National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) President Ashley Wieland has been elected to a three-year term on the Industry Advisory Board for the Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) Program at Penn State Altoona.
Penn State’s Industry Advisory Board for its RTE Program is comprised of a diverse cross-section of high-level railroad industry professionals from various sectors of the industry.The board plays an important role developing and directing the RTE program so its students can effectively address the unique needs of the railroad industry.
“There has never been a more important time to address the need for the next generation of leaders in the railroad industry,” says Wieland. “I am delighted to join with others on the board in shaping Penn State Altoona’s RTE program to recruit, train and prepare students to have successful careers in the railroad industry.”
Penn State Altoona offers the nation’s first and only Bachelor of Science degree program in Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE). The program gives students an in-depth engineering and mathematics education required to meet the challenges facing today’s railroad industry.
Wieland leads the NRC, a U.S. trade association that advances the mutual interests of and suppliers who construct, maintain and supply railroads and rail-transit lines. She has more than 10 years of integrated experience in government relations and association management in the railroad and transportation industries.
I am really proud to have followed in my father’s footsteps who shaped and engrained in me the importance of the NRC and getting involved. (The NRC) through friendships and dialogue with fellow competitors, relationships with the supply community, and with a vision that private railroad contractors could and would have a seat at the table when it came to building and maintaining our country’s railroad infrastructure … and that we could and would do it safely, efficiently, profitably, and of the highest quality.
Retiree, 2020 NRC Hall of Fame Inductee
RailWorks Track Systems, Inc.