Member of the Month

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Elizabeth Perez as its June 2022 Member of the Month. Elizabeth is a professional driver for DVL Express and was named one of their best drivers for September 2021. She began her career in truck driving three and a half years ago and has been with the company for almost a year.

Growing up in Mexico, Elizabeth lost her father early in life and as one of the oldest children, she took on the maternal responsibility of her seven siblings. As a result, she began working in the United States making minimum wage at a pizza restaurant. She was known to be curious and hardworking and quickly became one of the main kitchen workers who learned and managed all processes.

Elizabeth tried many different career paths until one day she saw a woman driving a semi-truck. Seeing how confident and strong this woman was, she decided that truck driving would be the perfect match for her personality.

“Truck driving is a job that always keeps you in suspense,” she said recalling a time she got caught in a snowstorm transporting a load from Illinois to Missouri. She has since visited all 50 states and says that Colorado and California are her favorite because they remind her of Mexico more than anywhere else.

Although this career path has its challenges, she enjoys the fact that it is still rewarding in many ways. “As of now, I am thankful for the helpful and caring people that surround me at DVL Express, and I am especially grateful for my dispatcher and the connection that we share.”

In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys speaking to her family via FaceTime and exercising while waiting for a load. “As for my future, my biggest dream is to own a big and beautiful house someday, which would become a home for my whole family.”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Charlene Frelix Johnson as its May 2022 Member of the Month. Charlene is a professional driver for Republic Services and has been with the company for more than four years.
 
Charlene is one of the few women in her division at Republic Services, the East Mesa yard. She hauls loads of trash and hazardous materials across her service area five days a week, provides exceptional service and stops at nothing to succeed within her role. She is a shining star on the team, highly respected and serves as the go-to for many operational challenges on within the field.
 
Growing up in Mesa, Arizona, Charlene is a family-oriented woman and very grounded within her faith. She is the mother of two children and takes every opportunity to show them the value of hard work and dedication. She decided to enter a male-populated industry and take on all challenges that are associated with her role. Her wittiness, strategic mindset and personable attitude brings her success within the workplace.
 
Charlene is well known by the customers within her service areas and does an outstanding job of building positive rapport and relationships with the customers on route. Her customers look forward to her service on a weekly basis. For example, one day a young child was admiring her truck as she drove down the street collecting the containers for service. After completing the street, Charlene circled back to the location of the child, stopped, and allowed him to look at the inside of the “big blue truck.” He was amazed and thoroughly enjoyed his time looking at all the controls and buttons in the truck.
 
Within her leadership, Charlene is a great teacher. She jumps at the opportunity to lead and teach her fellow drivers. Her positive energy is contagious, and she has a soft touch in communicating with her colleagues. When she’s not at work, Charlene is enjoys spending quality family time with her five beautiful grandchildren.

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Jennifer Macalaguin as its April 2022 Member of the Month. Jennifer is vice president of engineering at Navistar, Inc. in Lisle, Illinois.

Growing up, Jennifer loved math and science. She is a curious person who loves to design mechanical things, such as interaction of gear systems. She was raised in the Philippines and completed an engineering degree there. Then, she received a scholarship in the U.S. and completed her Master Degree in Industry Technology. Later, she also completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) while working at Ford Motor Companies.

The commercial vehicle industry has always excited Jennifer because of the vital role it plays in our economy and the massive impact it has on every single one of our lives. “Knowing that everything I’m working on is making people’s lives easier, more enjoyable, and safer is one of the biggest reasons I love working in this industry,” she said.

As a female engineer at Navistar, Jennifer brings a different perspective to designing trucks. “I represent women and their unique needs and requirements that need to be considered when designing our vehicles. There are concerns and variables that I’m more acutely aware of because I am a woman. So, I make sure that my perspective and insights are expressed and heard,” she said.

As the industry has evolved, so too has the equipment. With the increasing number of female drivers in the trucking industry, the designs of trucks are continuing to advance and become compatible with the specific needs of women.

Jennifer is passionate about innovation and application of Design Thinking that resulted in her being recognized with numerous awards. She continues to explore her interests, stays committed to her passions, and embraces opportunities to explore new ideas. She completed an executive program at Stanford University focused on customer innovation and INSEAD at France focused on global leadership.

