Board of Directors

Natalie Jassopadilla has been a trucker for 12 years. She began her trucking career in 2010, driving solo in Los Angeles hauling intermodal. She later decided to team drive with her husband and the couple became owner-operators in 2019. Her experience is in dry van, intermodal, reefer, tankers, and hazmat. In 2021 Natalie was diagnosed with mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma and today is proudly in remission. Her mentality is "if I can I do it you can do it too." Being a cancer survivor has not slowed Jassopadilla down. She shares her experience on the road, life, and driving with your family and a few fur babies on TikTok as SpicyTrucker.

Michelle Kitchin started her truck driving career in 1988. Over the years, she’s been a trainer and an Independent Owner Operator pulling a straight bore chemical tanker, a flatbed, Michigan train, dry van and a dry bulk tanker. Currently, she’ a company driver commanding the wheel of a 2022 Kenworth T680 NextGen. She pulls office furniture and pharmaceuticals from Michigan to California and then pulls produce on the return trip to Michigan. Her advocacy runs deep. She remembers when she was the only female in a mega fleet and the criticism, coercion, discrimination, harassment she faced. Undeterred by these experiences, she took it upon herself to get educated and now with years of experience, she’s an industry expert. Michelle is proficient in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association Rules & Regulations, provides actionable items that will result in a safer work environment, and a leading equipment troubleshooter.

Tracy Ellis started her career as an over-the-road trucker. Having faced many obstacles in her life and her driving career, including losing her truck when she was very close to having it paid off, never the less, Tracy persisted. Since 2001, Tracy has been a port driver in Long Beach, California. Today she has a union job that is stable with a guaranteed paycheck and healthcare benefits. She’s experienced firsthand the issue of being a misclassified worker and being treated as an independent contractor for the benefit of the company. She is one of the drivers affected by the California Clean Truck program at the Port of LA that pushed lease trucks on workers. Tracy realizes the importance a union and how it helped extract her from what she deemed a hopeless situation. A union contract is the “great equalizer” as a woman of color, she is guaranteed equal pay and treatment to her male counterparts. She’s now an organizer and fights so others can have the same rights as she does. In 2017 Tracy was elected Shop Steward. An advocate and activist, Tracy has marched on both Los Angeles and Long Beach City Halls (despite having an injured foot and asthma). On numerous occasions, she’s spoken to the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners defending the rights of drivers She considers herself a unity coordinator and a personwho can navigate different genders and ethnic groups more easily than most men. “As a woman of color, I have even more opportunity to unify my coworkers. Without unity, nothing can move forward or change.” In 2018 Tracy was honored with a Trucking Industry Trailblazer Award. She is a dedicated mother to three grown children, one of whom was born with cerebral palsy.

Debbie Desiderato is the owner of Walkabout Transport, a certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB). From trucking safety manager in the 90s to her sixth truck purchase in 2021, Debbie has held her motor carrier authority since 2002 and has made her career in the trucking industry. She’s operated car haulers, reefers, flatbeds and is currently hauling dry van freight over the road and logging in her local community of South Western Virginia. Debbie’s vast experience is often called upon by her peers. Her goal is to help level the playing field for owner-operators and small independent carriers amongst the myriad of federal regulations, the tactics of the mega carriers to drive small carriers out of business, and to keep all of the many hands out of the pockets of America’s hard-working truck drivers. Debbie’s role is that of a big voice for small trucking companies and independent owners and operators who are often taken advantage of and under-represented. Affiliations: ● REAL Women in Trucking since 2012 ● OOIDA member since 2002 ● National Association of Small Business Trucking Companies (NASTC) since 2015 Accomplishments: ● 2016 created the Truck Parking App “Truckr Notes” ● 2017 Appeared in film “Autonomy” ● 2018 Transportation Service Provider (TSP) for FEMA ● 2019 Driver of the Year (NASTC) ● 2020 Industry Trailblazer (RWIT) ● 2021 MCSAC Driver Subcommittee member

She represents the promise of the new generation of 'non-traditional’ entrants in the transportation sector. As a cultural immigrant, having recently left the professional sector, she had to find ways to overcome the barriers which present themselves to women drivers who don’t conform to the ingrained expectation of what a trucker should be. When told by her instructor in trucking school, that she just needed to give up because she was not getting the hang of things quick enough, she advocated for herself, saying ‘I’ve been around me all my life. This is not insurmountable’ and negotiated more instruction time for herself. She demonstrated the same resilience when, during Q2 of 2020, during one the worst down turns in the industry she bought her first truck. It was a gutsy, contrarian move. After a few difficult months, she found her footing, with the help of mentors and her own ability to negotiate with shipping customers. She comes from a professional and faith culture that actively incorporates mentoring. Just as she proactively sought mentoring going into trucking, she continues to pass it on, finding ways to help other aspiring owner ops.

Sonja Tucci is a 28 year veteran of the trucking industry. She’s experienced driving a tanker, a refer, a dry van and flat bed. For the past 16 years she’s been training new drivers to the industry. Sonja joined REAL Women in Trucking in 2018. She was inspired to be part of the organization She’s proud to state that safety and keeping integrity in the trucking industry will always be her first priority.

Idella Hansen married into a family whose business was a Union 76 bulk fuel plant and began her driving career in the 1960s. She later moved to Arkansas with her husband where they had a garage and a wrecking yard. They bought a cab over with a flatbed, but an equipment issue caused her husband a fall resulting in a broken neck. Idella suddenly became the primary income earner and eventually a single mother. Overcoming many obstacles throughout her career, Idella currently runs teams with her grandson hauling high-security freight throughout the lower 48 states and Canada. Idella joined REAL Women in Trucking because she felt strongly that giving back to young women entering the industry was of the utmost importance. With over 50 years of experience driving a big rig, she knows first-hand what it takes to be successful. Recognized as a top driver in the industry, she’s proud to share her knowledge with the next generation of female (and male!) drivers. In 2017 Idella was named a TA/Petro Citizen Driver of the Year and the North Little Rock, Arkansas Petro location was renamed in her honor. The same year, she also received the Trucking Industry Trailblazer award. Idella serves on the Board of Directors for Truckers Emergency Assistance Responders (T.E.A.R.)

Michelle Scolari started driving in 1977 and was named a Queen of the road in 2019 which has brought her many more women to help support and to support her too. She runs a regional route for Wanship Enterprises. Running a reefer from Utah to Southern California with occasional other west coast places. Her area of expertise is in bumping as many docks as she can in a 3-day trip. Michelle really likes backing and showing off. However, she is too much of a perfectionist and needs to be absolutely straight. Michelle loves to help others learn and grow in this industry. She has made so many friends that she knows she has truly been blessed in this industry. Michelle can do some of her own repairs because she dislikes waiting on a repair truck.