Women of Trucking Advisory Board sets date for final meeting

October 11, 2023

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Later this month, the Women of Trucking Advisory Board will hold its final meeting before submitting recommendations to FMCSA on how to recruit and retain more females in the industry.

The meeting will be held virtually from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 26. The final meeting of the full board will cover the following topic:

Examining ways in which trucking companies, nonprofit organizations, training and education providers and trucking associations may coordinate functions to facilitate support for women pursuing careers in trucking.

In addition to discussion from the board, the meeting also will include presentations by “agency experts and those in the field under discussion.”

Public participation is encouraged, with time for oral comments set aside at each meeting. Those wishing to make a comment are asked to submit a written copy of their remarks for “inclusion in the meeting records and for circulation to WOTAB members.” The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said all prepared remarks that are submitted on time will be accepted and considered as part of the record.

To attend the meeting, you will need to register in advance by Oct. 21.

During its Aug. 14 meeting, it was announced the 15-person board will be thinned down to six for a “Final Report Committee,” which will compile the recommendations from all previous meetings and prepare the board’s final report for FMCSA.

Members of the Final Report Committee will include:

Joyce Sauer Brenny, founder and president, Brenny Transportation, Inc. and Brenny Specialized, Inc.
Dianne McNair-Smith, CEO, 3 Girls Trucking Academy
Kellylynn McLaughlin, professional driver, Clean Harbors, Inc.
Sharae Moore, founder/president, SHE Trucking Foundation
Nicole Ward, co-founder, African American Women in Trucking Association
Soledad Munoz Smith, vice president of operations, Munoz Trucking

Mandated by Congress as part of the 2021 infrastructure law, the Women of Trucking Advisory Board is tasked by FMCSA to “review and report on policies that provide education, training, mentorship and outreach to women in the trucking industry and identify barriers and industry trends that directly or indirectly discourage women from pursuing and retaining careers in trucking.”

The board’s statutes dictate the final report be filed within two years of that law being enacted, putting the deadline in November 2023. LL