Jennifer’s advice for women in the industry is to seek a mentor throughout your career to gain wisdom. “By working with a mentor, you can learn from their past experiences and gain a support system as you determine your career goals. A mentor doesn’t need to have the same professional background as you, but should be someone that you can speak openly with and someone who shares your same definition of success,” she said.

Persistence, determination and a positive perspective on challenges is also crucial to success. “It is important not to be intimidated or discouraged by challenges. You should think of obstacles as opportunities to grow rather than roadblocks. There will always be roadblocks on the journey to success. The key to success is to have persistence in the face of challenges,” said Jennifer.

The Women In Trucking Association has announced Ashley Leiva as its March 2023 Member of the Month. Leiva is the co-owner of Noemi Trucking in Corpus Christi, Texas.
 
Shortly after graduating high school, Leiva enlisted in the Army. During her 15 years in the military, she was a Sergeant First Class, E7 and worked as a Culinary Management NCO, hauling equipment, food, and personnel to training and danger areas. She trained in many parts of the world, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia, as well as serving two tours in Iraq.
 
Leiva’s mother, who has been her lifelong inspiration, was a professional driver for more than 20 years. After her passing in February 2021, Leiva took a leap of faith, taking over her trucking company, formerly Leiva Trucking, with her brother, Johnny Leiva, and obtained her CDL to continue her mother’s legacy of hauling crude oil. Leiva and her brother have co-owned what is now Noemi Trucking, named in honor of their mother, for two years.
 
“The unique part of my job is not everyone can do what we do,” said Leiva. “Hauling crude oil is definitely a tough job and it requires a lot of training and knowledge of your truck and trailer.”
 
In 2022, Leiva received the annual “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” award during a special ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C. The award is part of an overall effort to inspire the hiring of more service members into the trucking industry and to recognize their contributions to the workforce. Additionally, this award included a Kenworth T680 Next generation, equipped with a 76-inch sleeper and PACCAR Powertrain featuring a PACCAR MX-13 engine, PACCAR TX-12 automated transmission, and PACCAR DX-40 tandem rear axles. “I’m still in shock that I received such a prestigious award,” said Leiva, “I am so grateful blessed, honored and humbled.”
 
Leiva is thankful for the support from her family, community and mentor, Lynette Cervantes, the director at Del Mar College where she obtained her CDL. 
 
“As women, we are taught at a young age to be nurtures, but times have changed,” said Leiva. “We are strong, smart, adaptive, and intuitive. My daughter just turned six and I hope one day I make her as proud as I am to be my mother’s daughter. My mom always told me to take the job that no one wants, and you will always be on top of the list to get the call first!”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Cara Howes as its February 2023 Member of the Month. Cara is a parts distribution center manager at PACCAR Parts, a division of PACCAR Inc.
 
Cara has been interested in the trucking industry for as long as she can remember. Her mother was a PACCAR employee, and Cara has fond memories of “bring your daughter to work day” as a child. Her grandfather owned a tanker business in Oregon and was a longtime Kenworth customer. Cara loved spending summers with her father, befriending Kenworth truck drivers, and making trucks her playground. One of her favorite games growing up was playing “name that truck” on family road trips. For Cara, joining PACCAR was an easy decision. 

Cara has worked at PACCAR for almost 15 years and has held key positions, including assistant director of customer service and assistant director of materials before switching to the operations side of the business.

The way stuff moves has always fascinated Cara. She loves coordinating the movement of truck parts from point A to point B and takes pride in getting things where they need to be, when they need to be there. Cara believes working in operations and logistics requires creative thinking and problem solving as no two issues are the same. While there are guidelines, every situation is unique and requires perseverance regardless of obstacles. She motivates herself and her team with the mantra that a truck is a driver’s home, and it’s critical they have access to the parts they need to stay on the road. She understands the direct impact PACCAR employees have on a driver’s life. 
 
In addition to Cara’s impressive professional career, she also serves in the United States Navy Reserve as a supply corps officer and was recently selected for the rank of commander. She serves as officer-in-charge for the Fuels Detachment supporting Fleet Logistics Center San Diego. Cara deployed to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 as part of a Logistics Mobile Training Team focused on training the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police on logistics best practices across the country. Her personal awards include two Navy Commendation Medals, an Army Commendation Medal, and five Navy Achievement Medals.



