Patrick Dover is Senior Counsel at CSX specializing in regulatory, real property and litigation matters. Prior to joining CSX in 2022, Patrick worked as a Commercial Litigation Counsel at the international law firm McGuireWoods LLP for over a decade. Patrick also worked as a Legal Counsel at shortline holding company Patriot Rail and served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is a graduate of Davidson College and American University Washington College of Law.

Melissa Cannon is a Real Estate Manager at BNSF Railway Company. While she is involved in a variety of facets, her primary areas of focus include overseeing BNSF’s third-party permitting program, as well as its portfolio of mineral rights and water rights. Melissa began her real estate career while in college and has since held roles in the industries of healthcare, retail and hospitality. Prior to joining BNSF in 2013, she was the Real Estate Manger for Accor North America, Inc. where she was responsible for the day-to-day management of the company’s real estate portfolio and the disposition of numerous properties.

Melissa holds a BBA, with a concentration in finance, from the University of North Texas. In her personal time, Melissa enjoys being with her family and watching her son play baseball and flag football.

28 years with Union Pacific Railroad – Omaha, Nebraska

Responsibility to oversee and ensure third party uses of Company Real Estate over Union Pacific's 23 state system are properly documented, designed, installed, constructed, operated, maintained and repaired in accordance with all Company policy's and standards to protect the Company property interests, appropriately manage exposure to risk and liability, and to protect against damage to railroad property and infrastructure which could lead to exposure to significant liability or financial cost to the Company.

Mary Lamie is the Executive Vice President of Multi Modal Enterprises for Bi-State Development. In her role, she oversees a number of business enterprises of Bi-State Development, including the Gateway Arch operations of key assets, Gateway Arch Riverboat, the St. Louis Downtown Airport, and the St. Louis Regional Freightway.

Her responsibilities of the Freightway include developing public-private partnerships to optimize the region’s freight transportation network and for creating the foundation for planning, marketing and advocacy of the bi-state region as a national freight hub. These efforts have resulted in national recognition by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a leader in setting multimodal transportation priorities and as a model for regionalism for both this area and regions throughout the nation. The Freightway demonstrates how working collaboratively across sectors can foster an effective approach to regional freight investments and decision-making. Through these efforts, the region has increased its competitiveness for funding and other resources, benefitting national and regional freight mobility and economic development.

Mary has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry, including 23 years at the Illinois Department of Transportation where she served as Deputy Director of Highways Region 5 Engineer. During this time she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Region’s transportation program which included engineering, management and budgetary responsibilities. She was responsible for more than 800 employees, 3,300 lane miles of state highways and 1,700 bridges

She holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and is a professional engineer.

Matt Whitney is the Director of Business & Industrial Development for Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. Matt leads business development at the TRRA, Government affairs and contract negotiations. Matt has held various roles at the TRRA over his 25-year career that include Mechanical Superintendent and Superintendent of Transportation. The TRRA processes over 2,000 rail cars daily at their classification in Madison, IL and serve 80 local customers.

As Director of the Ameren Illinois Economic Development team, Eric is responsible for leading the strategies that support business attraction/expansion, community development, and provide superior customer service to Ameren Illinois commercial and industrial customers.

During his more than 17-year career at Ameren, Eric has served in a variety of roles including those in economic development, supply chain operations, and facilities management. Prior to joining Ameren, Eric worked for Union Pacific Railroad as well as the construction industry providing him with the depth of experience he brings to the team.

Eric is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and Project Management Professional (PMP), with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Lindenwood University and Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

He is an active member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Utility Economic Development Association (UEDA), Edison Electric Institute (EEI) National Key Account Program, and the Illinois Economic Development Association (IEDA).

A native of southeast Missouri, Eric and his wife Lisa have 2 daughters and reside in the St. Louis Region.

David LaPlante is a Real Estate-Director-Special and Public projects-for Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in his 13th year as a proud railroader! In his current role, David is responsible for three bodies of work, including third-party Public Projects and UP’s Mineral Rights and Commercial Signboard portfolios and two awesome teams of UP managers and consultants.

