Job history: After 10 years at BNSF Railway, Erika joined RailPros in 2018. She served as VP of training services, where she led training and production organizations comprised of experienced railroad, training and multimedia production professionals. For five years, she developed and provided training services to the rail and rail adjacent industries in support of regulations and industry best practices for transportation, engineering, mechanical, signal, intermodal, industrial and corporate staff. In 2023, she was promoted to her current role to oversee marketing, sales, business development and client relationships.

Why she's influential as a leader: During her 17 years in rail, Erika has worked with a variety of teams to develop and implement safety initiatives. While manager of safety at BNSF, she developed and implemented safety communication and training division-wide, while ensuring consistency across the entire North Region through stakeholder partnerships. She also provided safety oversight and support to 1,500 division employees; developed system safety initiatives that drove practical application of behavior-based safety skills to 42,000 employees; and influenced executive leadership across operational support groups to incorporate and encourage behavior-based safety initiatives.

After responding to a horrific fatality that occurred early in her career and seeing the devastating effect it had on employees, Erika introduced behavior-based safety measures focused on the human side of safety. By establishing peer-led committees to create channels for feedback, and educating field safety teams with practical applications, Erika and her teams secured long-term commitments to safety initiatives.

Erika's dedication to railroad safety and training has made the industry a better workplace for all.