Prevent Tragedy on the Tracks:
Reducing Suicide Risk
Hourly Schedule
Prevent Tragedy on the Tracks: Reducing Suicide Risk
- Scroll down below the schedule for more information on the speakers
- 7:30 am – 8:30 am
- Check-in and Continental Breakfast
- 8:30 am – 8:35 am
- DuPage Railroad Safety Council – Welcome and Invocation
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Speakers:
Dr. Lanny Wilson, Linnea Wilson
- 8:35 am – 8:45 am
- Metra – Welcome
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Speakers:
James M. Derwinski
- 8:45 am – 9:00 am
- Awards
- 9:00 am – 9:20 am
- Keynote Speakers from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
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Speakers:
Kara Brockamp, Michael Kranz
- 9:20 am – 10:40 am
- Suicide Prevention – From Hope to Action
- Moderator: Tony Mills
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Speakers:
Angela Cummings, BA, Lori Carnahan, Scott Gabree, Ph.D.
- 10:40 am – 10:55 am
- Break
- 10:55 am – 12:15 pm
- The Media’s Role
- Moderator: Bob Johnston
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Speakers:
Akemi Harrison, Craig Schwalb, Marni Pyke, Michael Gillis
- 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm
- Lunch
- 1:30 pm – 3:10 pm
- Engineering Behavior through Technology
- Moderators: Kurt Brandt & Christopher Murauski
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Speakers:
Glen Dargy, Julia McMillan, MA, MS, Leo dela Cruz, Lieutenant William Fitzgibbon
- 3:10 pm
- Closing and Summary
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Speakers:
Dr. Lanny Wilson
Speakers
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Dr. Lanny WilsonDuPage Railroad Safety Council Chairman
Dr. Lanny F. Wilson grew up in rural Western Kentucky near the small town of Fancy Farm. He was valedictorian of his graduating class in 1968 and received a scholarship to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Wilson received his B.A. in Psychology (1972) and M.D. at Northwestern’s Chicago campus (1975). His Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology was at Loyola University in Maywood, Illinois (1975 – 1979).
Dr. Wilson practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hinsdale, Illinois, beginning in 1980. During his career, Dr. Wilson delivered more than 6,000 babies while performing all the other duties of an Ob/Gyn practice. Since his retirement, he has been Dean of Clinical Sciences for Avalon University School of Medicine. Dr. Wilson has held positions as President and Chairman of the Board for the DuPage County Medical Society and was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Illinois State Medical Society for nine years. Dr. Wilson has been on the DuPage County Board of Health since 2001 and has been its Vice President for most of those years. In 2022, he became a Board member of the Coalition for Physician Well-being.
Over the 30 years since its inception in 1994, Dr. Wilson has chaired the DuPage Railroad Safety Council (DRSC). His daughter, Lauren, had been killed at a railroad crossing in Hinsdale, Illinois on March 2, 1994, and his Railroad Safety Advocacy began shortly thereafter. In 2006, Lanny received the Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award, presented at the annual reception of the National Association of Railroad Passengers in Washington, D.C.; and in 2016, he received the National Operation Lifesaver Safety Champion Award at the Operation Lifesaver Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
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Linnea WilsonReverend, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Reverend Linnea Wilson has been an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for almost 25 years. Though ‘mostly’ retired, her professional joy continues to be teaching about the love of God reflected in each of us. When not filling in for her colleagues when they are away from their congregations, Rev. Wilson enjoys trying out new recipes on her husband, Lanny, a willing guinea pig; recent ventures into vegetarian cooking have met with mixed results! Having lost the ‘battle-of-the-rabbits’ in her garden, she is spending more leisure time reading novels from the New York Times bestseller list and writing letters to far-flung friends. Rev. Wilson is pleased to be here today as you do the important work of saving lives.