In his Public Projects role, David and his team of three managing the real estate acquisition and contract drafting for more than 3500+ public infrastructure projects impacting UP property in all 23 states in which UP operates. These third-party public projects include new construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the approximate 40,000 at-grade and grade-separated road crossings across the UP network from more than 10,000 large vehicular and pedestrian grade-separated over and underpass crossings to the more than 20,000 at-grade public road crossings along both signalized and unsignalized. These projects also affect more than 10,000 private at-grade and grade-separated private road crossings, thousands of levee closure structures and embankment facilities and related large drainage facilities across the UP network, as well as the more complicated Rail over Rail grade-separated crossings including pedestrian high speed rail projects. David’s team of 3 works daily with multiple internal UP depts from Engineering, Public Affairs, Law, Network Planning, and Marketing & Sales and with more than 50 UP Engineering consultants across the UP system.

In the Mineral Rights role, David’s team manages all the UP subsurface mineral rights portfolio across the UP network of 23 states including but not limited to oil and gas rights, brine, water, gravel and even lithium. As a significant Mineral Rights owner, UP enjoys significant lease and royalty revenues annually. David’s team of two works with multiple external consultants to effectively manage UP’s mineral rights portfolio and grow its revenues.

David’s Public Projects’ team also manages UP’s commercial signboard portfolio which includes more than 2600 signboard structures in all 23 states in which UP operates. UP enjoys lease revenue generation as a landowner from the gross signboard ad revenues generated from the UP-signboard portfolio across the 23 statewide UP network. In the last several years, UP has been engaged in a successfully initiative to digitize a select portion of UP-signboard portfolio. David’s team works closely with its external signboard portfolio manager, Clear Channel Outdoor, to effectively manage the large UP signboard portfolio.

Before his tenure at UP, David practiced law in a large commercial litigation firm with more than 500 attorneys worldwide and he also practiced in the non-profit sphere as a civil rights/constitutional lawyer. David continues to use his legal skills in assisting UP in-house counsel in managing condemnations from third-party public agencies across the UP network and as serving as an expert witness for UP in active litigation regarding Real Estate and Contract drafting issues.

David also served UP 2 years as the President of the UP’s 2nd largest ERG (Employee Resource Group) UP Vets, which serves the more than 6000 veterans working at Union Pacific across the UP network. David served in the US Navy on the USS Independence CV-62 aircraft carrier overseas in the Persian Gulf during Operation Southern Watch at the tail end of the first Gulf War in the early 1990s.

UP published a write-up on David’s role and UP Vets that is attached below.

David’s pride and joy is his family, which includes his wife and best friend of 25 years, Edie, and his awesome 11 kiddos ages 19 months to 23 years of age.

Devin is a veteran professional with over 28 years of experience in the North American railroad industry. He currently serves as the AVP Environment and Hazardous Materials at the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in Washington, D.C.

Devin specializes in the areas of:

• Policy development and regulatory rulemaking
• Environmental compliance, assessment, and remediation
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Rail tank car safety

In his role at the AAR, Devin's key responsibilities include:

• Developing and coordinating industry policy on environmental and hazardous materials issues
• Overseeing matters related to the transportation of nuclear waste
• Identifying short- and long-term risk management strategies
• Assessing environmental and hazardous materials issues affecting the rail industry
• Advising member railroads on potential impacts of regulatory and legislative issues

Devin's extensive experience and expertise make him a valuable asset to the AAR, which plays a crucial role in setting safety, security, and operating standards for North America's freight rail network. His work contributes to the organization's efforts in enhancing the safety and efficiency of the railroad industry, particularly in areas related to environmental protection and hazardous materials transportation.

As part of the AAR leadership team, Devin collaborates with other industry experts to address challenges and opportunities in the dynamic and evolving landscape of rail transportation. His insights and guidance help shape policies that impact the nearly 140,000-mile freight rail network in the United States, ensuring that the industry remains at the forefront of safety and environmental responsibility.