Cara’s husband also works at PACCAR Parts as a supplier quality manager. They met while playing on the corporate softball team in 2007. Now, they stay busy raising their seven-year-old twin daughters. The girls know that mom and dad work for PACCAR, the company that owns Kenworth and Peterbilt. Cara has passed down “name that truck” to her daughters with an “is it a Kenworth or a Peterbilt” twist. They cannot wait to work at PACCAR when they are older. 
 
Cara’s advice to women wanting to break into the trucking industry is, “just do it. Take your comfort zone and smash it because growth comes from new challenges!” 

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Alicia Wilson as its January 2023 Member of the Month. Wilson is an equipment cleaning technician at Highway Transport, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based company providing bulk transportation of specialty chemicals.
 
Growing up, Wilson’s father would take the family on long road trips, usually an 8-hour trip to the Rockies or drives from Colorado to California.
 
“There’s nothing quite like randomly finding new mom-and-pop restaurants and watching the scenery change,” Wilson said. 
 
Wilson learned to drive on one of the California trips driving across Donner Pass. These cherished experiences served as her driving force to pursue a career in the transportation industry. In 2018, Wilson started her professional driving career in the tanker division at a large logistics company. From there, a truck breakdown in Houston, Texas, led to some unexpected friendships and a big career change.
 
In 2020, Wilson became a professional tanker driver at Highway Transport and in 2022, she transferred to her current role to remain closer to home. As an equipment cleaning technician, she is responsible for performing all aspects of tank trailer and International Standard Organization (ISO) cleaning, including inspecting trailers for residual product and conducting post-cleaning inspections. She is one of the few women to have held this position at Highway Transport, and the work-life balance affords her time to care for an aging parent while remaining active in the industry she loves.
 
Wilson is not afraid of going after any job and highly encourages other women to continue or pursue careers in the transportation industry. If there’s any doubt or intimidation, she advises: “take what the guys say with a grain of salt. With the understanding of what you yourself can do, plan your day with that in mind and ignore the words of people who don’t think you can do it. You do you!”
 
Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance as well as a master’s in library science, and she also maintains her CDL. She enjoys the freedom of driving a tanker and hopes to return to that passion soon. In her spare time, Wilson enjoys reading and baking.

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Kathy Tuccaro as its December 2022 Member of the Month. Tuccaro is a Heavy Equipment Operator for ExxonMobil.

Although Tuccaro was a nurse for 13 years, she found herself on a destructive path, even homeless, due to decades of unresolved trauma. A wake-up call led her to a women’s recovery center, where she spent the next year relearning who she really was and accepting the most authentic version of herself.

At the age of 42, nursing was the only career she knew so she attended a career planning workshop to figure out her next steps in life. After three days of aptitude and personality tests, she was handed a paper that had “Heavy Equipment Operator” in large, bold letters. “I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair,” Tuccaro said. “I didn’t even like equipment, I was not mechanically inclined, and I considered that a man’s job. I told the woman that her test was wrong.” However, the woman looked back at her and sternly said, “if you believe in yourself a little bit, you will see the test is right!”
 
From there, Tuccaro was sent to a non-profit organization, Women Building Futures, where ExxonMobil was sponsoring 16 women to take a 12-week Heavy Equipment Operator course. She was selected out of 170 applicants, hired by ExxonMobil in 2013, and now drives a 400-ton 797F Caterpillar Mining Truck, a 52,000-gallon water truck, and a 24M Grader. “I highly encourage women to try a career in the non-traditional trades,” she said. “It pays well, is super fun, and will challenge you to be your best self in every aspect of your life.”
 
Now 10 years sober, Tuccaro has written three books and travels the world working with women and youth in schools, juvenile homes, prisons, and communities. Additionally, she has won two awards for being an ambassador for women in the trades, has been featured in magazines, on radio shows, podcasts, and TV shows, and is a co-host on a radio show, Women Road Warriors, with Shelley Johnson on TNCRadio.Live.

Tuccaro’s experience with homelessness inspired her to start “Operation Hydration,” where she distributes water to the homeless during the hottest months of the year in the cities where she’s traveling. She also started a work boot recycling program, donating gently used boots and hard hats to programs that assist people in need who are pursuing a job in the trades. This initiative has led her to distribute more than 7,000 pairs of boots to the communities in Alberta, Canada.


