Ken Kuwamura

Human Resources Strategic Partnerships, Union Pacific Railroad

Ken is originally from San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1980. In 1986 he obtained two master’s degrees from Our Lady of the Lake University in Education and Management. He spent 9 years as an Education Service Specialist for the US Navy and US Army. As he received many honors the Navy Marine Achievement Medal and the Admirals Award for being Civilian of the Year for the Department of the US Navy 2 years in a row and the Civilian of the year for the Department of the US ARMY his first year.

In 2006 he was given an opportunity to join Union Pacific Railroad as a Recruitment Manager in the HR Department. He was promoted to Senior Recruitment Manager where he was involved in Diversity and EEO Training for the field employees and managers. His work in this area has been recognized locally, statewide and nationally for improving employee engagement in the workplace.

In 2015 he was promoted to Director of Employee Relations for the Southern Region. He was responsible for a six state area and worked with local management and agreement professionals to improve employee engagement in the field. Currently he is the Manager of Strategic Partnerships for the Talent Acquisition Team. He covers 23 states identifying community agencies, local community leadership organizations and national organizations to develop a partnership with Union Pacific Railroad. He initiated the Second Chance program for Union Pacific Railroad and is currently working to start up a Refugee and Immigrant recruiting strategy.