The Blueprint for Career Advancement: From Shop Technician to Leadership

Natalie Williams is a dynamic leader with more than 15 years of experience as a sales and operations manager in post-secondary education. She builds and develops strong teams that deliver results and think outside the box to exceed performance expectations, customer satisfaction and outcomes for employees and employers. At Ancora, Williams spearheads the division and drives sales, client services efforts and the operation plan. 

Brian Ondre serves as the President of the On Highway Business for Cummins Sales and Service North America. He is responsible for growing preference for Cummins across US and Canada. Cummins is a global leader power leader whose Vision is to make People’s Lives Better by Powering a More Prosperous World. Ondre has spent his time across nearly twenty- seven years focused on recruiting and building talented leaders within operation and sales.

He is originally from the Detroit area (Michigan-USA) area, however he currently resides in Denver with his family and very large dog. In his free time, Ondre enjoys spending time outdoors, hanging out on the lake and/or riding his bicycle.

Over the past decade, and even now, Ondre continues to advocate for gender equity. He is honored to serve as the Leader for the North American Cummins Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) and Board Director for the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

Jessica Lever is a Red Seal Heavy Equipment Technician that transitioned into an administrative assistant role in operations for Cummins Canada. In this role, Lever collaborates with organizations across Canada to assist employing diverse talent within Cummins. She’s also an interviewer for technician rolls across North America.

Lever has been with Cummins for almost six years. The first four and a half years of her career with Cummins, she was a field service technician in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She started as a level 1 apprentice and worked through to gain her Red Seal Certificates. For the last year and a half, she has been performing in an administrative roll to continue to work within Cummins and suit her growing family.

Lever was a technician for eight years. Her hobbies include repairing and restoring her own vehicles. Lever's husband also works with Cummins. They have a 1-year-old son and a daughter coming this January.

Gail Richardson is the General Manager for Cummins Sales and Service North America, overseeing operations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Shreveport.

Her 20-year journey at Cummins has provided her the opportunity to drive excellence in manufacturing and distribution, supply chain strategies, and operations. Her expertise involves problem-solving in fast-paced and challenging environments.

Richardson is passionate about helping others reach their full potential and fostering positive, productive, and inclusive environments. Alongside her Dallas team, Richardson partners with Genesis Women’s Shelter and plays a significant role in CARE (Cummins Advocate for Racial Equity).

She is originally from West Tennessee, currently residing in the Dallas Metro Area. Richardson has one daughter residing in Atlanta, GA. Her hobbies include traveling, gardening, sports, and music.

In the 15 years with Cummins, Smart quickly excelled from entry level warehouse associate to parts professional, warehouse lead and warehouse manager. Soon after transferring to Cummins Rebuild Center, she was chosen to create her current role of materials professional where she manages procurement of materials for rebuilding mining engines.

Smart was born in “corn country” South Dakota where there’s a strong work ethic/farming culture and this has driven her to take ownership of her roles and be passionate about getting things right. Whenever there’s an urgent need at Cummins, she’s the go-to person to help save the day.

She loves working on her house and traveling. In the past year, she’s made several trips to see family in South Dakota, Arizona and California. She has two sons, two grandkids, a grand dog and a rescued cat named Will Feral. She’s also made several close, long-time friends through Cummins.