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James M. DerwinskiExecutive Director, Metra
James M. Derwinski began his career at Metra in 1997 as an electrician, rising steadily through the ranks before becoming Chief Mechanical Officer in 2013 and Executive Director/CEO in 2017. He oversees one of the nation’s largest, busiest, and most complex commuter rail systems, with 243 stations, 11 routes and 1,200 miles of track. A champion of public transit, he has worked to update Metra’s aging fleet of railcars and locomotives, deliver the first all-battery passenger equipment in the United States, and make transit service more affordable and available to underserved communities.
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Michael KranzSenior Manager of Safety & Training for Passenger Operations, BNSF Railway
Michael brings more than 29 years of railroad experience spanning freight, commuter operations, safety, training, leadership, and risk management.
He began his railroad career in 1998 with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJ&E) in Maintenance of Way after working summers on the railroad while attending the University of Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in History in 1997. He later completed his Teacher Certification at Lewis University in 1998, a background that helped shape his longstanding commitment to employee development, training, and safety leadership.
Since joining BNSF Railway in 2004, Michael has held a wide variety of leadership positions across both engineering and transportation disciplines, including Assistant Roadmaster, Manager of Track Maintenance Training, Roadmaster, Supervisor of Maintenance Planning, Terminal Trainmaster, Division Trainmaster, Manager of Operations Service Excellence, Director of Administration, and his current role leading Safety and Training for Passenger Operations in both Chicago and Seattle.
Throughout his career, Michael has worked at the intersection of railroad operations and administration, employee development, regulatory compliance, risk management, safety culture, and organizational leadership. His experience spans both Engineering and Transportation disciplines and includes supporting commuter rail operations, leading operational and engineering teams, developing safety and technical training programs, driving continuous improvement initiatives, and collaborating with labor organizations, federal regulators, first responders, elected officials, and community stakeholders.
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Kara BrockampManager of Public Projects, BNSF Railway, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska
Kara Brockamp serves as Manager of Public Projects with BNSF Railway. She works with public agencies and community partners across Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska to develop and deliver transportation infrastructure projects, with a focus on safety, mobility, and successful railroad-public partnerships. Her experience spans project development, stakeholder engagement, and coordination of complex rail-related infrastructure initiatives. She has a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Illinois and began her career with BNSF seven years ago.
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Tony MillsPublic Safety and Outreach Coordinator, Metra; and Board Chair for Illinois Operation LifesaverTony Mills is a dedicated public safety professional, educator, and advocate committed to making communities safer through awareness, connection, and conversation.
As the Public Safety and Outreach Coordinator for Metra and Board Chair of Illinois Operation Lifesaver, Tony leads railroad safety education, outreach programs, and suicide prevention initiatives throughout the Chicago region. He works closely with schools, first responders, community organizations, and safety partners to help prevent tragedies and provide important resources.
Known for bringing energy, authenticity, and humor into his presentations, Tony believes that the best lessons are the ones people actually remember. By combining important safety messages with humor and real conversations, he creates meaningful connections with audiences of all ages.
Tony’s mission is simple: educate, engage, and make a difference…one conversation at a time.
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Angela Cummings, BAExecutive Director, Illinois Chapter American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Angela Cummings joined the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention (AFSP) in 2014 and now serves as Executive Director. As a suicide loss survivor, she brings both her personal commitment and strong leadership skills to advance AFSP’s mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.Under Angela’s guidance, the Illinois Chapter has become one of the top AFSP chapters in the nation. The chapter is recognized for its impactful educational programs, legislative advocacy, support for suicide loss survivors, and its commitment to advancing suicide prevention research.
