The Ripple Effect of Women In Automotive

Connie Gonzalez wasn’t expecting to cry. As Office Manager at Mistlin Honda, she’d come to the Women In Automotive 2025 conference in Nashville prepared to network, learn, and maybe pick up a few leadership strategies. What she wasn’t prepared for was Shereen Thor’s question during her keynote: If Yyou were to die tomorrow, what would your number one regret be?

"I instantly started crying," Connie recalls. "My biggest regret would be not spending enough time with my kids." She tried hiding the tears behind her hair, but the emotion was overwhelming. The mom guilt she'd been carrying—the constant tension between leading her team and being present for her children, suddenly had nowhere to hide.

That moment of vulnerability wasn't weakness. It was the beginning of a transformation. And it's exactly what happens when dealership employees from all departments experience the depth of the Women In Automotive Annual Conference.

Three women, two from Mistlin Honda and one from Iron Trail Motors, attended WIA2025 with different backgrounds, different roles, and different expectations. What they brought back to their dealerships reveals why this conference has become essential for automotive dealers serious about developing their teams.

When You See it, You Can Become It

For Connie, representation wasn't just a buzzword, it was Audrey McKinley taking the stage.

"There was something truly powerful about her presence," Connie explains. "When she spoke, people listened. She was engaging, funny, and so authentic." But what resonated deepest went beyond McKinley's communication skills. "Seeing a Latina woman represented and thriving in this industry was inspiring and empowering. It was witnessing someone who looked like me breaking barriers and showing that success and impact are absolutely possible for us too."

Amanda Cruz, Executive Manager at Mistlin Honda, found similar power in representation, though from an unexpected angle. As a first-time attendee (invited by her Women Leaders NADA 20 Group colleague, and Women In Automotive Board Member, Judy Farcus Serra), she was struck by the male allies present. "I was moved by the presence of the men who participated. Hearing their voices on panels and throughout the event reinforced how important it is to have allies who embrace, encourage, and support women in every area of this industry."

Amanda O'Brien, Sales Director at Iron Trail Motors and a four-time WIA attendee, has watched this dynamic evolve. "There was a lot more this year," she notes about male participation. "And the men's panel was great. When they're like, 'don't ask me why I'm here', that's awesome. I wish more men would be like that and just show up."

The visibility of diverse success stories, women of different backgrounds, in different roles, at different career stages, supported by genuine allies, creates what Amanda Cruz calls “momentum for more women to advance and succeed.” But representation alone isn’t enough. The real transformation comes from what attendees learn and bring back.

The Language Tools That Change Everything

Dr. Jen Fry’s session became a turning point for both Amanda Cruz and Connie Gonzalez, though each absorbed different lessons from the same hour.

For Cruz, it was about reclaiming power from loaded language. “I’ve often been told I come across as intimidating, despite never raising my voice or losing my temper in the workplace,” she shares. Dr. Fry’s reframe hit hard:“I’m not intimidating; you are intimidated. That’s a you issue.”

“That perspective has stayed with me and had a profound impact,” Cruz says. “I’ve carried that mindset into many conversations since, and it has been both empowering and transformative.”

Connie took away a different tool from the same session, one she’s already implementing with her team. “Dr. Fry encouraged us to analyze the language we use and hear. She explained how certain words can be weaponized to provoke emotional reactions, and how learning to neutralize those words can shift the dynamic.”

The application is immediate and practical. “If someone tells me I’m being ’emotional,’ I can respond calmly and ask, ‘What behavior are you associating with that?’ That reframing helps redirect the conversation and encourages accountability.” Connie sees this as valuable for everyone in her office, “especially the women.”

Dr. Fry offered another insight that resonated across all three attendees:“Your life reflects your comfort level with conflict.”For Cruz, who has always valued teaching people how to communicate through challenges, this crystallized a leadership principle she’d been practicing intuitively. “I love conflict resolution because when you step into the trenches with someone and truly work things out, it creates a level of understanding and connection that wouldn’t otherwise exist.”

These aren’t abstract concepts. They’re tools that change how dealership employees navigate difficult conversations, manage teams, and handle the daily friction that comes with high-pressure retail environments.

The Contest That Creates Culture

Amanda O’Brien doesn’t just attend WIA, she creates pathways for others to experience it. For the past several years, she’s run contests at her dealerships to earn conference attendance. This year’s version: sell 20 cars each month for two months while maintaining CSI scores. Winner gets flight, hotel, and registration covered.

One salesperson has now won two years running. “She really loved it the first time,” O’Brien explains, “so when the contest came back around, there was no way she could let it slip past her. She asked, ‘If for some reason I don’t win, can I pay my own way and have time off to go?’ I was like, absolutely. I would never say no to someone wanting to work on themselves and be better.”

This approach creates multiple wins: it incentivizes performance, rewards development-minded team members, and normalizes ongoing education. But the impact goes deeper than contest mechanics.

O’Brien discovered she’d been mentoring without realizing it. “The girl who came with me considers me one of her mentors, and I didn’t know that until I came back from the conference. We don’t do specific meetings, but we chat, and she’ll tell me what she wants help with, personal and professional.” The conference’s focus on mentor-mentee relationships helped her recognize and strengthen what was already happening organically.

Now she’s intentional about it. “I need to provide that safe environment for people to have that open mentee-mentor relationship and build on that bringing that back to not just the women but everybody in the sales department.”

Connie Gonzalez, inspired by the structured mentoring workshop at WIA2025, is taking a different approach. “I’ve never participated in a mentoring program before, and I’m genuinely excited to get started. I believe it could have a huge impact on my personal and professional development.” She’s now exploring formal mentoring opportunities she hadn’t previously considered.

