leadership
Key Staff
Janelle Patterson, EIT - President
Ms. Janelle Patterson, EIT is a co-founder of Zephyr Rail (ZUI). After several years of experience in the rail industry, Ms. Patterson identified a strong need to innovate in the industry, where projects continue to demand high quality work while budgets and schedules tighten. She now leads our company comprised of highly skilled rail professionals and helped pioneer the use of a sophisticated sUAS program to accelerate schedules and alleviate budget pressures while maintaining superior quality and safety standards. In addition to her duties as President, Ms. Patterson provides project support and administration for various types of railroad projects; leads business development efforts; and assists with sUAS operations and data processing, including creating and editing videos for construction monitoring and project documentation. A graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) and Loyola Law School, Janelle has a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Legal Studies, where she specialized in Corporate Law and Intellectual Property Law.
Jacqueline L. Patterson, PE, QSD/QSP - Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Jackie Patterson is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Zephyr Rail. Jackie brings over 37 years of professional experience in the civil engineering and railroad transportation industries. Her expertise encompasses all aspects of railroad engineering, from conceptual design to construction management and contract administration of light rail, commuter rail, freight rail, and high-speed rail projects. Her involvement in the development of commuter and light-rail programs in Southern California has been pivotal to the industry’s success.
Jackie is passionate about developing the next generation rail engineers and pioneered a Master Level Program at the University of Southern California (USC) titled “Introduction to Railroad Engineering.” Several of her program’s graduates have or are currently working at BNSF, LA Metro, Metrolink and other Agencies and private engineering firms that serve our industry. She is a true mentor and asset to our industry.
A graduate of Concordia University, Jackie has a Bachelor’s and a Master's in Civil Engineering.
Marc A. Cañas, GISP - Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Marc Cañas is Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Zephyr Rail. He has over 30 years of experience in railroad track design, systems design, inspection, maintenance, and construction management. Throughout his career, Marc has served as National Freight Rail Practice Leader, Program Director, and Project Manager responsible for the execution of various track, at-grade crossing, and yard design projects where he utilized his specialized experience, and extensive railroad coordination and operations knowledge to ultimately deliver high-quality, cost-effective, and constructible rail projects. He has played an instrumental role in several high-profile projects, responsible for coordinating directly with freight railroad carriers to approve project designs. Marc is also a certified Remote Pilot-in-Command (PIC) pursuant to FAA Part 107. He is now applying his extensive experience in rail engineering and combining it with the ever-evolving advances in small, unmanned aircraft and aviation to develop innovative solutions in the integration of both FRA and FAA regulated environments. A graduate of Chapman University and the University of Southern California (USC), Marc has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration.
Patrick Mahoney, PE - Vice President, Design Services
Patrick Mahoney has twenty-five years of track design experience and has served as Design Engineer, Project Engineer, and Project Manager throughout his stellar career. Patrick has designed alignments for Class 1 Railroads, Commuter Rail, and Light Rail/Transit clients, involving mainline track, yard tracks, industrial leads, intermodal yards, maintenance yards and more. Patrick serves as our resident expert in all things track & civil design related. A graduate of California State University Long Beach, Patrick holds a Bachelor’s and a Master's in civil engineering.
Behnam Mehraie, PE, PEng, PMP - Vice President, Program/Construction Management Services
Behnam Mehraie brings over 27 years of leadership in Project and Program Management in the rail industry, including four mega rail projects in North America with a combined construction values over $20 billion. His experience in senior management spans all aspects of rail, from light transit to high speed rail and highway projects for agencies including LA Metro, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Caltrans, California High Speed Rail Authority and MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario). He has hands-on experience in design management and construction management, and design experience encompassing large and high profile multi-disciplinary heavy rail, light rail, transportation and bridge projects. He has extensive knowledge of program management, project alternative delivery methods (P3, Design-Build, PDA), contract administration and project procurement. His expertise also includes budget management, third party coordination, site supervision, inspection, scheduling, cost analysis and risk assessment. Behnam holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering, underscoring his commitment to delivering innovative and high-quality infrastructure solutions.