Women of Trucking Advisory Board to have first meeting Nov. 9

Next month, the Women of Trucking Advisory Board will have its first formal opportunity to inform the FMCSA about the challenges females face in the industry.

The group’s first meeting will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

Congress mandated the creation of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board in the 2021 infrastructure law. The board will make recommendations to the FMCSA on how to recruit and retain more females in the industry.

“Women are significantly underrepresented in the trucking industry, holding only 24% of all transportation jobs,” FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson said in a news release. “We anticipate many great ideas from the advisory board that will help expand equity and safely provide access to careers in trucking for women across the industry.”

Meeting agenda

The first meeting will cover the following topics:

• An ethics briefing for the board members.
• A report by FMCSA’s Office of Research on the results of a study regarding female truck drivers and their safety.
• Other speakers will share insights on the importance of the board’s establishment.
• An opportunity for public participation.

How to attend

Advance registration is required. Requests for accommodations for a disability must be received by Nov. 2. Requests to submit written materials for consideration during the meeting also must be received no later than Nov. 2.

Registration can be completed by going to FMCSA.dot.gov/wotab.

The board

FMCSA announced the board’s first 16 members in August.

• Anne Balay, organizer with the Service Employees International Union.
• Jerri Banks, owner of Life on the Road Recruiting and Transportation Services.
• Elisabeth Barna, executive vice president of American Trucking Associations.
• Joyce Brenny, founder and president of Brenny Transportation and Brenny Specialized.
• Enjoli DeGrasse, International Brotherhood of Teamsters deputy director.
• Marie Druckenmiller, Amazon director of transportation.
• Erin Ducharme, H&L Bloom and Bloom’s Bus Lines chief financial officer.
• Laura Duryea, Boyle Transportation manager of recruiting, retention and driver development.
• Marquita Jones, J.B. Hunt intermodal driver.
• Kellylynn McLaughlin, Schneider National driver.
• Dianne McNair-Smith, 3 Girls Trucking Academy chief executive officer.
• Sharae Moore, SHE Trucking Foundation founder and president.
• O’Sheauna Parker, truck driver.
• Emily Plummer, Prime driver.
• Soledad Munoz Smith, Munoz Trucking vice president of operations.
• Nicole Ward, African American Women in Trucking Association co-founder.

More information about each of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board members can be found here. LL