“I was the ultimate do-gooder there for a while,” he said.

Though Risch now lives in Washington, D.C., he’s proud of his home state in so many ways.

“I could just as well be the tourism director,” he said jokingly, adding he often tells people he is “going back to civilization” when he returns to North Dakota. “Not that D.C. is a bad city.”

Risch said his time in North Dakota has given him experiences he will be able to draw upon in his new position.

“Many railroad officials haven’t been on a train,” he said, referring to those who regulate the industry. “I have a lifetime of experience of how it really works.”

Though his organization represents workers, Risch said he has ofter found himself representing issues pertinent to the industry as a whole. He said legislators would often confuse him as an industry lobbyist. Once he was even mislabeled as a spokesman for BNSF.

Risch said the reason for this is that rail workers need the jobs and want the industry to do well.

In the next five years, Risch said one of the issues he expects to deal with is changing technology and regulations related to it.