I am an experienced lead trial and appellate attorney. For over 44 years I have tried cases as a prosecutor, then as a civil practitioner in the areas of transportation, primarily for railroads, toxic torts, civil rights and general commercial litigation in many states including Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Wisconsin and South Dakota. I have also prepared appellate briefs and presented oral arguments in numerous cases in federal and states courts including as lead attorney in 4 cases before the Illinois Supreme Court and several cases in the Seventh and Fifth Circuit Federal Courts of Appeal.

From 1981 to 1989, I served the People of the State of Illinois as an Assistant State’s Attorney. As a "first chair" lead trial attorney, I prosecuted to verdict 49 felony jury cases, including several capital cases. I completed briefs and presented oral arguments in three cases before the Illinois Supreme Court and many more in the Illinois Appellate Court. I also served as a Deputy Supervisor in the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Unit.

From 1989 to 2009 I worked at Freeborn and Peters LLC in Chicago. Over 20 years, I worked my way up from a contract associate to an owning partner of the firm. I developed a varied civil trial practice, became the lead trial attorney for some of the firm's most important clients, and tried more cases in state and federal courts than any other attorney in the firm. I participated in training the firm's attorneys in trial practice and served on the Professional Review and Equity Partner Compensation Committees.

I continued my varied civil trial practice at Daley Mohan Groble, P.C. in Chicago where, as an owning partner, I focused on claims against transportation-industry clients, civil rights cases and commercial litigation in state and federal courts.

In 2019, I became a Member at Knight Nicastro Mackay LLC. I started the firm’s Chicago Office and continued to focus on representation of railroads and other organizations in the railroad industry.

As of January 2025, I have retired from the full-time practice of law, but I have opened my own office, Law Office of Richard T. Sikes, Jr., LLC, where I continue to practice on a part-time basis. I have been a member of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. I am on the Board of Directors of Helping Hand, an Illinois Not-for-Profit organization that provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities so that they are equally valued in all communities.

Charlie Tucker is well known to the surveying community from his stint(s) as surveyor, field engineer, office engineer and roadmaster at La Junta, CO/San Bernardino and Los Angeles, CO for the Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF). With the Santa Fe, Charlie worked extensively with the survey community in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California for 15 years on a variety of unique and interesting projects. At Santa Fe, he had participated in the construction of new lines, enlargement of tunnels, construction and oversight of public works projects, intermodal facilities as well as having been the maintenance supervisor in charge during the 1989 California “World Series Earthquakes”, the LA “King” Riots, multiple fires floods and other calamities. He has the unique experience of having worked in the design, construction, maintenance and public works disciplines within the railroad industry.

Since joining the consulting community in 1996 with Benchmark Surveying/Farnsworth Group, Charlie has worked extensively in Colorado and many other states (Washington to Maine, Illinois to Texas) working with the railroad industry, state agencies and as a railroad expert for other consultants. He has functioned as chief engineer for four startup railroads, assisting with guidance and regulatory compliance.

Mr. Tucker is a 1980 Graduate of The Ohio State University with BS in Surveying. (One of the first dozen to graduate from the program.) He also attended the University of Cincinnati’s Civil & Environmental Engineering program prior to transfer to Ohio State.

Mr. Tucker is a member of NSPS, GLIS/ACSM, PLSC (Southern & Central Chapters) & AREMA (American Railway Engineering & Maintenance Association, Committees1 (Roadway & Ballast) and Committee 18 (Shortline and Light Density Railways – Currently its chairman) Mr. Tucker has been teaching Railroad Surveying 101 as a volunteer for AREMA Committee 1 since 2000 (34 states, CDOT and BLM so far) and similar such courses as far back as 1986 for the benefit of the surveying community.

