari also completed the International Business Management program for executive education.

President and CEO, MERMEC Inc.

Gary Fry, Ph.D.

Vice President, Fry Technical Services Inc.
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Gary Fry, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Fry is the Vice President of Fry Technical Services, Inc. He has 30 years of experience in education, research, and consulting on the design and behavior of railway infrastructure and mechanical systems and the fatigue and fracture behavior of structural metals and weldments. His research results have been incorporated into international codes of practice used in the design of structural components and systems including structural welds, railway and highway bridges, and high-rise commercial buildings in seismic risk zones. He has extensive experience performing in situ dynamic testing of structural systems under live loading including railway rolling stock, railroad track, and railway bridges under high-speed passenger trains and heavy-axle-load freight trains. His research, publications, and consulting have advanced the state of the art in structural health monitoring and structural impairment detection.

Vice President, Fry Technical Services Inc.

Christopher A. Hart

Founder, Hart Solutions LLP
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Christopher A. Hart

Christopher A. Hart is the founder of Hart Solutions LLP, which specializes in improving safety in a variety of contexts, including the safety of automation in motor vehicles, workplace safety, and process safety in potentially hazardous industries.

Mr. Hart is also Chairman of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, a three-jurisdictional agency (MD, VA, DC) that was created in 2019 to oversee the safety of the Washington area subway system. In addition, in 2019 he was asked by the Federal Aviation Administration to lead the Joint Authorities Technical Review that was created to bring together the certification authorities of 10 countries, as well as NASA, to review the robustness of the FAA certification of the flight control systems of the Boeing 737 MAX and make recommendations as needed to improve the certification process. Also, in 2021 he was asked to join the Board of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the non-government organization that accredits hospitals, to help improve healthcare safety. He was also invited in 2021 to be on the FAA Management Advisory Council. After an Uber test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, AZ, in 2018, and Uber terminated such tests on public streets, Mr. Hart was included in the team of experts that Uber engaged to recommend how to safely resume street testing, which it has done. In 2022 he was selected to be on the Patient Safety Working Group of the PCAST, the President’s Council of Advisors on Safety and Technology.

From 2009 until 2018 Mr. Hart was Chairman, Vice Chairman, and a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), having been nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate. The NTSB investigates major transportation accidents in all modes of transportation, determines the probable causes of the accidents, and makes recommendations to prevent recurrences. He was previously a Member of the NTSB in 1990, having been nominated by (the first) President Bush.

Mr. Hart’s previous positions have included:

Deputy Director, Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service, Federal Aviation Administration,
Assistant Administrator for System Safety, FAA,
Deputy Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Deputy Assistant General Counsel to the Department of Transportation,
Managing partner of Hart & Chavers, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and
Attorney with the Air Transport Association.

Mr. Hart has a law degree from Harvard Law School and a Master’s Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree (magna cum laude) in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, and he is a pilot with commercial, multi-engine, and instrument ratings as well as a Cessna Citation SIC Type Rating.

Founder, Hart Solutions LLP

James T. Schultz

Founder, Jim Schultz Group
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James T. Schultz

James T. 'Jim' Schultz brings nearly 5 decades of transformational leadership success in both the private and public sectors with executive leadership roles in Fortune 200 international transportation, environmental, and manufacturing companies, as well as in the United States Federal Railroad Administration and in the United States Air Force.

Jim believes that by investing in the cultivation of a healthy culture, organizations experience distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace through higher employee engagement, improved safety, elevated productivity, enhanced customer satisfaction, and maximized financial performance.While serving as a supersonic F4 Phantom II jet fighter pilot, Jim developed his trademark 'don't forget who packs your parachute' approach to leadership, a message that he has conveyed internationally to thousands of people in his lectures and workshops.

Jim is a licensed FAA commercial pilot with multi engine jet, single engine land, and instrument ratings. He is a recipient of the Silver Star for Bravery Award presented by the American Federation of Police for his singular action to neutralize a heavily armed and threatening individual.

Dubbed ‘culture change guru’ by a major industry publication, Jim and is programs have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Richmond Times Dispatch, Jacksonville Times-Union, Traffic World, The Journal of Commerce, Tribune Media, and other public and industry publications. He served as a rail safety spokesman on screen for several major TV news media outlets, and as an off-screen rail safety expert consultant for ABC’s ‘20/20.’ He has also published several papers, including reports to Congress on safety leadership and safety culture issues.

Jim is coauthor of two best-selling business leadership books: ‘Leading People Safely– How to Win on the Business Battlefield’ North Loop Books September 2016; and ‘Bad Company/Good Company – a Leadership Guide: Transforming Dysfunctional Culture” Mill City Publishing, November 2019. Both books achieved Amazon’s No. 1 ‘hot new release’ status in their business category after initial release.

