From Setback to Solution: Nicole’s Journey and the Rise of AAWTA

In this episode, Lindsey talks with Nicole, founder of the African American Women Trucking Association (AAWTA).  Nicole transitioned from the insurance industry into trucking, where a failed 3-truck operation and $20,000 loss inspired her to create AAWTA. Now three years in, the organization supports truckers—especially those facing barriers to entry—through education, wellness, mentorship, and community building.

AAWTA recently launched its first Power Hub in Decatur, Georgia, in partnership with 160 Driving Academy, offering CDL and supply chain certification programs. They also run a six-week youth internship for ages 16–21, exposing participants to logistics, media, and mental health within the trucking ecosystem.

Nicole’s long-term vision is 50 Power Hubs in 50 states, especially in gentrifying areas, to promote job creation and leadership development. AAWTA offers membership tiers for both students and experienced drivers, access to an exclusive marketplace, and strong emphasis on mentorship and wellness. Nicole’s leadership was recently showcased through a Women in Leadership panel at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Learn more at www.aawta.org

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Transcript

Before we hit the road on today's discussion, I want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to some of our sponsors. So thank you to Next Gen trucking Partners. And those are Benny Keith Foods, Beyond Trucks, Christensen Transportation, Clean Harbors, DOT Transportation Drivers Legal Plan and Fastenal. Thank you for your support. Without your you, what we do couldn't be possible. Hey, welcome to NGT talks. I'm always excited, but today I'm especially excited to have my friend Nicole from the African American Women in Trucking association on today. And we got to see each other last week in real life, which was super fun. So Nicole, tell me about yourself and how in the world you got into this trucking industry, man. 

Well, first and foremost, I'm so happy to be here and to see your amazing face again. It's always great to share a platform with you. This isn't an easy venture as I go into how I started and fell into trucking accidentally. So I am the founder of African American Women Trucking Association, also known as AAWTA. We've been in existence for three years and I definitely fell into trucking by accident. I am great with math. And prior to trucking I was in another male dominant dominated industry, insurance. So I was climbing roofs whether it was commercial or residential. I started out that way, what we called in the field, doing inspections and man, that's definitely a boy's job. Especially 20 years ago when I started that. I know I'm dating myself. 

Especially when you're 25, I don't know how that happens, but anyways, and so, you know, I fell into trucking by accident, had an associate that had 20 trucks but with no process. And like insurance, trucking is very much like insurance. Heavily compliance, heavily regulated, boys club and a big industry that's been around for many years. And so having the opportunity to correct some of the wrongs that I saw in his particular business, it led me to believe, is this a thing? Are people really growing without being prepared? So they're growing to fail or they're failing forward without any support or recourse of how they can bounce back from that. And so it kind of gave me this amazing idea to. To jump into trucking, which was it. 

I love hanging with the boys and I thought this would be a good way to bring in some girl power. And yeah, fell into trucking by accident. That's the story. 

So when you got into trucking, what was your role? What, what did you do when you started off in the industry? 

So I was Handling originally back office, you know, which is just as important as to me as being a driver. Right. Cause you could be amazing driver. But if your back office, your paperwork, the business portion of your trucking company as a carrier isn't in place, you're going to fail. And so that's where I saw a lot of people, you know, struggling. I would say. I see people take pride in having their CDL and being a professional driver. But this is still a business. This is a trucking business. So you have to understand all aspects of the business. And I found that are our second and third generational drivers are so excited about being on the road that they sometimes were forgetting about the business aspect of it. Especially because technology has forced its way into trucking and forced us now to transition. 

Paper logs, AI me ae AI. You know, we have autonomous trucking. There's so many things that are in the trucking industry now that weren't 20 years ago that are just as important as being able to drive as a professional driver. 

Yeah, because that's the part that professional drivers, they're driven to. They want to, they want to drive. But then becoming an opener operator, they realize, well, they actually are running a business and it's important to do it well if you want to be successful. Right. So then you transition. I mean, you're still doing that today. 

I am. 

Right. And you decided to start this association. What made you want to start the African American women in trucking Association? 

Oh, I love this question. So watching people not fit, watching people not succeed or head in the direction that I felt they should be. Especially when you're talking about owning two to three, you know, semis. At this point in time, you have a business. So getting into the business of trucking, I'm like, man, I think I can do this, you know, and not just as compliance or back office support. I think I can be a carrier. I think I can have a small fleet. Let's do it. And so went into. We got as far as three trucks. So we had three trucks. My mother was my very first hire. I hired and fired her two or three times, but she's back on board. But I failed forward is what I tell people. I was failing. It looks so easy. 

