![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DelReyExpress_WomenInTrucking_LatinaFamilyOwnedBusiness_LongHaulTruckers_08_12.11.2025_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
Lisa Andrade Gonima, right, and Andrea Andrade-Ahumada\u2019s parents started Del Rey Trucking 40 years ago, which they have since taken over. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Report sat down with Andrade Gonima and Andrade-Ahumada to discuss their experiences and their work in transportation and logistics. <\/p>\n
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s it like working in the trucking industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrade Gonima:<\/strong> Number one, as we started to get into the industry, we realized not a lot of people, especially leadership, look like us. We can go to conferences and we definitely don\u2019t look like the rest of the room, right? For us, it\u2019s exciting, as we look at our company having just been recognized for women in transportation, it\u2019s about what confidence can do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Andrade-Ahumada: <\/strong>Seeing that some of the drivers that were employed by us are now having their own equipment and being able to provide the opportunity for them and their family, it\u2019s fulfilling. Something that I worked for, like physical therapy, is always serving others, like my patients, and so part of leaving was missing out on the connection with the families that I built.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because now we are a physical therapist and a PR professional sitting in a meeting with logistics experts. It\u2019s due to competence and our ability. What we are really proud of is our driver-first culture, how we grew up and realized all the skills, all our experiences have brought us to this moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n But here, we\u2019re just one huge family.\u00a0<\/p>\n What was it like transitioning from your previous jobs into your work leading a trucking company?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrade Gonima: <\/strong>I think to me, the fear was why are you working in trucking? I wasn\u2019t sure how our drivers were going to react to me, a much younger female.\u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest surprise was once we started connecting with them, they realized how seriously we took this. They saw the changes we were making. I remember having a safety meeting, and we ended up talking about mental health. It has been so rewarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n We knew we were continuing a legacy that our parents started. Was I excited about the smell of diesel and getting in trucks? No, but my parents started something, and I want to continue this.\u00a0<\/p>\n Andrade-Ahumada: <\/strong>My sister is more of the risk taker. So I was just thinking, \u2018What do I need to learn? What do I need to do?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n So I started researching. I got involved with a program through the Texas Trucking Association called Emerging Leaders, I went there to learn.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was kind of intimidating to be the only female, only Hispanic female, there in that setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n I was always just a therapist, and never in a management position, but H-E-B has been a great partner. I\u2019m able to reach out to anyone on their team and they can explain things to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been rewarding because our drivers see us as mentors for their children. To see their education and how much they value that for their children. That\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n What are the challenges you\u2019ve run into along the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrade-Ahumada: <\/strong>Being a manager, with the way we\u2019ve grown, we still want to keep that close knit family feel, but we also know that we are business. We are trying to set those boundaries. We have to think about that now, as we grow, how to be a sustainable business.<\/p>\n Andrade Gonima: <\/strong>I\u2019ll be completely vulnerable and transparent on this one. It\u2019s hiring the right people for an administrative [role] and learning what it\u2019s like to have to deal with [Human Resources]. A lot of small businesses, you tell them, \u2018You\u2019ve got to be prepared to do everything.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n We do have consultants, but I think the challenge is just putting that team together and, because we\u2019re smaller, making sure that we\u2019re setting up everyone for success.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s about managing people and personalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n When we realized the challenges that we were having and they were just growing pains, we hired an operations manager, and that was a game changer for us. That was an exciting day when our [Certified Professional Accountant] said, \u2018You all are ready to hire an operations manager.\u2019 I felt like overcoming that challenge and getting to that point was worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is it like working as women in this industry that is traditionally male dominated? Do you have any advice for other women who are interested in getting involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrade-Ahumada: <\/strong>I have a daughter that\u2019s a first-year in college right now, and she is such a planner, and trying to figure out what courses, what degree she wants to get. I\u2019m telling her, \u2018Look at my plans.\u2019<\/p>\n My plans were to go into physical therapy. I never thought that I was going to be in trucking. Being a woman, especially being a mother, trying to balance both things, I just want you to know you do find the right team and the right company. It\u2019s possible to be successful at both. So I think it\u2019s important for us to offer that to our staff and our team.<\/p>\n Andrade Gonima: <\/strong>It\u2019s also things like this [article] for people to see what that looks like. If we\u2019re shy or don\u2019t want to really celebrate these kinds of recognition, I think we are just doing a disservice to the young women coming behind us.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s about recognizing that women bring so much to any company. I can go on and on about the changes that we made that I think, because we\u2019re primarily a woman-run team.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re making Texas roads safer, because, as mothers, as women, we want to run the safest trucking company possible. That is absolutely one of our goals. That doesn\u2019t just benefit our drivers, that benefits the community and the people who are riding along our trucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not one of the traditional careers you hear, you know, medicine, law school, those kinds of things. But supply chain and logistics, it literally moves the world and with technology and all the changes, it is an exciting industry. So we want more women to see themselves in it.<\/p>\n What trends do you see in the trucking industry right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrade Gonima: <\/strong>People are always asking me about the driverless trucks and how scary that is. And so we\u2019re keeping an eye, of course, on technology, but we already have adapted so much technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nothing would be possible if a truck didn\u2019t get it to its destination. In the future, a lot of what we\u2019re talking about, a lot of what we\u2019re hearing about is that safety component, how to move things more efficiently and quicker.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already seen how technology can sometimes change the look of it. When electronic logging devices, when they went from paper now to paperless, tracking hours of service, that was a big moment for trucking.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then it was the cameras. We have cameras in our trucks for safety. We are using AI, I don\u2019t know if people realize it. The trucking does use a lot of AI with the cameras, because we\u2019re not sitting there looking at all that footage.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d say the tech part is a big part of our future.<\/p>\n Andrade-Ahumada: <\/strong>The drivers are younger, they\u2019re wanting to spend more time with families. Being cognizant of that, that\u2019s a big change. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine having a successful career. Perhaps you\u2019re a physical therapist. Maybe you\u2019re a public relations specialist. 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Lisa Andrade Gonima, who serves as Del Rey Express\u2019s CEO, continues to work as a public relations professional. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DelReyExpress_WomenInTrucking_LatinaFamilyOwnedBusiness_LongHaulTruckers_04_12.11.2025_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
Andrea Andrade-Ahumada, who serves as president of Del Rey Express, also works as a physical therapist. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DelReyExpress_WomenInTrucking_LatinaFamilyOwnedBusiness_LongHaulTruckers_07_12.11.2025_AmberEsparza..jpeg\")
The Del Rey Express sisters say they plan to do develop the land that the trucking company currently sits out on in Converse, Texas. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n