The chapter’s flagship event, the Chicagoland Out of the Darkness Walk, has been the #1 Out of the Darkness Walk in the nation for 17 consecutive years, reflecting the
dedication of Illinois volunteers, partners, and supporters.Angela is passionate about suicide prevention and mental health awareness, both in her
work and her personal life. -
Lori CarnahanDeputy Executive Director, DuPage County Health Department
Lori Carnahan is the Deputy Executive Director of the DuPage County Health
Department, where she leads integrated Behavioral Health and Public Health clinical operations, along with the business functions that ensure seamless access and high-quality client care. With more than 20 years of experience, she has played a central role in strengthening DuPage County’s behavioral health system, expanding services, enhancing coordination and advancing innovative models of care. Her leadership has been instrumental in building a comprehensive crisis continuum, including supporting the development and launch of the county’s 24/7 Crisis Recovery Center.Lori has been with DCHD since 2011 and previously served as Deputy Director,
Behavioral Health Services. She serves as co-chair of the Behavioral Health
Collaborative, a countywide effort focused on improving access, coordination, and quality of behavioral health services through strong cross-sector partnerships. Lori also serves on the board of the Community Behavioral Health Association, helping shape statewide policy and support provider organizations across Illinois.Lori is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and holds degrees from Illinois State University and Lewis University.
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Scott Gabree, Ph.D.Engineering Psychologist, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Human Factors Division
Scott Gabree is the manager of the grade crossing safety and trespass prevention research program for the Human Factors Division at the Volpe Center. Scott joined the Volpe Center in 2009 and has worked across all modes of transportation. Since 2011, Scott has focused the majority of his effort on railroad safety and trespass and suicide prevention. Alongside an amazing team at Volpe and with consistent FRA support, Scott has helped to build a research program that continues to advance our knowledge about how to effectively prevent railroad trespassing and suicide events and mitigate the impacts of these incidents on railroad staff. Scott has a PhD in Psychology from Northeastern University and lives just outside Boston, Massachusetts.
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Bob JohnstonCorrespondent, Trains Magazine and Trains.comBob Johnston’s media career spans more than 60 years, beginning as a teenager with announcing stints at radio stations in suburban Chicago, Baltimore, and Portland, OR, while attending Johns Hopkins University and graduating with an MBA in marketing from Columbia University. After joining CBS Radio in New York as a sales executive, he was tapped to originate a rock format for WBBM-FM in Chicago. Bob was hired by Katz Media in 1976, selling advertising time to Chicago ad agencies on behalf of more than 70 network-affiliated TV stations from Boston to Sacramento. Promoted to team manager three years later and making frequent trips to the company’s New York headquarters and stations around the country until retiring in 2011, he began writing about passenger trains. Since 1991, he has written exclusively as a columnist and correspondent for Trains Magazine and Trains.com. Bob became involved with the work of the DuPage Railroad Safety Council while researching “Preventing Death by Train,” a feature in the March 2018 issue of Trains.
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Michael GillisDirector of Communications, Metra
Michael Gillis was named Director of Communications at Metra in 2015, having previously served as Media Relations Manager at the agency. He serves as the agency’s primary spokesman with the media, writes press releases and speeches, produces presentations and the onboard customer magazine, and manages content on the agency website. Before he joined Metra in 2008, he worked for more than two decades at the Chicago Sun-Times as a reporter, Springfield bureau chief, assistant metro editor, deputy business editor, and editorial board member. He specialized in writing about public transportation, government, politics, and public policy.
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Craig SchwalbBrand Manager/News Director, WBBM Newsradio Chicago
Craig Schwalb brings over 30 years of audio management experience to his role as the Brand Manager/News Director at WBBM Newsradio Chicago. Previously he was the Director of Content Integration and Operations for WTOP News/ Washington DC. Schwalb’s news and audio entertainment career includes management roles with Audacy Inc., ABC News, SiriusXM, CBS Radio, Hubbard Radio, and Cumulus Media. Schwalb’s career includes program management at WTOP, WABC and WNEW in New York, WKRK/Detroit, WPRO/Providence, R.I., and WRBZ/Raleigh, N.C.
