AGMA - American Gear Manufacturers Association

SRN attendees also were able to spend some time at a private briefing and Q&A with Jon Cardinal , Legislative Aide to Senator Kristen Gilibrand, New York, Democratic Party

Jon Cardinal is a legislative assistant for Senator Gillibrand, handling appropriations, economic development, labor and technology issues for her. He began his career working for former Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and transitioned to Senator Gillibrand’s office upon Clinton’s appointment as Secretary of State. Jon is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Ogdensburg, NY and a graduate of St. Lawrence University.

Made in America handouts
Made_In_America_Block_Grant_Act_One-Pager.pdf
Made_In_America_Block_Grant_Act_Section-By-Section.pdf

*Other presenters during the programming included: *

Presenter:
Kent Wells
Lobbyist for AT&T
Washington, DC

Kent Wells is Vice President – Federal Relations in AT&T’s Washington, D.C. office. Kent is responsible for coordinating AT&T’s wireless legislative issues and managing AT&T’s Federal PAC, in addition to advocating for AT&T’s positions on other Congressional matters.

Before joining AT&T External Affairs, Kent was Vice President – Federal Legislative Affairs with Cingular Wireless. Prior to that, he worked in the Washington, DC office of SBC following his time as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Nancy Kassebaum and as an associate in the Kansas City, Missouri law firm of Dietrich, Davis, Dicus, Rowlands and Schmitt. Kent received his Law Degree from George Washington University after graduating from University of Kansas.

Presenter:
Kevin Kessler
Chief of Equipment and Operating Practices
Federal Railroad Administration
Washington, DC

Mr. Kesler is currently Chief of Equipment and Operating Practices for the FRA Office of R&D where he is responsible for managing the Rolling Stock and Human Factors research programs.

He began his career in the Advanced Development Group at Black and Decker Mfg. and after a few years joined ENSCO as a Design Engineer where for 34 years he held various positions dedicated to the development and application the state of the art for Track, Vehicle and Vehicle/Track Interaction inspection, analysis and evaluation. In 2008 he left his position as Vice President of ENSCO’s Rail Division and launched NexRail LLC to provide technical consulting to the railroad community prior to joining the Federal Railroad Administration. He has been a primary contributor to the development of High Speed Rail safety standards and a leader in the assessment of high speed trains, including the Acela.

He is currently serving as the FRA Technical Representative to the Next Generation Passenger Equipment Committee which is establishing standards for future rail passenger vehicles. He is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate from the University of Maryland and studied Technical Management at Johns Hopkins University. He has been an active member of AREMA, ASME, APTA and TRB Rail Technical Committees. He has been awarded 4 patents for his work in railroad safety and inspection technology and has authored numerous reports and technical papers on the subject.

Presenter:
William C. Gibb
President
GoRail
Alexandria, VA

William C. Gibb is the founder and President of GoRail, a non-profit, grassroots organization dedicated to uniting rail stakeholders with community leaders and the public in support of rail solutions to transportation challenges. His professional background includes nearly a decade of legislative experience, first as Staff Counsel to the U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and later as Chief of Staff to Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum. In addition, Mr. Gibb served as Assistant General Counsel to the U.S. Railway Association and maintained a Washington law practice in which he represented transportation and other clients before federal agencies, Congress, and the courts.