Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow: Celebrating WeDriveU’s First Aspiring Leaders Cohort

Nine employees from across the country are building their leadership skills, learning from mentors and helping shape the future of WeDriveU.

Leadership isn’t defined by a title. It begins with how someone shows up, supports others, responds to challenges and looks for opportunities to make a difference.

That belief is at the heart of WeDriveU’s Aspiring Leaders program, and we’re proud to congratulate the nine employees who completed its inaugural cohort.

Meet the Inaugural Cohort

The first Aspiring Leaders cohort brought together nine employees representing a range of roles, experiences and locations across WeDriveU:

• Tiuna Douglas — Route Supervisor, Hallandale Beach, Florida
• Ricky Fair — Safety & Training Supervisor, Austin, Texas
• Tawnya Rice — Operations Manager, St. Louis, Missouri
• Juanita Thompson — Administrative Assistant, Durham, North Carolina
• Salem Graham — Road Supervisor, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Larrilyn Fernandez — Lead Driver, Austin, Texas
• Tiffany Brown — Operations Manager, St. Louis, Missouri
• Crystal Herbert — Road Supervisor, Bismarck, North Dakota
• Joshua Hernandez — Dispatcher, Hyde Park, Massachusetts

While their responsibilities and career journeys differ, the cohort shares a commitment to learning, collaboration and continued growth. Their participation also highlights the leadership potential that exists throughout WeDriveU, across frontline teams and operational roles as well as other areas of the business.

Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow.

The Aspiring Leaders program was created to help employees build the skills, confidence and perspective they need to prepare for future leadership opportunities. During the experience, participants worked through leadership development sessions and learning modules while being paired one-on-one with mentors from across WeDriveU, including leaders in operations, payroll and our People team.

The program is about more than completing courses. Participants were challenged to think about the kind of leaders they want to become and how to apply what they learn in their current roles, starting today.

“This first cohort represents what workforce development should look like: recognizing potential, investing in our people and giving employees meaningful opportunities to prepare for what comes next,” said Tori Young, Learning and Development specialist and cohort co-lead. “Each participant brings a different story and perspective, but they all share a commitment to growing and contributing to WeDriveU’s future.”

Their Stories Take Center Stage

As part of the experience, each participant delivered a capstone presentation sharing key takeaways from the program, insights from their mentorship and how the experience has shaped their approach to leadership. They also explained how they plan to put what they’ve learned to work as they continue building their careers with us.

Following the presentations, participants continued their development through individual leadership coaching and personalized action plans. The cohort will reunite in January for a final session celebrating their progress and the completion of the program. This session will be a time to celebrate, encourage continuous collaboration as a cohort, and continue leadership development.

Building the path forward

As WeDriveU’s first Aspiring Leaders cohort, these nine employees did more than take part in a new program. They helped establish its foundation and created a path for future employees to follow.

An organization’s future depends on how it supports the people already helping it succeed. Our first cohort shows what’s possible when talent is recognized, potential is nurtured and employees are given room to grow.

Tiuna, Ricky, Tawnya, Juanita, Salem, Larrilyn, Tiffany, Crystal and Joshua: congratulations on leading the way. We can’t wait to see where you go next.