The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Tanya Miracle as its March 2024 Member of the Month. Miracle is the Director of OE Truck Channel at Bridgestone Americas.
Even though Miracle has been involved in the trucking industry since she was in high school, she said that it was 100% by accident that she still finds herself in the trucking industry today.
She lived in Ohio when she started her career as a dispatcher for Robert’s Express in 1993. From there, she worked for a tire mold company for a few years.
She was married (and divorced) to an owner-operator who hauled oversize drop deck freight. She fully understands the sacrifices and challenges faced by the families of long-haul drivers. She knows how difficult it is when birthdays and holidays must be missed, or when the industry is experiencing a downturn and work is uncertain. She remembers those tough days but feels that it helped shape who she is today and helped build her resilience and courage.
When Miracle decided to apply at Bridgestone, it was for the role of developing consumer tires, but the interviewers introduced her to the commercial truck group, and that is where she is today. Since then, she has fallen in love with the people, the industry, the weather in Nashville, and her work. She genuinely enjoys the interactions with the trucking industry. Working and meeting people at conferences and conventions, from truck drivers to CEOs, all interacting together, and sharing their knowledge and experience is part of the collaborative environment that keeps her in the industry. Everyone exchanges ideas and thoughts as equals, no matter what their title in their company may be. As Miracle says, “It is a great industry to be in.”
The most unique aspect of Miracle’s role is how she goes about being in a predominantly male world – she promotes from within and continues to “break the bias” by breaking down the barriers for women in the industry. She creates pathways for women to succeed and ensures that everyone has the tools necessary to realize their full potential. Miracle has a progressive mindset and leverages her technical expertise as a previous design engineer to drive initiatives and innovative ideas to deliver solutions to her customers (OEMs and fleets). She selflessly shares information and contacts to make Bridgestone a great place to develop talent and preserve a culture of comradery. She is in her element when she can mentor and teach others in the industry.
Outside of work, Miracle’s main interests are her children, family, and playing golf. She has nine children – three stepchildren, three of her own, and three adopted children. She loves being both a woman with an amazing career and a mom.
Miracle won an internal Bridgestone America award for being part of the R213 team in 2020 and was further awarded as a top woman to watch in Bridgestone in 2022. As an inspiring and thoughtful leader, her biggest piece of advice is, “don’t be intimidated or come into the industry with a preconceived notion of what the trucking industry is; the societal stereotypes about ‘trucking’ are just not true.’”
Miracle really believes that it is a shame that the trucking industry’s image is viewed as it is at times. She recognizes that the trucking industry is much more accepting and open than it is perceived to be. She feels that it is nice to see more diversity and that it will help to move the industry forward. With diversity comes innovative ideas, philosophies, and mindsets that will only help make the trucking industry even stronger in diverse ways.
In the future, Miracle still sees herself in the trucking industry. She is a passionate person and wants to continue doing what she can to make the industry the best it can be. She would like to do whatever she can to continue to move the trucking industry forward. “This industry was created by hard-working, driven people who move the world around us into the future every day.”
