Ingrid Brown, a native of Boone, NC/Mountain City, TN, has built a four-decade career as a professional truck driver, independent owner-operator, company driver, and operations manager in specialized refrigerated freight. A charter member of the Women In Trucking Association since 2007, she also serves on its Content Committee and was part of the Inaugural Image Team. In 2023, she became host of Life on 18 Wheels, a podcast sharing insights with the transportation industry.

Brown is nationally recognized for her commitment to CMV safety. She has worked directly with FMCSA, serving as the “Voice of Safety” for its Our Roads, Our Safety campaign, appearing in commercials, on SiriusXM, and at the FMCSA Trucking Safety Summit. Honors include NASTC Woman Driver of the Year, TA/Petro Citizen Driver, and selection to the St. Christopher’s Fund Driver Council. Featured on the cover of USA Today Money, Brown continues to mentor drivers and advocate for safety across the industry.

Katie Krueger-McCuen is a distinguished mechanical engineer with experience in both academia and industry. She has more than a decade’s experience in product development and advanced technology innovation in refrigerated transportation and automotive industries. She holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University.

Krueger-McCuen is currently Associate Chief Engineer for Thermo King—Americas at Trane Technologies, where she drives Engineering Excellence for projects ranging from new technology innovations to product & component design and development. Before that, she piloted advancements in Systems Engineering in the company. She is passionate about driving efficiencies in product development processes and building consensus among divergent groups by finding commonality to advance objectives.