Expert Speakers

Smith has worked within California State Parks for the past 20 years, and joined the Museum from Hearst Castle where he was the chief of museum interpretation. He earned a Ph.D. in Public History from the University of California Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Public History from California State University Sacramento, and a B.A. in History from California Polytechnic University State University-San Luis Obispo. He also serves as a professor of Museum Studies in the Graduate Public History Program at Sacramento State.

He started at the museum as an intern in 2020 while studying history at UC Santa Cruz. He spent time working in the library, archives, and the restoration shop during his internship, learning a wide variety of skills necessary to care for CSRM’s unique collections. His internship gave him access to the CSRM archives which provided valuable primary sources for an award Senior thesis about 19^th Century locomotive paint schemes he wrote as part of his studies at UCSC.

Since officially joining the CSRM team in 2023, Russell has written restoration feasibility studies for several pieces of equipment in the collection and is a member of the Museum’s collections committee where he researches and writes about potential acquisitions and about how to best care for and interpret artifacts already within the collection.

Previously, Eric worked for nearly 24 years at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, including 12 years as the chief of transportation planning. Eric earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in planning from MIT, where he is still a mentor and guest speaker.

Born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, MC has several degrees including a BS in Mathematics, a MS in Industrial and System Engineering, and an MBA. MC has worked on a wide range of technical projects at MxV Rail including statistical analyses of wayside detector data, engineering economic analyses, NUCARS® vehicle dynamics modeling and qualification testing of newly built locomotives and passenger rail vehicles as per AAR standards, FRA regulations, and/or end user requirements. MC spent a year as an exchange engineer at Kansas City Southern Railway in 2019. In addition, MC has managed several large government projects including a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funded project focused on standards development for transit rail and Department of Energy projects focusing on specialized railcars that transport spent nuclear fuel. During the 2021 to 2023 period, she led MxV Rail transformational transition to a new facility which included moving MxV Rail off the facility they resided at for over 40 years and the design and construction of MxV Rail new facilities. The design and construction of new facilities over a 2 year period included 20+ miles of new railroad tracks, renovations of 2 buildings to house MxV Rail 200+ staff and specialized laboratory equipment, building of a new rail rolling stock maintenance facility, and implementation of new training grounds that are utilized for the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC, a division of MxV Rail) that train first responders who respond to transportation accidents.

A lifelong lover of railroading, he is a Mass Transit 40 Under 40 and Railway Age 25 Under 40 award winner. When he is not working on the railroad, you can find Sam running, reading and exploring California.

As part of the development team at Siemens he managed the commissioning, validation and test plan development of the new Amtrak ACS-64 electric locomotive, Tier IV Charger locomotive for Caltrans and Venture single level trainsets for Brightline Florida.

Brian has managed the Association of American Railroad (AAR) Strategic Research Programs in areas of Radio-Based ECP braking, freight axle cracking, and train automation at MxV Rail’s Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST®). In addition, he provides technical support to AAR’s Locomotive Committee and manages AAR’s joint railroad In-Use Locomotive Federal Test Procedure Emission Testing Program in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements. In 2014, Brian migrated into the Operations group as Director Operations managing all on-site testing programs. In 2022, he returned to the engineering group focused on VTI&I, where he manages engineering and instrumentation staff focused on both on-track and laboratory testing efforts.

Mike holds a BBA in finance from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Mike is married with three sons and lives outside Fort Worth, Texas.

After successfully launching Phase 1 of Brightline service between West Palm Beach and Miami in 2018, he was part of the team that completed the 170 extension between West Palm Beach, FL and Orlando, FL. Phase 2 rolling stock and the maintenance facility in Orlando were completed in 2022 to facilitate the expansion. Tom is currently working in a similar capacity with Brightline West to deliver the first High Speed Train system between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Prior to joining Brightline, Tom spent over 20 years with NJ Transit spending the last 7 years as the General Superintendent of Equipment.

Tom is a married father of three that enjoys being a suburban dad in his free time. Hobbies include working out, golf, and coaching soccer.

Margaret is an urban planner with two decades of experience working in sustainable infrastructure, land use and transportation planning throughout the United States and around the world. As an AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) urban planner and Envision Sustainability Professional, she previously led the sustainability division for the Authority as a consultant. Margaret oversaw corporate sustainability initiatives for WSP USA, the Authority’s Rail Delivery Partner. That work included a commitment to carbon neutral operations and the development of training and tools for implementing sustainability approaches on a range of infrastructure projects.

Margaret earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

With her enthusiasm and aptitude for advanced technologies, she drives the transition to cleaner, energy efficient mobility. In her spare time, Franziska enjoys outdoor activities with her husband and their child.

His commitment, and interest in advancing transportation technologies for the betterment of urban mobility is his driving force. When not at work Scott enjoys getting lost in the wilds of the California mountains and deserts or lost in the never-ending DIY renovation projects at home.