ARLINGTON, Va. — The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has selected 18 emerging transportation leaders for the 2026 TCA Elevate Young Leadership Program.
Built to cultivate the next generation of industry leadership, Elevate provides participants with opportunities to build industry knowledge, strengthen leadership skills and form lasting connections with peers and industry mentors.
The class will be formally introduced during TCA’s Annual Convention, set for February 28-March 3 in Orlando, Florida.
“Elevate has quickly become an important platform for developing and connecting the next generation of trucking leaders,” said Zander Gambill, TCA’s vice president. “The program continues to grow in both reach and impact, offering participants valuable access to industry insights, leadership development and peer-to-peer connections that support long-term career success.”
The Class of 2026 includes professionals from TCA carrier and associate member companies:
- Tyler Atkinson, vice president-customer relations, Northern Logistics
- Riley Braegger, vice president-operations, Tramcor Corp.
- Liam Conroy, transportation specialist, TrueNorth Companies LC
- Megan Eddy, human resource generalist, America’s Service Line
- Andrew Hummer, vice president-operations, Don Hummer Trucking Corp.
- Jerrit Judie, recruiting supervisor, National Carriers Inc.
- Toni Jones, senior vice president/chief brokering officer, Alliant Insurance Services
- Marc Leggio, vice president-operations, Greater Omaha Express
- Tim Livingstone, manager-fleet, facility and fuel, Kriska Transportation Group
- Lee Meier, marketing manager, CAT Scale Co.
- Kurt Plummer, president/owner, Logisticize
- Michael Reed, partner, Scopelitis Law Firm
- Ben Rima, sales executive, Cottingham & Butler
- Kaedon Steinert, operations manager, Hurricane Express
- Julie Strokos, sales team lead, Tenstreet
- Ty Walker, COO/director of finance, Stokes Trucking LLC
- Mark Wnuk, director-trailer maintenance, Landstar Transportation Logistics Inc.
- Cristina Ungureanu, safety manager, KPO Logistics Inc.
The TCA Elevate Young Leadership Program includes a mix of in-person meetings, assigned projects, educational programming and virtual sessions throughout 2026.
For more information about TCA’s Elevate program, contact Erica Bledsoe at 571-444-0314 or [email protected].
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
