Our Community
Recognizing Accomplishments
Events
Our Community
Recognizing Accomplishments
Events
More than 1,100 transportation and logistics professionals registered to attend the fifth annual Accelerate! Conference & Expo September 30-October 2 in Dallas, TX (about a 300-person increase from the year before)! The unique event works to elevate the issue of gender diversity, develop women leaders, and explore how to leverage a diverse workforce for company success and engage and retain more females in the industry.
Anticipation and excitement built as Ellen Voie, WIT president & CEO, took the stage to kick off the event sharing what to expect for the next three days: relevant, meaningful content, peer networking and mentoring opportunities, integrated expo time with vendors, a truck technology tour, recognition programs, and fun receptions.
Over 60 educational sessions were available to attend on critical transportation issues and trends, along with perspectives of the positive impact women can have on the industry, segmented by educational areas of focus: Leadership, HR/Talent Management, Operations, Professional Driver, Sales & Marketing, and Professional Development.
Hundreds of companies, brands, products and services were made available as valuable solutions during the Accelerate! Expo.
In its third year, the Technology Truck Tour was an opportunity for attendees to learn about new and ground-breaking technologies of tractors on the road. Featured were the Freightliner Cascadia, Peterbilt Model 579, the Mack Anthem from Mack Trucks, and the 76" High Roof T680 from Kenworth.
Finalists of the 2019 Influential Woman in Trucking Award shared lessons learned and success stories, followed by the announcement of the winner of this year's award, Ruth Lopez, director, transportation management, Ryder System, Inc. Finalists included: Niki Bolton, senior truck auditor & executive projects officer, American Truck & Rail Audits, Inc.; Kristy Knichel, CEO, Knichel Logistics; Jodie Teuton, chairwoman, ATD/vice president, Kenworth of Louisiana; Kellylynn McLaughlin, OTR training engineer & professional driver, Schneider National Inc.; Lidia Yan, CEO and co-founder, NEXT Trucking. Kary Schaefer, General Manager, Product Marketing and Strategy, Daimler and WIT CEO Ellen Voie presented the awards.
Several companies had large teams participate at this year’s conference. More than 100 attendees from PACCAR and approximately 90 from YRC Worldwide Companies – demonstrating their commitment to gender diversity in their organizations and the industry at large.
Approximately 100 companies were recognized as “Top Companies for Women to Work For in Transportation” and “Top Woman-Owned Businesses.” Check out the full lists of the 2019 Top Companies and Top WBE's, and the Shutterfly album with their photos.
