John T. Gray Joins Nominations and Inductions Committee

John T. Gray is the newest member of the NRHF Nominations and Inductions Committee, the panel responsible for vetting nominations and making inductee recommendations to the NRHF board of directors.  Gray currently serves as senior vice president of policy and economics at the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in Washington, DC.

NRHF Chair Jay Matson said Gray’s extensive background in academia, executive management, and the policy arena provides a broad base of railroad industry knowledge from which to evaluate accomplishments of Hall of Fame nominees.  “John is an ideal candidate for the committee, and we’re honored he has agreed to serve,” Matson added.

As the AAR’s vice president of policy and economics, Gray’s responsibilities include the collection, analysis, and presentation of economic data related to railroads and their economic environment, as well as development of policy positions on current significant rail issues.

Gray’s long career in railroading also includes executive positions with the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Burlington Northern, Santa Fe and Alaska railroads, in addition to a faculty position at the University of Alaska.  He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from Tulane University and has completed post graduate work in mathematical modeling of transportation networks at Northwestern University.

Gray was appointed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to the Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics.  He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library.