Job history: Michelle has been with Amtrak since January 2022, when she joined the railroad to lead its fleet and facilities portfolio.

Why she's influential as a leader: Michelle's leadership directed the successful launch of Amtrak's new high-speed passenger trains, the NextGen Acelas. Her influence over Amtrak project teams — as well as Amtrak operational departments, external manufacturers, suppliers, prominent stakeholders, USDOT, consultants and contractors — has successfully delivered on Amtrak's long-term goal of launching modern and faster trainsets. She directed the program through COVID and several Federal Railroad Administration changes that led to uncertainty and complexity in the market, economy, funding and stakeholder engagements.

In addition, Michelle oversees a portfolio of $18 billion in fleet and rail-yard facility upgrades to support the new fleet. She brings decades of experience in systems and electrical engineering and operations to Amtrak, where she has initiated a modern and systematic approach to solving complex and interdepartmental problems to keep her program on schedule and on budget.

Michelle is an active champion of women in STEM through her leadership and involvement in the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) and at Boston University, her alma mater. In 2023, Michelle endowed the Michelle Tortolani Engineering Scholarship through SWE, to support women studying electrical engineering in the New England states.