Remember, I came from helping someone with their back office doing compliance. I must be fine when it comes to handling the logistics of my own business. Absolutely not. There's so many different areas and you cannot do trucking alone. And so I was into a new industry. Right. A male dominated industry that I just thought I Was man cooking with grease. Because I understood the back office, but there was so much more. There was brokers, there were dispatchers. Right. There was liability, there was. There was so many things that were going on and I couldn't understand any of it. I just thought hitting the truck and having a driver, which is my mom, you know, closest thing to being myself was the name of the game. So failing forward and miserably losing over $20,000 all in one month, that would typically sink someone. 

You know, that puts a financial strain on your business, on your personal finances. I mean, everything you own can take a hit for $20,000. And so that's what happened to me. I almost lost everything. And I talked about being in my first male dominated industry first, which was insurance. Well, that means I. I retired from the insurance industry. I put 20 something years into it, took everything I had and put into trucking, and almost lost it all. And so who was. I couldn't believe there wasn't a support system that could say, whoa, whoa, this is what happened to you. No, no. I got some resources. I didn't see it, I couldn't find it. And so I said, wow, this is impossible. I am first generation American. And so one of the reasons foreigners come to this country is for opportunity. 

I was told that America has opportunity and options. But then I was also told, even if they're not there, you have an opportunity to create them. Create opportunities and they will come. And so that's what I did. I was looking for a need because I was failing miserably. Right. But I knew that it was something that I was doing, but that there had to be some options. And I just created the option based off of my disparities. 

Well, and that's amazing because what you've built is amazing. And we met through both being on a panel at the mid America truck show. 

Yes. 

But before that, I think we met maybe at Matt's and when you exhibited. And so I happened to be in Atlanta last week and I got to come to your ribbon cutting. 

Thank you. 

And it was awesome. And I'm assuming that's where you're at right now. 

I am. 

The hub. Okay, so tell us about the hub and your vision for it within your community in Atlanta. 

Awesome. So when I talked about the vision of African American women trucking association. Right. Was to create a platform for individuals. It was for not just African American women, but minorities are women of color. Just to create that level of support. Well, fast forward. There's so much work to do. Okay, so it's just not about being a black woman or just being a woman of color. It's about being an individual. Right. And those individuals, as an individual, your circumstances, every sobody's circumstance is gonna, is going to vary. All right? And so we wanted to make sure that were able to cover that, making sure that we're focusing on individuals that are facing barriers to entry. Right. That was all it's about. So barriers to entry could because, you know, you're in a reentry program, second chance, right? 

Barriers to entry means maybe you can't afford to get into this industry, maybe you don't have access to technology. Whatever the case may be, whatever barrier is holding you back, we want to make sure that we provide an option. All right? So the goal is 50 locations and 50 states. Atlanta, Georgia being number one. As this is the home of ADA where we started, and we're able to provide resources and education right here at this facility that's going to help those individuals facing barriers. In addition to that, we wanted to add a health and wellness component. Something we don't talk about. In addition, it's so amazing to be in a driver. It's amazing to have your compliance and air all your ducks in a row, but without health, it's nothing. Your health is your wealth. And so we are fighting to ensure that. 

Not just to bring drivers on this side or making sure that you have a CD oil in your hand, but you're able to live long enough to tell your story. The amount of drivers that face high blood pressure, diabetes, and we just, we had an event in February at AAWTA and we had a state trooper talk about the amount of drivers they find in their trucks that have, that are unalived or passed away due to health related issues. Terrible. And we don't talk about it. Yeah, it's not talked about enough. So with that being said, it's like as an association, which you can understand, we have a due diligence. We are the front line. Before they even go to CDL school, they're trying to make a decision, Right. And the first thing is I need some support. 

I don't know anything about trucking. Can you help me? And so when they come to us with those questions, we got to be able to provide them and steer them in the right direction, but also provide them with something else that's padding what's next for them or providing resources for them to go or creating a pathway. And they don't just feel like they're coming into this industry and then being dumped off, no support is. 

One of the goals for you all is to train more drivers or people in general. What is your focus? 