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Akemi HarrisonDirector of News and Multiplatform Content, WGN-TV
Akemi Harrison is Director of News and Multiplatform Content at WGN-TV in Chicago, where she leads all newsgathering and production across broadcast, streaming, digital, and mobile platforms. She has more than 20 years of newsroom leadership experience and a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving audience growth across platforms. Prior to joining WGN-TV, Harrison served as News Director for NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago, where she was promoted from Assistant News Director in 2023 after joining the station in 2021. Her previous leadership roles include Assistant News Director at WVIT/NBC Connecticut and Executive Producer at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, along with multiple editorial and management positions in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. Harrison began her career in Jackson, Mississippi, starting in radio before transitioning to television news as a producer at WAPT-TV. She is a graduate of Tougaloo College, where she earned a B.A. in English with an emphasis in journalism. She is a National Emmy Award winner for NBC Chicago’s “The Lost Story of Emmett Till” and received a National Emmy nomination for “Desde Cero: The Migrant Journey in Chicago.”
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Marni PykeTransportation and Political Reporter, Daily Herald
Marni Pyke covers transportation and politics for the Daily Herald. Marni has reported on the 2024 Republican and Democratic national conventions, gubernatorial and congressional elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental issues, and courts. Her transportation beat includes public transit, roads and driving, aviation, and writing a weekly column, “In Transit.” She has extensively covered railway issues such as freight mergers, commuter trains, hazardous materials, and safety. She received the DuPage Railway Safety Council’s Public Awareness Award in 2014. Projects include a series on patronage at the Illinois tollway, which in 2019 earned her third place in the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Investigative Reporting, a Sarah Brown Boyden Award from the Chicago Journalists Association, and the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for Best Investigative Reporting. Marni has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a graduate certificate in journalism from Sheridan College, Ontario. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family and poodle, tries to garden, and volunteers for the West Suburban Humane Society.
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Kurt Brandt, Ph.D.CEO & Cofounder, LinqThingz Predictive MobilityDr. Kurt Brandt is the CEO and cofounder of LinqThingz Predictive Mobility, a technology company dedicated to developing solutions that save lives by improving transportation safety and emergency response. Under his leadership, LinqThingz has deployed predictive mobility systems that provide real-time rail crossing information to emergency responders and the traveling public, helping reduce delays, improve situational awareness, and support safer decision-making around railroad crossings.
A central focus of Dr. Brandt’s work is understanding how people actually behave in complex transportation environments and designing technology systems that account for human behavior rather than simply assuming ideal behavior. Through nationwide deployments of sensor-based digital twin technologies, LinqThingz studies interactions among trains, vehicles, pedestrians, and infrastructure to better understand risk, improve safety outcomes, and influence positive decision-making.
Throughout his career, Dr. Brandt has been a serial innovator and entrepreneur, developing solutions for organizations including the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the National Institutes of Health. His work has ranged from AI-driven quality systems supporting global manufacturing operations to advanced technology solutions for aerospace, transportation, healthcare, and robotics.
Dr. Brandt is a frequent contributor to transportation and technology forums, including the Transportation Research Board, Intelligent Transportation Systems organizations, and national policy discussions. His current work focuses on the intersection of transportation safety, human behavior, artificial intelligence, and predictive mobility systems, with the goal of creating technologies that not only detect risk but help prevent tragedy before it occurs.
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Christopher MurauskiRail Safety Program Administrator, Illinois Commerce CommissionChris Murauski joined the Commission in 2017 as part of the rail safety group’s inspection program. Chris’s involvement later expanded to include traffic signal interconnects, crossing safety improvement planning, and project management in the Chicagoland and surrounding area. Prior to the Commission, Chris worked for a Class 1 railroad and rail subcontractor in various capacities including project management, product engineering, and construction. Chris graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from UIC and enjoys time with his two kids, cycling, fixing bikes, improving his golf game, and cooking.