Jim is a former member of the Board of Directors, past chairman of the Personnel Committee, and former member of the Executive Committee for the Jacksonville, Florida, Urban League. He also served on the teaching faculty in the European Divisions for the University of Maryland and Central Texas College.Jim earned a BS at Arizona State University, a MA at Webster University, and attended in residence executive management programs at Harvard Business School, the University of Southern California, and Northwestern University.

Today he is a keynote speaker and offers workshop and executive coaching services to select clientele in high consequence industries.

James T. Schultz Biographical Detail Abstract Listing

PRIVATE SECTOR

Jim Schultz Group - Founder (risk/safety & health/executive leadership coaching/consulting)

PREVIOUS APPLICABLE PRIVATE SECTOR CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS

Patriot Rail Company - Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer
CIH Capital Partners – Operating Partner/Advisory Board (investment banking)
Brimstone Consulting Group - Advisor (leadership/team alignment/coaching)
Nvolv Consulting - consulting cadre (safety leadership/team alignment/coaching)
Waste Management Inc.- Senior Vice President ECE/Vice President Health & Safety
CSX Transportation Company - Vice President & Chief Safety Officer
SG Collaborative Solutions - Collaborator/Consultant (enterprise risk management)
Chicago & North Western Railway – System Safety Officer, trainmaster, locomotive engineer
Procter & Gamble Company - Manufacturing manager/Management trainer

PUBLIC SECTOR

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Associate Administrator for Safety/Chief Safety Officer (SES) (Washington DC)
Regional Administrator-FRA West Region (Sacramento CA)
Staff Director/Division Chief-FRA Operating Practices Division (Washington DC)
Railroad Safety Inspector/Specialist-Operating Practices (Los Angeles and Chicago)

MILITARY VETERAN

USAF F4 Phantom II supersonic jet fighter pilot
USAF/NATO Security Operations
Security liaison - US Navy P-3 Orion Antisubmarine Patrol Aircraft Operations (Atlantic)
Member military aircraft accident investigation teams; standardization/evaluation jet fighter operations; USAF Aerial Gunnery Range Safety Officer

CIVILIAN EDUCATION

Postgraduate/executive studies Harvard Business School, Cambridge MA – in residence
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA - in residence
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL - in residence (Transportation/Traffic Institute)

Degrees

Master of Arts -- Webster University, St Louis MO (1976)
Bachelor of Science (with Distinction) – Arizona State University, Tempe AZ (1972)

RELATED CERTIFICATIONS

Federal Senior Executive Service (SES)
Top 10% graduate USAF jet flight school
FAA licensed commercial pilot with multi-engine jet, single engine land, and instrument ratings
“Silver Star for Bravery” – American Federation of Police
Faculty lecturer European Divisions of University of Maryland, and Central Texas College

CONDENSED SAMPLE OF MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

‘Leading People Safely– How to Win on the Business Battlefield’ North Loop Books (September 2016)
‘Bad Company/Good Company – a Leadership Guide: Transforming Dysfunctional Culture” Mill City Publishing (November 2019)
Condensed sample of railroad specific technical publications
- Primary author
  - Report to Congress: “Train Dispatcher’s Report to Congress” and ‘Train Dispatchers Follow up Review Report to Congress” - FRA (January 1995)
  - Report to Congress “CSX Detroit Division Hazardous Materials Corridor System Safety Assessment” -- FRA (1989)
  - Misc. major train accident investigation reports as primary FRA team lead investigator (1989-1996)
- Contributing/co author
  - Report to Congress “Railroad Communications and Train Control” - FRA (July 1994)
  - “Reducing Substance Abuse in the Railroad Industry: A Success Story” - Transportation Research Board/National Research Council (August 1993)

CONDENSED SAMPLE OF MAJOR PRESENTATIONS

1000s of people reached through presentations and to both public and private sector organizations.
Workshop facilitator -- led alignment and leadership workshops in Fortune 200, nonprofit, and private sector organizations.

Founder, Jim Schultz Group

Amy Hamilton

Principal Engineer, Trinity Industries
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Amy Hamilton

Amy Hamilton has worked at Trinity Industries since 2010. She is currently a Principal Engineer with a focus on Technical and Regulatory Compliance and represents Trinity on multiple committees and task forces to develop industry rules and regulations. Prior to assuming this role, she worked in New Car Engineering and served as the Director of Fleet Engineering and Reliability, supporting a fleet of 130,000 railcars. She actively participates with the AAR Tank Car Committee and the RSI Committee on Tank Cars Technical Sub-committee. She also serves as co-chair of the Women of Trinity employee resource group. Amy has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University. In addition to her role and activities at Trinity Industries, Amy currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Dallas Christian School and volunteers in several community organizations.

Principal Engineer, Trinity Industries

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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

University Transportation Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS) College of Engineering and Computer Science

Advisory Board

Kari L. Gonzales

Kim Bowling

Edward “Ed” F. Boyle, Jr.

Alan E. Calegari, Ph.D.

Gary Fry, Ph.D.

Christopher A. Hart

James T. Schultz

Amy Hamilton