When asked about her advice to other women, Tuccaro said, “to anyone out there who is craving change, start by changing the story you are telling yourself. You must believe in the person you want to become, then work every day to reach your goals. You won’t regret the efforts put into building a new and better you. If I can do it, so can you!”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Raquel Sanchez as its November 2022 Member of the Month. Sanchez is a feeder driver for United Parcel Service (UPS).

When Sanchez joined the Army National Guard in 2011, she was offered the opportunity to drive a truck. Inspired by her father, Jim Sanchez, who has been a driver for UPS for more than 38 years, she realized her love for being behind the wheel. Sanchez left the military after eight years and continued doing various jobs, however, never felt completely satisfied in her work. 

Following the passion she found for driving trucks, Sanchez began her career at UPS in August 2019 as a part-time employee and loaded packages on to delivery trucks. Progressing quickly, she became a delivery driver, and eventually began driving a semi-truck for UPS in February 2022. 

Most recently, Sanchez and her father made history by being the first father and daughter long-haul team on the West Coast. “As someone who is just starting their career, I feel blessed to have my dad by my side as a mentor,” said Sanchez. “In 1997, my dad was on the first experimental UPS sleeper team when I was just seven years old. Who would have thought I would be his partner all these years later?”

Since long-haul driving is a mostly sedentary job, Sanchez believes in the importance of staying healthy and focuses on nutritious foods to stay energized behind the wheel. Additionally, when she is not driving, she makes it a priority to spend time in the gym, saying, “staying healthy allows me to keep moving packages from one destination to the next and I know I am doing my part to move the world forward by delivering what matters.”

Sanchez feels a sense of accomplishment driving a truck and encourages other women to pursue a career in this industry, saying, “more than 70 percent of goods and services are delivered by trucks and being able to deliver loads on time gives you a sense of self-importance and value and I feel proud of the work I do after completing my last stop of the day.”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Jessica Olsen as its October 2022 Member of the Month. Olsen is professional driver for SRS Distribution.

Olsen was introduced to the world of trucking when she worked as a truck stop waitress. She wondered if a professional driving career would be a good fit and regularly questioned drivers coming through about their careers and what it takes to be successful in the transportation industry. However, after becoming a single mother, she had to pause her efforts to follow this career path.

Like many restaurant workers in 2020, Olsen was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With continued encouragement from her customers, she used the stimulus money she received to go to trucking school and obtained her CDL.

Open to embracing new experiences, she looked for opportunities in her area that would give her experience behind the wheel. She accepted a position at ABC Supply driving a boom truck. While at the company, she also learned how to operate a crane and became National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) certified.

“I stumbled upon crane operation simply because my previous employer was at the top of an alphabetical list,” said Olsen. “I had no idea what I was getting into or how much fun I would end up having. Operating a crane is like stepping into the shoes of a much larger and more powerful being and each job site is a puzzle to solve. I truly enjoy going to work every day and 18 months later, that magic still hasn’t worn off.”

In May of 2022, Olsen began her career at SRS Distribution as a professional driver and Logistics Specialist II boom driver and operator. She is known for consistently delivering materials in a safe and efficient manner. Additionally, she has built a reputation within her company of having a positive attitude and many of her coworkers say she is a pleasure to work with.

Olsen encourages other women to pursue a career in the industry and to not get discouraged. "Don’t be afraid to go after an intimidating specialty and always be confident in your own abilities.”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Haleigh Fickett as its September 2022 Member of the Month. Fickett has been a transport driver for R.H. Foster Energy for a little more than four years.
 
Following in several family member’s footsteps, Fickett’s professional driving career started at a young age. She attended a local technical school and in an effort to gain a better understanding of the trucking industry, she entered the CDL program. Within a few weeks of joining the class and getting some time behind the wheel of a truck, she fell in love with it and knew she had found where she belonged.
 
Fickett has held a CDL for eight years but has only been actively driving for about five years due to difficulties getting hired at a young age with no experience. After obtaining her Class A CDL at the age of 17, she spent a few years working on local farms and other jobs, while constantly applying for different professional driver openings. At the age of 20, she took a position working for the Maine Department of Transportation, which allowed her to get some experience driving plow trucks and other equipment involved in road maintenance.
 
Fickett is always up for a new challenge and jumped at the opportunity the following summer to begin her career at R.H. Foster Energy, obtain her hazmat, and start learning how to haul fuel. Although this decision was a huge step for her, as she never planned to haul hazmat, she believes it has been the best career decision she could have ever made and considers it to be one of the most enjoyable jobs she could ask for.
 