Our focus is to make sure that we're able to definitely increase representation of drivers. Because they said we have a driver, we have issues with drivers. Right. And I think a lot of it has to do when it comes down to driver retention, has to do with education and resources. So we're able to provide the education and the resources and keep it centralized. Now, drivers don't feel by themselves. When I talk to them, they're like, okay, I've been driving for 20 years. I don't even know what's next. I'm just about to retire or get out of trucking. Why? God, you're the most valuable driver in the world. There's technology, man. They bleed your brain. Bleed your brain with everything that's going on. There's so much that can be done with that driver that's been sitting in the seat for 20 years. 

He has seen so much, he knows so much. Now what's next for. Well, we want you to come here to the power hub so we can help you. Whether that's getting a certification, whether that is networking, whether that is putting us with one of your counterparts or with the partnerships that we have built. And we're building partnerships that are going to allow these individuals that are coming here for education and resources to have an additional outlet besides being behind the wheel. 

Great. So it's really being that connecting point to a lot of areas within the industry and really just removing all the barriers. Right. And I loved when I was there, I got to meet your interns and tell me about your vision and having some interns come and work for you this summer. 

Awesome. So I have a son that's 24 years old. Amazing young man. But just like a lot of young people, not sure where they want to do what they want to do in life. You know, there's so many different options and just have a hard time making a decision on what would best and what would be next. And so Ada thought it would be great to really just try to spark the interest of the youth between the ages of 16 to 21 to get them to understand a little bit more about logistics, to understand more about supply chain and how important it is to their existence and ours. Right. And just the whole trucking field, give them an understanding of what truck drivers are, how we are the heartbeat of America. We ensure the doctor has the supplies. 

You know, how important is that job and if we can get our youth to understand the importance of the supply chain. And that is an option for them, not just behind the wheel, but using that brain that they have with technology and the resources and Google and the cell phone, if they can use all of the things that they have around them that they were born into, they could be rock stars in trucking and logistics. Yeah, man. 

They were what, like I met a 16 year old, like several 16 year olds. So this is a great opportunity. This is kind of like a summer internship for them, which most parents are like, I'm tired of my kid being at home. So you're giving them the opportunity to learn and be a part of something bigger. 

Yes. And they also get a certificate of completion for their acts of service, as we are a 501C3. Right. So we're able to provide them for their volunteer hours for their internship. So yeah, the parents are like, yes, take the kids. Feed them too while you're at it. 

Because they eat l, which is awesome. And you in your open house, you had food and you had a whole community of people there to support you. So now that the ribbon cutting is over, tell me, throughout the rest of the year, like, what do you see yourselves doing and how do you see yourselves growing? 

Awesome. So the what's next? Right now that we've done the private ribbon cutting second, we're actually going to do one for the public. We're not officially open. We opened our doors early so that we can facilitate these amazing young people and be a part of this program. Since we just moved to DeKalb, we thought it was important for our presence to be known and for what we're doing in the community. So what's next for us? We have just partnered recently with 160 driving academy to create our Driven Together partnership program. The Driven Together partnership program offers a two part CDL supply chain certification. So they're able to take part with the partnership with 160 Driving Academy, which has about 160 locations in the US five close to the power hub, which is really amazing, within 30 miles. 

So we're directing traffic to those particular areas. Yes, we're excited about that and we appreciate the relationship with 160. And then once they're able to get their CDL, they're able to get a certification in supply chain with auto. So we have coupled it with a two parter. You get to come out swinging. Especially for those that are looking into being entrepreneurs or owner operators and not to be a company driver. This is the program for them because they're not just learning the rules of the road, they're learning the rules and regulations of the supply chain of life, logistics, everything. Whether it's cdl, non cdl, dot compliance regulations, the list goes on. And so it puts them in a really great position to get out there and just win. 

And I love that. And so, and your interns are kind of helping you through that for these next few weeks. I think you had a six week internship for them. What are some of the things that they're learning and I'm sure, like, how did you get connected to them? And I'm. Did they know anything about trucking before they started? 

Well, good. I'm going to answer that backwards. Not one thing. So when it comes down to these amazing interns, they, you know, they're. The majority of them are in high school. We have a few that are in college. They had no idea about you trucking, which is why they picked it because they're like trucking. What? This sounds interesting. No, There was a ton of options available to them, but those are all traditional. Most of them have heard of going in to be a lawyer or a doctor or some of the traditional jobs. Right. But when somebody says, would you like to be a driver? A driver of what? A truck driver. That's not an occupation. You grow up deciding that you want to be as a kid, especially if you've never seen it. I'm first generational drivers. 

