Editor's Notebook: 2024 40 Under 40 Honorees are Purpose-Driven Professionals
Every year since 2008, the Mass Transit team has worked to organize, collect, evaluate and present what has become our signature program: The 40 Under 40. I am impressed with the talent, drive, ingenuity and commitment to improving this industry, communities and the experience of using transit that each group of honorees demonstrates year after year.
If Millennials are dubbed the “Purpose Generation,” then the 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 embodies this label. These professionals are responsible for safety standards, best practices, data management, team management, customer engagement, digital transformation and have been key players in some of North America’s largest transit infrastructure projects. They are driving sustainable business practices – not only among transit operations and fleet management, but among the transit workforce by stressing the importance of work-life balance.
Outside of work, the group enjoys a variety of hobbies, including gardening, skiing, hiking, rock climbing, baking and one honoree who tends a small flock of chickens.
This year’s group of honorees has the highest number of years on average spent working in the transit industry. A typical average is between nine to 9.5 years; this year’s group boasts an average of 10.9 years.
Several honorees were born outside North America and came to the continent seeking educational and employment opportunities. Others have spent significant time abroad traveling, working and gaining experiences that they have brought back to North America.
The transit industry is more than a professional space for these honorees – it is part of their daily lives. This year’s group includes several car-free people and parents who are working to instill an understanding and love of transit in the next generation. Two of this year’s honorees even took their local transit services to their weddings and a handful maintain a valid commercial driver’s license.
Professional development outside of daily responsibilities is another foundational characteristic shared among this group. Several lead or have founded community focused interest groups through their employers, they are mentors inside and outside of the transit industry and one honoree participates in Engineers Without Borders, working on projects to improve infrastructure in less developed countries.
We hope you enjoy getting to know the 2024 Class of 40 Under 40 as much as our editorial team did. I also hope these individuals leave you with a sense of pride that our industry has developed some of the most resourceful leaders who will continue to enhance how people move for years to come.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
