FL OL Board Members

Peggy Smith
Regional Manager Community Affairs and Safety at CSX

With over 25 years of experience at CSX, Ms. Smith has had the opportunity to hold various positions, which has given her a broad perspective on railroad operations. She is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has earned degrees in Transportation and Logistics and Business Management from the University of North Florida.
Since 2012, She has been dedicated to the Community Affairs & Safety role, where she has actively participated in Operation Lifesaver on several state programs. Her involvement includes serving as a Board member, Railroad Investigation and Safety Course instructor, and Authorized Volunteer Coach.

David Dech
Executive Director at South Florida Regional Transportation Authority / Tri-Rail

David Dech is the executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority / Tri-Rail. An executive with 29 years in the rail industry, Dech has management experience in both freight and commuter rail service, including commuter rail operations, field operations, system and division level leadership, leading public-private partnerships, and negotiating and managing contracts with host and tenant railroads. Dech was chosen to oversee the SFRTA at a pivotal time for the agency, as it prepared to expand Tri-Rail service into Downtown Miami; he brings experience in designing, constructing and opening rail yards. David Dech is a self-motivated, self-starter with a willingness to listen to the people who perform the work as the key to the success of any project. He operates with the guiding principle that all people in an organization are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

Kelli Phillips – Executive Director
Rail Safety and Operations Administrator at Florida Department of Transportation

Kelli started her career with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 2000, and worked in Administration, Public Information, and Procurement. She accepted a position with the Dis-trict Two Rail Office in 2013, where she served as a liaison between FDOT and eight railroads for all rail projects in Northeast Florida. Time spent in this position well prepared her for her current role at FDOT. In 2022 she accepted a position in Central Office Rail as the Rail Safety and Opera-tions Administrator, where her main focus is rail safety. She is responsible for the Rail Safety In-spection Team (which is made up of 6 railroad inspectors certified by the Florida Railroad Admin-istration) and is involved in many rail safety programs and initiatives, such as the Florida Rail Safety Coalition and the Rail Highway Crossings Program (RHCP). Kelli graduated from the Uni-versity of Florida (cum laude) in 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
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Chief Chris Blackmon 
Regional Commander at Florida Highway Patrol

With 35 years of service, Chief Chris Blackmon is a Regional Commander overseeing:
Troop C (Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco, Pinellas)
Troop D (Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia)
Troop K (450-mile Florida Turnpike system)

He also serves as the statewide coordinator for the FHP Auxiliary and Reserve Unit. A dedicated leader, Chief Blackmon continues to enhance traffic safety and law enforcement across Florida.

Tammy McKay
Mechanical Manager at Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc.

Ms. McKay has 21 years of railroad experience in car hire, maintenance of equipment, locomotive fleet utilization, and planning. She is currently the Mechanical Manager at Genesee & Wyoming Inc (G&W), responsible for monitoring and maintaining the locomotive fleet for EPA compliance, fleet availability, maintenance tracking, and manages various capital projects in the Mechanical department. Before G&W, she worked as a car hire specialist at the Florida East Coast Railway and the Director of Locomotives at RailAmerica. Other current industry commitments include being a part of the Railinc FindUs.Rail TAG team as well as being a part of the AAR Locomotive Committee. She became an OLAV in 2015.
Prior to joining the railroad industry in 2004, she worked for various construction companies hired to do shutdown work traveling countrywide for papermills, coal mines and power plants where she worked as an instrumentation fitter, pipe fitter and a journeyman welder.

Matthew Schwerin
Vice President of the Western Region at Regional Rail LLC

Matt Schwerin, Vice President of the Western Region, joined Regional Rail as part of their Pinsly acquisition in 2020, having previously served as General Manager. Prior to that, Mr. Schwerin spent 14 years working for short line railroad operator R.J. Corman as well as CSX where he held various positions including locomotive engineer, trainmaster and manager of operating practices. He has 28 years of railroad operations experience. He is a graduate of Michigan State University’s Railway Management Program.

Ali Soule
VP, Community Relations at Brightline Trains

Robert LeDoux
Senior Vice President at Florida East Coast Railway

Mike Lunsford
Principal and Owner at The Safety Solution