“Hauling fuel is a unique branch of the trucking industry, but one I find very exciting,” said Fickett. “It takes a lot of focus and caution to work with hazardous materials, but it comes with incredible benefits, such as being able to deliver to different locations every day and practicing driving skills in various situations that arise with delivering to public spaces. Local jobs like mine are a great option for women, such as myself, who love the trucking industry, but enjoy the option to be home every night.”
 
This past May, Fickett had the privilege to compete in the Maine Truck Driving Championship, competing against some of the top tanker drivers in the state and ultimately taking first place in the tanker division. As a result, she qualified for the National Truck Driving Championship and was able to compete against the top tanker drivers from across the U.S.
 
“If I could give any advice to other women interested in the trucking industry, it would simply be to never underestimate yourself,” Fickett said. “I was nervous when I was getting started in my current position because it is a very physically demanding job, but I have proven time and time again that if I truly put my mind to it, anything is possible.”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Maria Rodriguez as its August 2022 Member of the Month. Maria is a professional driver.

As a longtime restaurant worker who was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria was seeking stable employment when her boyfriend, who was also in pursuing a career in transportation, convinced her to give trucking school a try. Being a mother of a 4-year-old son, she needed a job to provide for her family while being close to home. She attended the New England Tractor Trailer Training School (NETTTS) and knew it was the right career path.

With a consistent schedule, she appreciates being able to be home before her son finishes school. “I think I’m unique because I’m a mother and I am still able to go to work as a truck driver. It’s very rewarding to have a stable income and be able to come home to my son,” she said.

Additionally, Maria is a trainee in the Biden administration’s Trucking Action Plan’s extended 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge, which is focused on attracting and retaining talent within the transportation industry. Earlier this year, she was chosen to participate in a special White House event for the program, allowing her to make a speech about her journey to truck driving and then introduce the President of the United States, Joe Biden. The attendees of this event included freight executives, including WIT President and CEO Ellen Voie, truck drivers, and senior officials.

As a first-generation immigrant from Venezuela, Maria is proud to be an advocate and uses her voice to encourage other minorities, including other females and Latinas, to pursue a career in the transportation industry.

“Women are capable of getting into trucking, they just need to take the first step and enroll,” Maria says. “There are plenty of opportunities where you can go over the road or, if you’re a mother like myself, there are local routes where you are home daily.”

The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Nona Larson as its July 2022 Member of the Month. Nona is the Director of Customer Experience at PACCAR Parts, a division of PACCAR, Inc. Nona was also a 2022 Top Woman to Watch in Transportation.

Since Nona was a kid, she has always wanted to know how things work. She grew up playing with Tonka trucks and working on cars with her dad. It was a source of confidence for her to know how to fix her car. Nona’s desire to understand how things work led her to engineering.

Nona majored in chemical engineering and started her career in the aerospace industry. She made the switch to the trucking industry when a friend called her about an opportunity at PACCAR’s Technical Center. Nona is proud of her ability to identify talent in technical areas and help women establish themselves in their career of choice. After making the move to PACCAR, Nona realized she could make a real difference in encouraging women as they advanced in their careers.

“I strongly believe in the power of team building and bringing people together with diverse backgrounds. It’s important to avoid stereotypes when building a team so that you create opportunities for non-traditional workers, which contributes to better collaboration and results.”

Nona has had an exciting career in engineering leadership roles and advocates for women entering the transportation industry, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and management roles.

“I can relate to women beginning or growing their careers in the transportation industry. Helping women find a path to meet their ambitions is an area I care strongly about. There are so many opportunities for women in the trucking industry and it’s very gratifying to see so many women making their mark in this business.”

Nona’s husband is also an engineer and their son followed in his parent’s footsteps. A few years ago, they had a fun family project, rebuilding her son’s 1977 Datsun 280 Z sports car. Nona’s specialty is paint and corrosion and they converted the garage into a paint booth. And because many of the parts are no longer available, they put their engineering skills to the test and made their own to complete the restoration.

When Nona isn’t working on projects, she’s playing music. She sings and plays the piano, saxophone, guitar, and other string instruments.

Nona’s advice to other women is to be true to yourself. “You can only be one person 24/7 and that is yourself. You can put on a suit or change your style for a presentation, but it’s important to always remain true to yourself.”