The League of Railway Women is happy to announce our featured quarterly Corporate Partner Arielle Giordano, Canadian Pacific, Managing Director US Government Affairs.

Arielle Giordano is Canadian Pacific’s (CP) Managing Director of US Government Affairs where she is responsible for overseeing CP’s federal, state, and local government affairs in the US. Arielle joined Canadian Pacific (CP) in 2018, becoming CP’s first in-house Washington, DC-based government affairs representative and is currently the only female lead of a Class 1 D.C. government affairs office.

Arielle’s career in the railway industry started with an email from Sarah Duggin, a professor at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law (CUA Law), wishing her good luck on the bar exam. At the time, Arielle was working for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee under Chair Chuck Grassley. Arielle responded to Professor Duggin, who previously served as Vice-President and General Counsel at Amtrak, to let her know she was still looking for a counsel job on Capitol Hill. That fall, Professor Duggin let her know that a former student and colleague, Fred Miller, was hiring a legal counsel for the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Railroads under Chair Bill Shuster.

While with the Rail Subcommittee staff, Arielle worked on a number of key pieces of legislation, such as the FAST Act, the PIPES Act of 2016, the RESPONSE Act, the STB Reauthorization Act, and the STB Information Security Improvement Act. She had responsibilities involving oversight of key agencies like the Surface Transportation Board, the Railroad Retirement Board, the National Mediation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

After working for Chair Shuster on the Rail Subcommittee for three years, Arielle joined CP in April of 2018. She became the first in-house Washington DC-based government affairs representative for the company and was tasked with leading the development of CP’s government affairs office from the ground up. Since January 2021, Arielle has been responsible for planning CP’s government affairs strategy in the U.S. related to CP’s proposed combination with Kansas City Southern and has been responsible for key initiatives in the regulatory review process. Arielle attributes much of the government affairs success to hard work and a team effort, which included Larry Lloyd, Director of State Government Affairs, and Andy Cummings, Manager of Media Relations and Community Affairs.

Arielle is part of mentorship programs at both CP and CUA Law. At CP, she mentors other female employees, and at CUA Law, Arielle’s mentee is a young woman pursuing a similar career path of her own. Arielle also serves as President of the CUA Law Alumni Council and is on the Board of Directors for the Washington Urban Debate League, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and mentoring students at DC public schools through policy debate.

Arielle has indicated that being a young woman in the rail sector comes with its own set of unique challenges. She has reported experiencing both conscious and unconscious bias. She’s detailed having people assume that her male colleagues and reports are her managers, or that she is uninformed about the rail sector.

In an effort to address the broader issues of bias experienced by women across the industry, Arielle joined CP’s gender diversity and LGBTQ council and she is also a member of the League of Railway Women. In 2022, Arielle was recognized as part of International Railway Journal’s 2022 Young Leaders in Rail Awards.

Arielle stresses the importance of taking all opportunities as they are presented and to lean on mentors who are willing to guide, educate, and assist you in developing each stage of your career. As importantly, Arielle stresses paying that help forward and volunteering to give back, whether by participating in mentorship programs or nonprofits opportunities that help others.

Arielle was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in New Jersey. She is a first generation American, college-graduate (Monmouth University) and lawyer. Her mother was born in Damascus, Syria, and her father is of Sicilian descent. Arielle never expected or planned to work in the rail industry but loves her career and where the industry has taken it.

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The League of Railway Women is happy to announce this year's member of the year Erica Sander, LRW Secretary and Vice President, Government Relations at Aristotle.

"Erica has played a critical role in the success of LRW these past few years and we are ever grateful. Her role on the LRW Executive Committee helped us strategically navigate the pandemic and grow our organization during a challenging time. The rail industry is better because of her leadership and vision," said Amanda Trainor Patrick, LRW Immediate Past President.

“The member of the year award helps us showcase the talents and efforts of our greatest champions,” said Lisa Tackach, LRW Vice President and Outgoing Awards Chair. “Erica joins a diverse register of members whose support and dedication have contributed to LRW's mission of connecting and cultivating women in rail since 1997.”

We encourage all LRW members to connect via LinkedIn and social media to continue to promote Women in Rail.

Co-sponsored by Progressive Railroading, this annual award honors a woman who exhibits leadership and excellence while supporting the personal and professional growth of others in the rail industry.

The League of Railway Women (LRW) named Trinity Industries, Inc. CEO and President, Jean Savage, the winner of the 2022 Railway Woman of the Year award. Savage was honored at an awards presentation during the 2023 NRC Conference & NRC-REMSA Exhibition Conference.

Co-sponsored by Progressive Railroading, this annual award honors a woman who establishes a strong vision and a culture of continuous improvement and creativity, and brings excellence to her organization and community, all while supporting the personal and professional growth of others in the rail industry.

“Jean has not only instituted transformational changes at Trinity, but as the first woman CEO of a major railcar manufacturing and leasing company, she is paving the way for countless women in America to seek top level positions in railcar manufacturing and leasing, showing that the doors to the rail industry are wide open for women and other minorities,” said LRW President Sarah Yurasko. “Jean led and completed a full organizational redesign of Trinity and has furthered the cost-optimization strategy initiated by Trinity’s Board. In following her vision, the company is in a position to better serve its customers and stakeholders through innovative safety and sustainability enhancements in their products and operations.” 

The Woman of the Year Advisory Committee, comprised of former Woman of the Year recipients, recommends an award recipient to the LRW Board of Directors each year. 

For further information: Media Contact: Emilia Marceta, LRW Secretary, Email: info@railwaywomen.org; LRW Awards Contact: Denise Williams, LRW Awards Chair, Email: awards@railwaywomen.org.‌

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the sixth largest transportation system in the United States, with a vast network of fixed route services including bus, subway/elevated, trackless trolley, light rail, and commuter rail serving a 2,200 square mile service region. More information on this job posting can be found here: Environmental Compliance/Safety Specialist in Philadelphia, PA for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) (railwaywomen.org).

Amtrak’s mission is to provide efficient and effective intercity passenger rail mobility consisting of high-quality service that is trip-time competitive with other intercity travel options. The Engineering and Mechanical departments are integral in pursuing this mission and are critical to the safety of our passengers and employees and the reliability of the service we provide. We do this while ensuring compliance with regulatory agencies and Amtrak standards of excellence. More information on this job posting can be found here: Engineering & Mechanical Jobs with Amtrak in, for Amtrak (railwaywomen.org).

The MBTA is one of the largest and oldest public transportation agencies in the United States. Connecting the greater Boston area and Massachusetts with many different forms of transportation, the MBTA connects a diverse range of communities and interconnects a region that is a great place to live and work. The MBTA handles a daily ridership of about 689,300 people making 1.3 million passenger trips daily. The system consists of 172 bus routes, five rapid transit lines of heavy and light rail (including the Mattapan Trolley), 14 commuter rail lines, three ferry routes and a flexible paratransit service to 60 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts. The MBTA receives guaranteed revenue annually from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has an approved FY2023 operating budget of approximately $2.55 billion and in 2022, the Capital Improvement Plan had a budget of approximately $1.61 billion. More information on this job posting can be found here: MBTA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer in Boston, MA for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) (railwaywomen.org).