Alaska Railroad Executive Team

William G. O'Leary, Acting President/CEO and CFO

William G. O'Leary was named Acting President/CEO on April 1, 2010. He also remains the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Alaska Railroad, a position he accepted in July 2001.

He is responsible for the financial activities of the corporation as well as the human resource and supply management functions.

A Certified Public Accountant, O'Leary has worked in a variety of financial positions since 1988, including that of Controller of the Alaska International Airport System, the position he held before his current appointment.

A lifelong Alaskan, O'Leary holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alaska - Fairbanks.

Tom Brooks, Vice President Engineering and Chief Engineer

Tom Brooks has been with the Alaska Railroad since 1986. He has held a number of positions responsible for track, bridge and facility operation and improvements. Currently, he is responsible for the Track, Bridge, and Capital Projects departments. Prior to joining the ARRC, Tom worked 10 years as a Project and Construction Manager for various oil companies in Alaska.

Brooks is a member of the American Railway and Maintenance Association, where he is a member of Committee 11, Intercity Rail. He is also a local member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Brooks earned bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, and a master of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington.

Phyllis C. Johnson, Vice President & General Counsel

Phyllis Johnson was named Vice President & General Counsel of the Alaska Railroad Corporation in June, 1991. In her position, she manages and directs the legal affairs of the corporation and oversees a five-person legal department. Johnson joined ARRC in May 1986 as a staff attorney specializing in real estate. Prior to her appointment, she was engaged in private law practice in Anchorage (from 1980 to 1986) and in North Carolina (from 1976 to 1979).

Johnson received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1973 and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976.

She and her husband, Craig Tillery, have one child.

James W. Kubitz, Vice President, Real Estate & Facilities

Jim Kubitz joined the Alaska Railroad Corporation in 1998 as Director of Project Planning and moved to VP of Real Estate six months later. A 45 year resident of Anchorage, he served on the Anchorage Municipal Assembly from 1986-1993. A graduate of Willamette University with a BA in Economics, he owned and operated a general contracting company, Kubitz Construction for 15 years. More recently, he owned Kubitz & Co. a commercial real brokerage firm in Anchorage. He still holds a Broker's License in the State of Alaska.

He has served on the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. Kubitz is married to Susan Urig, an attorney and they have four children, Maxwell, Alexander, Elizabeth and Grace.

Wendy Lindskoog, Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Wendy Lindskoog has been with the Alaska Railroad since 1999. As Vice President of Corporate Affairs, she manages the railroad’s government and communication strategy, corporate governance, community relations, and philanthropy efforts. As Secretary to the Railroad Board of Directors, she is responsible for all corporate actions of the Board, coordination of the Board's responsibilities and scheduling of their meetings.

Just prior to joining the Alaska Railroad, Lindskoog was the Communications Director for the Alaska State Senate. Previously, she was part owner of a regional publication; the marketing and group sales manager for a California ski resort; and in high school and college, she worked for a small placer mining operation.

Lindskoog earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She currently serves as president for the Resource Development Council for Alaska, and is past chair for the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and Alaska 20/20.

Lindskoog and her husband, Jim Cardwell, reside in Anchorage along with their daughter Tindra Cardwell. 

Eileen Reilly, Vice President, Chief Information and Technology Officer

Eileen Reilly joined the Alaska Railroad in January 1996 as Information Services Manager and was promoted to Vice President in 2001. She is responsible for overseeing a number of different departments including Information Services, Technology, Signal and Telecommunications. Reilly worked as a System Engineer for IBM for 10 years implementing data processing systems throughout the state of Alaska.

Reilly joined the Alaska Railroad to provide leadership in the effort to use technology to achieve the corporate goals, which include improved safety, customer service and efficient operations. Reilly was assigned Project Management responsibilities for the railroad's implementation of Positive Train Control (known as Collision Avoidance System) in 1997 and leads this effort today. This effort has included moving the dispatch function from paper track warrants to a computer-aided dispatch system that now support CTC and enhanced-DTC methods of operations. During this time, Reilly managed the Alaska Railroad's first implementation of CTC signalization on the Anton Anderson Tunnel, Whittier, Alaska, which is North America’s longest shared highway/railroad tunnel with operations that began in the summer of 2000.

Reilly earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University. She has been a resident of Alaska since 1981

Pat Shake, Vice President of Transportation and Mechanical

Pat Shake began his Alaska Railroad career in 1974 as a fireman/hostler. In 1976 he was promoted to locomotive engineer and served in that capacity until 1981 when he accepted a management position as Trainmaster/ Roadforman of Engines.

In 1991 he was promoted to Superintendent of Transportation. In 2008 he was promoted to Assistant Vice President of Transportation and recently promoted to Vice President of Transportation / Mechanical.

Shake is a member of the International Association of Railroad Operating Officers and the American Association of Railroad Superintendents.

Shake is a third generation Alaska Railroad employee. He and his wife Colleen were born in Anchorage and have two children, Matt and Jessica.

Steve Silverstein, Vice President, Business Development

Steve has been with the Alaska Railroad since 1996, first as Senior Director of Freight Services and, since 2001, as Vice President with responsibility for Freight as well as Passenger marketing. Steve worked for ARCO, Alaska for ten years analyzing and negotiating freight and supply contracts with carriers and vendors on a local, national and international level. Prior to ARCO, he worked for J.B. Gottstein Co. (Carr-Gottstein Corporation) as a freight auditor and buyer responsible for inbound freight. Earlier, he ran a purchasing, warehousing and distribution operation on the North Slope in support of oil exploration.

Mr. Silverstein is a Certified Member of the American Society of Transportation and Logistics and was one of the founders of the Alaska Transportation Study Group, where he served as President for six years. He is a member of the board of directors for the Anchorage Concert Association, Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Alaska Roundtable of the Council of Logistics Management. He has been a resident of Alaska since 1979.

Steve was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the University of Rochester in New York.