Current Advisory Committee

Since being founded in 1997, LRW has provided a platform for the recognition of women’s leadership contributions to the North American rail industry through the Railway Woman of the Year Award, co-sponsored by Progressive Railroading.

In 2019, the inaugural LRW 'Railway Woman of the Year' Advisory Committee was appointed. 

The purpose of the advisory committee is to provide an impartial executive-level review of the candidate applications received by the LRW and make a recommendation.

To be eligible to participate on this committee, each member must be a previous WOY award recipient. The committee shall be comprised of a minimum of at least five women, who commit to a two-year term and are led by a Chair appointed by the LRW Board of Directors. 

The committee lends their industry insight and leadership expertise and assist the LRW Awards Chair, Denise Williams, in making the final decision in naming the Railway Woman of the Year.


2023-2024

LRW Railway Woman of the Year Advisory Committee

Advisory Committee Chair
Outstanding Woman of the Year 2022


Jean Savage, CEO and President, Trinity Industries Inc.

Jean Savage was appointed CEO and President of Trinity Industries Inc. in 2020. She has served on Trinity’s Board of Directors since 2018.

Jean is a member of the WestRock Board of Directors, National Association of Manufacturers Board of Directors, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation Board of Trustees, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Board of Directors, Dallas Citizens Council, and SMU Rowling Center Advisory Board.

Prior to her role at Trinity, she served as the Vice President of the Surface Mining & Technology division of Caterpillar Inc., held leadership roles in Caterpillar's Progress Rail division and worked in a variety of manufacturing and engineering positions at Parker Hannifin Corporation. Jean is a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, and served for nine years as an Army Reserve Intelligence Officer. Jean has a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Dayton.

Advisory Committee Member
Outstanding Woman of the Year 2020


Stephanie Wiggins, CEO, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)

Stephanie Wiggins is the CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the lead transportation planning, programming, financing, and construction agency for the 10 million residents of LA County and the second busiest transit agency in the United States. As CEO of Metro, Stephanie leads a public agency with 11,000 employees and an annual budget of $9 billion. Stephanie also leads the nation’s largest transportation capital improvement program, with $22.4 billion worth of projects currently under construction. A lifelong trailblazer and champion of equity and inclusion, Stephanie is the first woman – and first African American woman – to lead Metro.

Over her three-decade career in transportation, Stephanie has led numerous initiatives that have driven innovation in the transportation industry and centered equity in the delivery of transit and transportation services. As CEO of Metro, Stephanie has led massive investments to improve the transit customer experience, including the creation of the nation’s largest transit ambassador program and the implementation of the GoPass program, which provides free transit to K-12 and community college students. She has also overseen the delivery of two transit megaprojects, the $2.3 billion K Line in south LA and the $1.9 billion Regional Connector in downtown LA, and she has ensured Metro’s transportation investments are as equitable as possible through the implementation of the Metro Equity Platform and Equity Zero-Based Budgeting (EZBB).

Before joining Metro as CEO in June 2021, Stephanie served as the CEO of Metrolink, the nation’s third largest passenger rail system with 538 route-miles throughout Southern California. Prior to Metrolink, Stephanie was Deputy CEO of Metro, where she assisted the CEO in providing leadership, formulating, and achieving strategic public transportation objectives, including the passage of Measure M, a half-cent sales tax approved by 71 percent of voters in LA County. Earlier in her career, Stephanie led the creation of LA County’s first high occupancy toll lanes, known as ExpressLanes and greatly expanded Metro’s utilization of local, small, and historically underutilized businesses through new vendor procurement programming.

Stephanie is a graduate of Whittier College and holds a Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2020 National League of Railway Women’s Woman of the Year award. She is the founding president of the Inland Empire Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar, a Board Member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Friends of the Children, the Southern California Chapter of the American Heart Association, the Southern California Leadership Council, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Whittier College Board of Trustees.

Advisory Committee Member
​Railway Woman of the Year 2019


Pam Arpin, Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, CPKC

Pam Arpin was named CP Vice-President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) in July 2021 and assumed the role of CPKC Vice-President and CIO on April 14, 2023, when CP combined with Kansas City Southern.

In this role, Pam is responsible for technical integration activities related to the merger as well as redefining CPKC's digital strategy and information services (IS) roadmap, enabling CPKC’s strategic business goals with the right investments in technology. Pam leads a diverse team focused on discovering and implementing new technologies that return competitive advantage. By fostering a culture of innovation, her role positions CPKC for sustainable growth through strategically connecting people, processes, systems, data and assets.

In October 2020, Pam became the company’s first Vice-President Innovation & Business Transformation. As CPKC’s Vice-President and CIO, she retains the same portfolio, including oversight of CPKC’s Network Service Centre.

Pam has navigated an extensive and varied career and has more than 25 years of experience working in commercial, operations, finance, customer service and technology roles. Her leadership and industry influence have received North American recognition: Notably, she was named the 2019 Railway Woman of the Year by the League of Railway Women and was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by the Women's Executive Network that same year. Most recently Pam was an honoree for the Top 10 Influential Leaders in 2023 for North American Railroads.

Pam chaired the Association of American Railroad’s Customer Service Committee from 2019 to 2022 before joining the Board of Railinc, where she was nominated to the Finance & Audit Committee. 

Pam joined CP’s Diversity and Leadership Steering Committee in 2020, which provides overall governance, direction and input on the company's diversity & inclusion strategy and leadership development programs. Pam also co-chairs CP’s Women’s Leadership Network (WLN), WLN’s focus is on growing our representation of women in senior leadership roles at CPKC. 

Pam holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan.