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Top Women to Watch 

Across our industry, countless women are making great strides in their careers while positively impacting their companies and helping to promote greater gender diversity. 

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Meet the 2024 Top Women to Watch in Transportation

Every year, Redefining the Road, our official magazine, recognizes the top performers in the industry who not only have had significant career accomplishments in the last year, but go the extra mile to support other women and help to improve gender diversity – at their own companies and/or industry-wide. This year’s list is comprised of 75 women who are resourceful, creative, talented, and bring diverse thought, value and results to their respective field. 

Jessica Bennett, remarketing sales manager, Premier Truck Group
Jennifer Biehn, VP, human resources, The Evans Network of Companies
Hannah Bryan, fleet solutions sales manager, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Heather Callahan, director of logistics, Daimler Truck North America
Frances Craig-Watson, transportation feeder division manager – south Florida, UPS
Katrina Cribbs, manager of national accounts customer support, Old Dominion Freight Line
Brittany Cutler, business development manager, Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance
Christina Davis, VP of marketing & business relations, AMX
Jenny DeArmond, corporate recruiter, Stoops Freightliner – Western Star
Christina Denvit, senior director, dedicated contract solutions (DCS) operations, J.B. Hunt Transport
Tracy Derival, marketing assistant, Fleet Advantage
Tonyah Dillahunt, PR & marketing communications manager, Peterbilt Motors Company
Tanika Dunlap, software development manager, Southeastern Freight Lines
Sydney Emrich, senior manager, customer experience, J.B. Hunt Transport
Abbi Failla, VP of business operations, EASE Logistics
Angela Fish, executive VP, human resources, Schneider
Tena Fisher, service center manager, XPO
Melissa Forman, president, executive VP, TriumphPay
Melanie Franklin, group director, sales, Ryder System, Inc.
Paula Frey, chief human resources officer, Echo Global Logistics
Lori Fulmer, VP, enterprise human resources, Covenant Logistics
Rosa Gamboa, business development manager, Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance
Lauren Gassmann, operations manager, Booster
Vanessa Gauci, sr. transportation efficiency manager, Frito-Lay North America
Armida Gonzalez, assistant plant manager, Peterbilt Motors Company
Angel Grable, manager of business operations learning, Werner Enterprises
Mandy Graham, chief operating officer, Great West Casualty Company
Jodanna Hall, sr. director customer logistics transportation management, Ryder System, Inc.
Debra Hamlin, director of operations, Bridgestone Commercial Dealer Network, Bridgestone Americas
Abby Hamm, VP, sales, Covenant Logistics
Lynne Hansen, national accounts sales executive, PLM Fleet
Lauren Harper, sr. strategist for business operations, Kodiak Robotics
Gwen Hill, SVP of transportation & compliance, Clean Harbors
Selin Hoboy, VP – EHS & compliance, GFL Environmental
Shannon Jedlicka, recruiting & compliance, ADM Trucking
Megan Knight, director of product marketing, PACCAR Parts
Hannah Koury, sr. customer success manager, TA Dedicated
Amy Lester, VP, quality, Navistar
Monica Maez, sr. project manager, Standard Logistics
Sylvia Mahfouz, director of recruiting, TCI Transportation
Sue Maier, VP of sales systems and analytics, Penske Truck Leasing
Christina Mannella, sr. director – west transportation command center, Walmart
Kelley Martin, director, pricing strategy, Daimler Truck North America
Samantha McCracken, strategic operations manager, Bridgestone Americas
Kris McLennan, VP of yield management, A. Duie Pyle
Megan Miller, director of commercial sales channel development, Bridgestone Americas
Sarmona Miller, director of revenue management, Saia LTL Freight
Leah Miller, director, culture & communication, Trimac
Wendy Mitckes, tax manager, Navistar
Alyssa Myers, VP technology, RXO
Jill Nash, VP – national accounts & brokers, GFL Environmental
Nicole Neumann, VP, human resources, XPO
Cari Olive, people operations/human resources, Armstrong Transport Group
Kaitlyn Olsen, director of human resources, Christensen
Ann Peng, patent agent, Plus
Caitlin Powell, director of communications & marketing, TA Dedicated
Sarah Quick, associate VP, safety & compliance, USA, Day & Ross
Cassie Quien, director of business development, FreightVana Logistics
Jessica Ramirez, VP of human resources, Velocity Vehicle Group
Beverly Ringstaff, VP of brand & design, Conversion Interactive Agency
Michelle Roberts, lead CDL instructor, FleetForce Truck Driver Training
Lissette (Lisa) Rodriguez, talent acquisition supervisor, Air Products
Martha Ross, account resolution team leader, Volvo Financial Services
Suzanne Scalone, director of fleet operations, Performance Food Group
Mary Schreiber, benefits & payroll manager, Tri-National, Inc.
Andrea Sequin, director, regulatory services & driver training, Schneider
Heather Shirazi McAfee, engineering & strategic analytics manager, Saia LTL Freight
Cindi Smith, operations specialist, Candor Expedite
Pamela Stine, district manager, Waste Connections
Abby Szafranski, head of product management, fleet, Irdeto
Alexandria Uribe, sr. director, total talent management, WM
Raquel Urtasun, founder & CEO, Waabi
Khristine Vanzuiden, surface network planning manager, UPS
Natalie Williams, VP of client operations, Ancora Training
Jaimie Wilson, learning & development manager, Atlantic Logistics 

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Read the official press release.

QUALIFICATIONS

Criteria used to identify qualified applicants will be the following, so be prepared to incorporate this into the online nomination form (no more than 250 words in each of these fields):

Rationale for nomination 

Tell us about your nominee and why she deserves this recognition.

Note: The Top Women to Watch program recognizes the many inspiring, successful females in the transportation industry who have recently achieved impressive accomplishments. Because of the sheer number of successful women with impressive career stories, our current policy is that an individual will be named to this list only once (individuals who have been previously named in this program are not eligible in future years).

Significant accomplishments

List and expand on the significant accomplishments she has made in her career during the past 12-18 months.

Ways in which she exemplifies WIT’s mission

Detail how she exemplifies the WIT mission: to encourage the employment of women in the transportation industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize the obstacles they face.

Professional photo of your nominee 

Be prepared to upload a professional photo of your nominee (file format: print-quality JPG or PNG file, minimum 300 dpi). While not required, we encourage submitting a professional photo that has the backdrop of the transportation industry.

Member of the Women In Trucking Association

Nominee must have a Women In Trucking Association membership. Member types include Individual, Professional Driver, or Corporate (nominee is on the company roster).

Join Here

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Join Today

Not a member of the Women In Trucking Association? Support our mission to encourage the employment of women in the industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize the obstacles they face. Learn More

It’s highly recommended that the nominator maintain a record of the nomination, as WIT will NOT fulfill requests of providing copies of the nominations after submissions.

Suggestion: Develop the nomination in a Word document using the criteria above, and then copy/paste the responses into the online form. This way you retain a complete nomination for your records.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Interested in placing an advertisement alongside the Top Women to Watch in Transportation Announcement in Edition 1 of Redefining the Road magazine? Learn More

How to Develop an Effective Nomination

To assist you in developing the most effective nomination, the editorial staff at Redefining the
Road magazine provides helpful, practical tips to maximize the chance that your nominated
candidate will be accepted. There are three key components to the nomination process, so
make sure you put in the work and strategic thinking to craft a powerful nomination.

Note: WIT receives hundreds of nominations each year, so this is a competitive recognition
program and it’s critical that you provide substance in your nomination.


Below is an outline of the three key components and recommendations on what to include.

Rationale for Nomination (no more than 250 words)
Highlight a minimum of three detailed rationales for your Top Woman to Watch in
Transportation nomination – and make sure to include as many details as possible to describe
your candidate’s general involvement in initiatives and the measurable outcomes she has
generated as a result.
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Example 1

For more than 20 years at our company, Stephanie has established a reputation for prioritizing the diversity of her team of 50 individuals and fostering an inclusive culture across the entire organization. Stephanie has a solid foundation in operations with progressively more responsible roles in account management and continuous improvement of more than 300 customers and sales strategy involving a pipeline of more than 1,000 prospects where she has developed and deployed best practices across functional teams throughout the sales cycle while building collaboration and more effective team dynamics. Stephanie is a key player on the sales leadership team of five, developing sales tools, resources, and communications to help drive efficiency for optimal sales effectiveness. During her tenure with our company, Stephanie has volunteered in several benevolent causes with Berkley Humane; Ozone House Youth and Family Services; and Therapeutic Riding Incorporated.