Most people in our industry are second, third, fourth, fifth. You know, their granddaddy, daddy was a, you know, was a driver. So to wake up and say you're going to be a truck driver is very unique. Furthermore, these young people have no idea. So when they see this as an option, they decided, how can I get involved? I know I don't want to be a driver, but what else can I do? Because I'm really great at media, which is what some of them do. I'm really great at, you know, sales. I'm really great at mental health and wellness. I'm really great at, you know, communications. And so we put them in one of those five areas based off of their skill set and allowing them to apply their skill set with trucking and transportation. 

So with sales, those individuals that feel very excited because they have that background in them, they're like, all right, now come learn at the auto way. Learn what it means to sell in a nonprofit environment. Meaning memberships, right? How do we connect with members? How do we make our business or our association more Attractive. So it gives them an opportunity to be super creative, get involved, and realize this is still trucking, even though it doesn't feel like it because you're not behind a road. This is trucking. And so I love this for them. Now go tell your friends that you can. You can do pr, public relations, you can do media, you can do content management, you can do, you know, all these things that you're going to college for and getting a degree right here in Truckee. And so that's. 

That's kind of what they've done. And we put this program together actually last year and we ran it online. And so as we had the hub, we made announcement to the community as we did that DeKalb county, which is the county that we're in, reached out and says, wow, we saw that you did something virtual last year, and you have a physical location. Are you interested in, you know, allowing young people, young adults to come to your facility and learn trucking and transportation, which is a huge deal in Georgia? This is one of the routes that. That our drivers are going through. It's heavily. There's a lot of truck stops and a lot of different regulations that are going through here with dot. And so they're like, we need it. I'm like, sure, let's do it. 

And so we opened the doors early because the cab asked us and said there was a need. And so, yeah, here we are. 

Okay. And you mentioned your vision is to open up 49 more power hubs. Tell what. What will that entail? What are those power hubs going to be and why did you have this vision? 

Yes. So 49 more locations and 49 areas that are facing like that are going through re. Gentrification. You know, I like to be in those particular areas because it causes a displacement. It also puts people in a position to try to figure out what do they have, what can they do, what are they going to do next? Right. As they're being displaced from the areas that they've grown up in generationally now, this gives them an option. So I want to put the power hubs in as many areas as possible, and we'll just go with 49 more for now. And I want to put my leaders, I have a ton of leaders that are scattered all over the United States that are die hard honors, and I want to put them in a position. 

I want the power hub to be able to create jobs internally and create jobs externally. So now that we have these locations, we now can hire people, put them in a position to Help others gain a skill, put them in a position to. To help the community and so on. Right. And then, you know, that's the internal aspect and external. Help the community, bring more drivers in, bring more support in, create more certifications, create more professionals and provide them with regulations that hopefully go across the board that we all associations can align on. Because it's important. There's a certain areas that are just the wild west. And if we can get a hold of it before somebody else does and put regulations in place that we do not agree with, then, you know, that's what I foresee. 

So my goal is to continue to create these locations so that we can invoke change and create community jobs. 

I love that. And I think that it's so important to make sure that trucking is represented and for you to have the vision to go into these areas where regentrification is happening and it's. And it is rampant. Right. How can you go in and help remove barriers for people maybe coming into trucking that didn't know anything about the industry? But we know that our jobs are good jobs, they pay well. But you're coming in with the education factor and the connecting partnership factor to help them get on a road to success, which is incredible. And I love your vision. Do you have in mind of the next place where you're thinking of opening up your power hub? 

Yes, ma', am, I do. My wonderful friend, Lindsay. I am. I like to consider myself the Martin Luther King of our industry. Right. I just wake up and have dreams. I've been told I'm crazy 150 times and then I get a pat on the back when it works. Right. And so the answer is yes, I have a pathway, a roadmap of what ADA will go within the next two, three to five years. And so everybody will just have to watch and see as our journey continues and by all means, we will be making a big deal. 

That is great. And you have an incredible board of directors. How did you form your board and how did you identify some of these ladies? That would be great to add to your board. 

I just want to say I really appreciate our board. I want to thank them for making the hard decisions. Sometimes the leader can't myself. Right. Because I have so much that I'm going on. They care so much about what's next for Ada and they came out of being members. I weren't friends with any of these people. I didn't know any of these people. Before trucking, these women came out of the woodworks as members. And I know that's odd. Most people are like, oh no, this is my friend. This is my. I knew two years ago. I never met these women in my life. 

They're incredible. I've met several. 

