Debbie Sparks and Kellylynn McLaughlin
Debbie Sparks
Debbie is a passionate, dedicated executive with twenty years of marketing and operational leadership. She current serves as the Vice President, Women In Trucking Association, Inc., a nonprofit established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women in the industry.
Although she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in advertising and public relations from Loyola College, Debbie kicked off her career in sales, ranking top 2 percent of the company sales representatives nationwide in one of her first sales roles. Over the years, she accumulated expertise from a myriad of diverse positions and industries through her roles as director of marketing for IVC International, vice president and director of operations for C.G. Slogans Auctioneers, and product manager for Kinkos.
Debbie has been involved in the transportation industry for over two decades. She previously served as director of transportation and community outreach at Wreaths Across America, and served as vice president, business development, at the Truckload Carriers Association and as director of marketing for American Trucking Associations.
Kellylynn McLaughlin
Kellylynn McLaughlin is Women In Trucking Association’s first Driver Ambassador. In this role, she travels around the country educating those she meets about the importance of the transportation industry and shares some of the challenges drivers face within the industry. Kellylynn has a strong social media presence where she shares her experiences while out on the road, tips to help other drivers and the joys and advantages of being a professional truck driver. In addition, she is also a Professional OTR Driver and Training Engineer for Schneider. She has been a professional driver for over 6 years and operates dry van trailers. Kellylynn’s work schedule has her on the road anywhere from 6-21 days per month.
Before she got in the driver’s seat, Kellylynn received a degree from the Oklahoma State University, served in the Peace Corps, worked internationally for a non-for-profit organization and was a professional instructor in passenger safety. It was as the Director of Logistics at a high school marching band that she discovered she loved everything about driving a truck and the problem solving it entailed.
Kellylynn is passionate about the trucking industry and is a tireless advocate for professional drivers.
She serves on the FMCSA MCSAC Commercial Driver Panel, on the Advisory Council for Truckers Against Trafficking and was honored to be a finalist for the 2019 WIT Influential Woman in Trucking Award. Kellylynn is currently serving as a member of both the Central & North Texas Freight Advisory Committee and the North American Strategy for Competitiveness (NASCO).