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Example 2

Maggie is not only exceptional in her role at our company, but she also advocates strongly for women supporting women. She demonstrates this by guiding our company’s women’s group that involves more than 100 participants, having been previously the chair and now a strong advocate of the group. Last year, Maggie's impact extended past our company and reached externally where she took an active role in defining the relationship with Women In Trucking. She also has been actively participating in our Mentoring program for the past two years and has actively mentored 6 individuals during that time. Maggie continuously inspires those around her and has elevated the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging journey within our company and the industry.

Significant accomplishments she has made in her career in the past 12-18 months
Provide a minimum of three examples that demonstrate good business results for your
company and make sure to include the measurable results that your candidate is directly
responsible for.
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Example 1

Patricia was nominated and recognized by our company as an outstanding Servant Leader last year. Patricia completed and excelled in a leadership development course at the end of last year, and directly recruited eight female leaders to complete that same course. Patricia has led her team of 40 individuals to have regularly shown industry excellence by achieving less than 1.0% delinquency in a $3.2B portfolio. Through an annual recognition program at our company, Patricia is being highlighted as a key talent and specifically a top talent as a woman on a leadership team of 13. Patricia's direct reports have regularly achieved better than expected results of under 1.0% delinquency in their portfolios due to Patricia's guidance and support. In addition, Patricia has led an internal Strategic Women’s Group where she provided guidance and mentored more than 60 women in our enterprise (showing an 91% satisfaction rate from all participants and creating three new division leaders who are women).

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Example 2

In the past 18 months, Karen was instrumental in increasing driver headcount by 15% for her region while maintaining 8% turnover (including retirements and first 90-day hires). She delivered a significant amount of operational productivity, exceeding last year’s plan, through her efforts to decrease out-of-route miles and improve internal network efficiencies. She sat for and earned her CTP designation through the National Private Truck Council, which has substantially increased credibility with customers within her division Upon returning from the Women In Trucking Accelerate! Conference last year, Karen led efforts to launch a company-wide human trafficking awareness campaign in January. Her collaboration between WIT, Truckers Against Trafficking, our internal communications team, and our field transportation leaders resulted in ~1500 additional employees completing the CTAT Trained Certification Program (>1,000 drivers).

Ways in which she exemplifies WIT's mission
Describe how your nominee exemplifies WIT’s mission to encourages the employment of women in the trucking industry, promotes their accomplishments and/or minimizes obstacles faced by women working in the industry. In addition, provide a minimum of one specific example of how she has done this.
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Example 1

Along with becoming the first female Executive Vice President of Human Resources at our company, Jane has led initiatives to further increase representation of women throughout the organization. Since last year, the percentage of women in driver roles at our company has grown, now making up approximate 12% of the company’s driver force. With Jane at the helm, our company continues to nurture and build role models for women; 40% of the company’s leadership are women and 38% of the participants in our company’s leadership mentor program are women.

Jane constantly works to foster an environment that encourages career advancement for women, and she serves as a role model to those at our company and beyond. Jane is a transformative leader that brings passion, creativity, and heart to everything she does. She has advanced our company’s business over the years by reinforcing the value of the company’s people.

Because of her unwavering commitment to empower women in the trucking industry, our company has been recognized as one of Forbes “Best Employers for Women” for two consecutive years. Her efforts also helped our company last year receive the Women in Trucking Association’s award for “Top Company for Women to Work In Transportation.”

Jane cares greatly about connecting with people and is genuinely interested in seeing others around her thrive. She celebrates the successes of others and makes decisions that are centered around the interest of the business. Any associates Jane leads come before herself, and this is noted not only within our company but throughout her engagement with others in the industry.

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Example 2

In her leadership role, serving the transportation industry where only a small percentage of women are in the C-suite, Samantha is leading the charge. As president of our company, Samantha has promoted opportunities for women to grow and flourish. During her five-year tenure, the percentage of women at the vice president or higher role have grown to 24% (from 14% of a 30-person leadership team). Women also represent 40% of our company’s total employees of 500 – up from 32% just two years ago. Samantha’s dedication to advancing solutions in the transportation industry and creating more opportunities in the last two years for nearly 50women in influential roles at her company demonstrates her commitment to WIT’s mission.

Check out the official 2024 winners.