They're awesome, die hard Otters. Very, very amazing, impressive women that were just amazing members of the community that really care a lot about our industry and they see which is important. And you can attest to this as leaders, we can't just talk the talk, right? We have to physically get in the mud. And we don't sleep a lot. People don't understand. We wash windows and we back up regulations all at the same time. Ammo march if you want us to, for advocacy. We do it all. And with them seeing the growth of where ADA was, they're like, how can we help? Which is what we need more of. We need more women and community to say, how can they help us? Right? And so that's what these women were doing. How can I help? How can I get in the dirt? 

Get in the mud in a selfless way and help our industry? That was it. That was the start. Great. 

So where can people find you? Is there a way to join? Is there a certain type of person or company or school that joins your association? Tell us how we can connect and partner with you. 

Awesome. So you can always reach out to ADA. Ww.aawta.org All right, and then we are aawta.org across support on social media. We keep our name pretty consistent. And so since the name is so long, we pronounce it Otter. All right, so that's a awta. And even if you put that in, by all means, we're coming up. All right, so when you see the name Otter, think about African American Women Trucking association. And that's how you're able to find us on all social media platforms. And yeah, we are. We're. We're on every. We're connected. We're always online. We have quite a bit of events. We have the location here in Decatur. Decatur, Georgia. You're always welcome to come in. The doors are open. We're here Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Come in and grab some coffee. We have snacks and waters. 

And come meet the interns. Come meet me. Come learn more about ada. Come sign up. The memberships are for students, all right? Individuals that are looking to be a part of trucking logistics. We have a membership just for you, whether that's providing you a discount for your certain expert certification or putting you on the road. To become a CDL driver. All right. With our. With our course that we have. And we're looking for what I call the OGs of trucking, man, where you just feel like you've hit the wall, you've done it all, you've seen it all, and why not try this? Right? This is one of those. We love the OGs. We're here to provide you resources for what's next, for what's. What you have going on currently here to support you. 

We have our marketplace that the OGs tend to take advantage of, where it has a lot of products and services that are exclusive to our auto members. So, yeah, so it's. It's there for our students and our OGs, and then partnerships. Any partners that are willing, like Lindsey. Lindsey is one of our partners. We partner. I believe there's strength in number. As long as you're in trucking logistics, by all means, you can be a partner. You can own a gas station if you are willing to provide drivers with coffee. Right. 25% off or whatever the case may be with coffee, you can be a partner. You're showing that you care. You want to give back. You want to be a resource to our industry. Those are the people that we want as partners. Everybody that's here to give back. 

Yes. And any memberships just goes to support you, all your mission and what you're trying to build and how you're trying to help the industry. And Nicole is amazing. How can somebody reach you, Nicole? 

Well, I would love. I love, love. Mentoring, mentorship, and leadership are some of my heartstrings. So if you're a leader or you want to be a leader or you're an upcoming leader, man, by all means, please reach out to me. I have leadership training. I do a lot of mentoring with upcoming leaders. All right, so I could be reached@nicoleaawta.org that's Nicole. All right. Again, that's N I C O L W aawta.org and by all means, reach out to me. Upcoming leaders, current leaders, individuals facing barriers. Founders. When I tell you as founders, we sometimes don't have anyone to talk to, and people don't understand the things that we go through. I mentor two founders. I won't say their names because I have. I'm on an NDA with them, but they're major in our industry. Right. 

And I mentor these founders because we need that support. We need to talk about what's next. I don't gatekeep. I don't believe in that. I believe that the minute that we merge, which is why we shared a stage together, Lindsey, at the Mid America Trucking show, which was incredible. For those that you that didn't see it, by all means, please go to Matt's their website. You'll have an opportunity to see Lindsay, myself, a couple of members for Women in Trucking and Truck Stop, where we did the women in leadership panel, first ever. 

It was awesome. It was so fun. 

You were incredible, man. You're. You're a firehouse. So, yep, that's how you can find me. And yeah, here to support leaders. Love my leaders. 

And I'm thinking that we're going to hopefully get to do that again next year. The panel at MAT. So come to MAT and come to our panel next March of 2026. But until then, reach out to the African American Women in Trucking Association or AAWTA and see all the awesome things that they are doing to make our industry better and to invest in removing barriers. Invest in the next generation, invest in health and wellness. Thank you for all you do and for your vision and for your goals to really help make communities better and help make trucking better. Nicole, thank you for being on the show and we'll catch you soon. 

You're awesome and amazing. Thank you for having us, Lindsey.