Job history: Ashley joined GFT more than 18 years ago after beginning her career in business development. She advanced from business development coordinator to business development lead for the freight market sector, then to assistant VP of growth and operations integration officer, and now serves as VP of growth and operations.

Why she's influential as an innovator: Ashley develops and applies new ways to organize people, knowledge and partnerships around rail. Her work changes how a major consultant serves rail clients and strengthens the wider rail community at the same time.

As freight business development lead, she helped define freight rail as a core business for GFT and brought multidisciplinary teams together for complex rail pursuits. Today she guides strategy and operations across practices with a focus on rail clients and programs. She also co-founded Rail Professionals of Kansas City, serves as a past chair and active member of AREMA Committee 24, Education and Professional Development, and volunteers with Operation Lifesaver.

Ashley advances innovation through the way she positions freight rail inside GFT and across the industry. When Ashley became business development lead for freight, GFT treated rail as one of many service lines. She reframed freight rail as a core business; built a shared rail narrative across leadership and technical groups; and mapped where GFT expertise in bridges, civil, environmental and program management met rail needs. Instead of assembling pursuits by availability, she pushed for purpose-built rail teams that stayed with key clients.