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Julia McMillan, MA, MSProgram Manager at the Transportation Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) Program, University of California, San Diego
Julia McMillan, MA, MS, is the Program Manager at the Transportation Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS), UC San Diego. TREDS (Transportation Research and Education for Driving Safety) has been a leader in the transportation safety space for more than two decades, with expertise in rail, passenger vehicles, and commercial vehicles. Our diverse and growing team brings expertise in public health, medical engineering, law enforcement, education, psychology, and neuroscience to leverage a multi-disciplinary approach in understanding mechanisms and opportunities to improve safety related to mobility. We have created award-winning curricula on topics including age and medically related driving impairments, distracted driving, pedestrian safety, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Target audiences include healthcare professionals, law enforcement, commercial drivers, and the general public, including vulnerable populations such as aging drivers and youth.
Bringing this skillset to the rail safety space, UCSD TREDS has partnered with California railroads to better understand contributors to fatigue in safety-critical rail workers, and to propose data-driven recommendations for fatigue mitigation. Building on a pilot project funded by the California DOT (Caltrans) to better understand causes and effective prevention measures for trespassing on California passenger railroad right of way, our team is currently conducting a three-year Federal Railroad Administration-funded project to – based on built environment evaluation, incident report forms, in-cab videos, coroners’ reports, and interviews of relevant stakeholders – develop a comprehensive toolkit of best practices to reduce railroad trespassing in California. The overarching goal will be to help railroad agencies understand contributing behavioral factors of individuals who trespass on railroads, built environment variables contributing to trespassing, and the unique circumstances of unhoused populations’ interactions with rail and railroad property.
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Leo dela CruzRail Safety Officer at Caltrain Commuter Rail in California
Leo has been a Rail Safety Officer for Caltrain since September 2023. His working experience has mostly been in the transit industry since 2001 when he started operating buses in college at University of California, Davis, where he graduated with a BS in Managerial Economics. Since then, he has worked for Sacramento Regional Transit District, Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and now at Caltrain with experience as an operator, transportation supervisor, operations trainer, train controller, and safety officer. Leo has teen boy/girl twins and a very loving wife that tolerates his rail/transit nerdery. Leo enjoys rehabilitating old bicycles, going on train trips and city exploration.
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Lieutenant William FitzgibbonPatrol Division, Village of Orland Park Police Department
Lieutenant William Fitzgibbon joined the Orland Park Police Department in 2008 and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2020 and then the rank of Lieutenant in 2022. In 2025, Fitzgibbon graduated from the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School of Police Staff and Command Class #600. During that time, Fitzgibbon completed a comprehensive staff study on Drone as First Responder (DFR) and helped implement the first ever Cook County DFR Program. This program began in the fall of 2025 and continues to grow for the Orland Park Police Department. Fitzgibbon remains vigilant in enhancing the DFR Program for the betterment of innovative policing strategies as well as overall public safety for the Village of Orland Park. Fitzgibbon has worked in various capacities for Orland Park Police including as a patrol officer, Field Training Officer, Evidence Technician, FBI Task Force Officer, Tactical Officer, Patrol Sergeant, Tactical Sergeant, and now Patrol Lieutenant. Fitzgibbon assists Sgt. Mark Kenn with running the Orland Park Police Department Drone Team. In his free time, Fitzgibbon enjoys spending time with his wife and three children who keep him active every day.
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Glen DargyVice President of Emerging Technologies, Herzog
Glen Dargy is Vice President of Emerging Technologies at Herzog, where he is focused primarily on the development, refinement, and advancement of RailSentry, Herzog’s wayside perception system for improving rail safety and operational awareness. He leads product development, technology evaluation, system integration, scalability, and deployment strategy supporting RailSentry’s continued evolution.
With more than 28 years of experience in the technology sector, including 15 years with Herzog, Glen has a proven record of integrating cutting-edge solutions that align with the company’s long-term vision. His experience spans technology development, systems integration, and the practical application of emerging technologies in operational environments.
Glen earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Management from Park University while serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. His military and technical experience have shaped a practical, systems-oriented approach to leadership, problem solving, and technology adoption.