CJ Logistics America manager Joan Nabukeera spotlights women’s leadership in transportation

Joan Nabukeera, a senior manager at CJ Logistics America in Des Plaines, Illinois, is being profiled for her rise through trucking and transportation leadership and her push to advance women in the industry. Her story centers on hands-on operations, mentorship and a career path shaped by social work, resilience and advocacy.

Why it matters: - Joan Nabukeera’s career shows how operational leadership in transportation can open paths to senior management and long-term advancement. - Her profile also highlights the continuing need to build stronger leadership pipelines for women in a male-dominated industry. - Nabukeera says confidence, mentorship and visible opportunities can help more women move into executive roles.

What happened: - Influential Women published a profile of Joan Nabukeera, a Senior Manager at CJ Logistics America based in Des Plaines, Illinois. - The profile presents Nabukeera as a logistics professional with more than a decade of experience in trucking and transportation. - Nabukeera has spent the past six years moving through leadership roles in fleet operations, team coordination and transportation performance. - Her career path began in social work, where she earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Augustine College before moving into transportation. - Nabukeera started in the industry as a dispatcher and later advanced to Dispatch Manager and Fleet Manager.

The details: - Nabukeera’s current role focuses on keeping delivery operations efficient and dependable from planning through execution. - Her leadership style is hands-on and centered on daily fleet operations, not distance management. - Nabukeera says integrity and follow-through are essential in transportation because reliability affects safety and customer trust. - She credits her social work background with strengthening her empathy, interpersonal skills and ability to support the people she leads. - Nabukeera describes herself as both a strategist and a source of support for drivers. - She says strong operations depend on both systems and the people who execute them. - Nabukeera has taken on leadership in a traditionally male-dominated field by building confidence, resilience and adaptability. - She believes women in leadership are often judged more harshly and must meet higher expectations. - Nabukeera says her progress has come from persistence, continuous improvement and self-confidence. - One pivotal career moment came when mentor Jessica Winters promoted Nabukeera from dispatcher to manager and later told her, “There is no more room for you to grow here.” - Nabukeera says that advice pushed her to keep seeking roles that matched her potential instead of staying where she was comfortable. - She recalls telling a new boss, Doug, “I’m going to run it,” when he questioned how the transportation division would be built. - Nabukeera says she now leads that division. - She is aiming for the C-suite and says her confidence has grown through experience and mentorship. - Nabukeera serves as a Women in Leadership Advisory Member through Valparaiso University. - She also stays involved with Women in Trucking and connects with women leaders across the industry. - Her core leadership values are integrity, connection and family. - Nabukeera says integrity is a safety issue because every commitment affects her reputation and the trust others place in her. - She says connection matters through mentoring interns, collaborating with colleagues and building relationships that help people rise. - Nabukeera says her family helps her recharge after the demands of transportation work. - Her community involvement includes supporting women in domestic abuse shelters. - The profile includes a link to Joan Nabukeera’s Influential Women profile.

Between the lines: - The profile frames Nabukeera’s rise as a mix of operational competence and people-first leadership, a combination often valued in logistics but not always highlighted in industry spotlights. - Her mentor’s blunt career advice underscores a common challenge in corporate advancement: growth can require leaving a role that already feels successful. - The emphasis on women supporting women points to a broader strategy for inclusion in transportation, where visibility and networking can affect access to senior roles.

What’s next: - Nabukeera says she plans to keep building toward executive leadership while mentoring future leaders in transportation. - Her advocacy work suggests continued involvement in organizations that promote women’s advancement and industry inclusion. - The profile positions her career as part of a broader push to make transportation leadership more diverse and representative.

The bottom line: - Joan Nabukeera’s profile is a case study in how hands-on operations, mentorship and self-advocacy can propel women into higher levels of transportation leadership.