Carlos Femmer is a veteran geospatial executive who has spent more than 25 years pushing the limits of data acquisition across energy, transportation, and critical-infrastructure markets. As former VP, COO, and President of John Chance Land Surveys (FUGRO), he steered land-survey and airborne divisions, championed R & D initiatives, and helped deliver the world’s first commercial autonomous underwater vehicle. His portfolio spans tens of thousands of miles of pipeline, transmission-line, and rail corridors—including more than 35,000 rail miles surveyed with a helicopter-borne LiDAR system. A trailblazer in remote sensing, Carlos carried out the first commercial drone inspection of the Golden Gate Bridge, drone surveys and inspections within the Grand Canyon and at DoD installations like Pearl Harbor. Today he blends hydrographic, geophysical, LiDAR, and UAS technologies to deliver engineering-grade insights. A recognized authority on complex airspace approvals, Carlos has secured SGI-COAs at more than 20 Department of Defense installations and secured clearances for missions at high-security infrastructure sites nationwide. Whether underwater, on land, or in the air, he couples next-gen technology with strategic planning to convert raw data into confident decisions.

Evan Glantz joined Missouri Partnership in 2025 as the Director, Business Recruitment. Previously, Evan was the Senior Partnerships & Development Manager for Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners, where he helped lead business development efforts for the organization by building relationships with communities, organizations, and individuals throughout Missouri, as well as the United States. He has also led site selection projects and is well-versed in utilizing state and local tax credits and economic incentives to facilitate large capital investment projects.

Evan earned his Master of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Logistics & Supply Chain Management from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Brian Feldman recruits businesses to St. Louis' 15-county bi-state region. He works with companies, both foreign and domestic, during their site selection process by advocating for the entire metro. Brian leads projects by providing a concierge style service that includes assisting businesses with detailed market research, real estate inquiries, incentives, connections to various business stakeholders, among other services.

Recent wins include Performance Food Group's $120 million dollar investment in North St. Louis County, Refresco's $22 million expansion in Truesdale, and ChickFil-A Supply's $16 million distribution center in Maryland Heights.

Brian comes from a workforce development background, serving as Vice President of Talent Solutions at The LaunchCode Foundation prior to joining Greater St. Louis, Inc. He placed more than 600 individuals into technology-related jobs while solving mission-critical problems for company partners. Enterprise-level customers included the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Microsoft, Comcast, Mastercard, Centene, and Cigna.

Before workforce development, Brian spent more than ten years working in local television and radio at KMOX-AM, WXOS-FM, and KMOV-TV. He anchored local sportscasts and reported on professional sports teams including the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, and St. Louis Rams. The biggest events Brian covered include the 2011 World Series, Blues postseason hockey, and a London-based NFL matchup between the Rams and Patriots at Wembley Stadium.

Brian graduated cum laude from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 2006 with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism. He is originally from the St. Louis area and resides in Chesterfield with his wife, Amanda, and two sons, Cooper (8) and Corbin (7).

Jeff Coates is Director Hydrogen Program Execution at CPKC responsible for the implementation and management of the Hydrogen Locomotive modernization program. This role involves coordinating with various stakeholders, managing resources, and monitoring progress to achieve successful program execution.

During his more than 22 years at CP, Jeff has worked in operations, service design, rolling stock asset reliability, finance, and procurement. Supervisor in the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Unit.

Jeff holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba.

Corey Davis is the Director of Fuel Strategy and Utilization at CSX Transportation where he oversees locomotive fuel conservation and emission reduction programs to help CSX implement fuel and carbon reduction strategies. He has 30 years of experience at CSX Transportation holding various positions in Operations, Training, and regulatory compliance roles. Corey began his career with CSX on the ground as a Conductor in Atlanta, GA in 1995 and then as a locomotive Engineer in 1998, this field experience has given Corey a full perspective of railroad operations. His current role is responsible for implementing solutions to reduce locomotive emissions and improve fuel savings: Trip Optimizer, Zero to Zero, data technology improvements, and alternative fuels. He holds a degree in Transportation Technology from Mountwest Technical College and currently lives in Jacksonville, FL.

Theresa is an Assistant General Counsel at the Association of American Railroads. Her responsibilities include regulatory, legal, and policy issues related the environment, hazardous materials, and climate change/resilience, particularly as related to the railroad industry and transportation infrastructure. Theresa earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and attended the University of Michigan Law School.