Beyond the Sessions: The Networking That Matters

The official programming delivers value, but some of the most powerful moments happen in the spaces between.

For Amanda Cruz, those informal conversations during networking breaks provided unexpected grounding. “Some of the most impactful conversations happened in the informal networking moments, where we shared our personal experiences of balancing demanding careers with family and personal life.” Hearing how other women navigate similar challenges reminded her that “while our individual paths may look different, we often face similar struggles, and there’s real value in being open about them and learning from each other.”

Amanda O’Brien participated in both the speed mentoring session and the roundtable discussions. One conversation that shifted her entire approach to a management challenge was with my husband, of all people. I knew his voice and experience would provide better wisdom, so I called him over to our table. Her manager, who resists participating in dealership events, had been frustrating her. The conversation reframed the issue entirely when Mat asked her,“What does inclusion look like to him? What does his participation look like to him?” Amanda tells me,”I never thought about it that way, putting myself in his shoes and having him answer that so we can get on the same page.”

That perspective shift from “Why won’t he participate?” to “What does meaningful participation look like for him?” came from a five-minute conversation but a pivotal one in her leadership journey nonetheless.

Cruz appreciated the 2025 format specifically. “I really liked how it was more open this time,” she notes, referring to the mix-and-mingle evening versus previous years’ assigned group dinners. “Everybody could go if they wanted to go. With the dinners in the past, if you didn’t get on the list, you couldn’t go, and they filled up super quick.”

For introverts like Cruz, however, there’s room for improvement. “We participated in the speed mentoring and absolutely loved it. For those of us who are more introverted by nature, it can be harder to initiate conversations in unstructured settings, so having more opportunities like that would be valuable.”

What Actually Changes Back at the Dealership

The real test of any conference is what changes Monday morning. All three women returned with specific implementations, not just inspiration.

Amanda Cruz is focusing on vision clarity. “One idea I’m bringing back is the importance of writing down your vision and keeping it front and center. When your goals are visible, they serve as a constant reminder to stay motivated and focused.” She’s practical about it: “At the end of the day, no one will care about your goals as much as you do, so it’s your responsibility to keep them alive and drive them forward every day.”

She’s also working toward a specific culture shift. “One of the things that stood out was hearing how many other dealerships have achieved a much higher percentage of women on their teams. My hope is to continue working toward the goal of having at least 50% of our dealership staff be women, because I believe diversity in perspective and experience only makes us stronger.”

For Connie, the language tools from Dr. Fry’s session are already in play. Beyond that, she’s seeking structured mentoring opportunities and thinking bigger about her career trajectory. “The conference sparked a deeper desire in me to grow both personally and professionally. It gave me the motivation to expand my skills, build new connections, and explore opportunities I hadn’t considered before.”

Amanda O’Brien, now overseeing two sales departments (one predominantly female, which had zero women when she started eight years ago), is reinforcing a simple message with her teams: “Keep going. Keep pushing yourself. Don’t be afraid to reach out for support, whether it’s to me or anyone else.” She’s also making mentor-mentee relationships more explicit and encouraging tough conversations.

The broader lesson she’s carrying forward? “Bring this stuff back and help people grow around you. One person’s going to pick up something totally different than another person, but just knowing you’ll always get that nugget and you can bring it back and help not only yourself but the people around you—that’s the biggest lesson.”

The Ripple Effect in Action

Cruz returned from Nashville and immediately told her two business partners, both men, that she wants them at WIA 2026. “They are both deeply committed to lifting every member of our organization, especially women, and I believe they would not only gain valuable perspective from the conference but also contribute meaningfully to its mission.”

O’Brien ran her contest, brought a team member who won two years running, and discovered her informal mentoring was more impactful than she’d realized. Now she’s trying to recruit more men. “Sometimes men take women for granted because we can just do the things, and we can do all the things, and we’re fantastic multitaskers. When my mentor needs something done, he brings it to me and doesn’t have to worry about it.” She wants male colleagues to understand what women navigate daily.

Connie, who attended because Amanda Cruz’s enthusiasm was contagious, is now looking to bring others. “If I could, I’d take all the women from our dealership with me. The experience is so worth it, it’s empowering, inspiring, and full of practical tools and insights that can truly make a difference.”

When asked to describe the conference in one word, their answers reveal different facets of the same experience:

Amanda O’Brien chose “Bazinga” from The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper. “It’s fun. It’s loud. It’s obnoxious. It’s one word. It makes everybody smile.”

Connie went with “Motivating.”

Amanda Cruz needed more than one word: “One of the most empowering and authentic conferences I’ve ever attended, relevant, supportive, and deeply inspiring.”

All three would tell you the same thing: the WIA 2026 Women In Automotive Conferenceisn’t optional if you’re serious about developing your dealership employees. It’s not just for women in sales or women in leadership. Office managers need it. Sales directors need it. Executive managers need it. The male allies who show up need it.

Why Your Dealership Should Be There

Amanda O’Brien put it simply: “Don’t think, just do. If you felt in your gut it was important enough to think about it, put away all your fears and just do it.”

Three automotive dealership employees, with different roles, different backgrounds, and different career stages, each found what they needed at WIA2025. Cruz found community and reframes that changed how she shows up in difficult conversations. Connie found representation and permission to pursue formal mentoring. O’Brien found validation for the culture she’s been building and new strategies to strengthen it further.

More importantly, they each became multipliers. The tools they learned, the perspectives they gained, and the confidence they built didn’t stay in Nashville. They came back to California, to Minnesota, and continued spreading, to team members, to business partners, to the next generation of women entering automotive dealers.

That’s the real value proposition for dealerships: one attendee becomes a catalyst for dozens of others. The contest winner who comes back energized. The introverted office manager who discovers structured mentoring. The executive who finally has language for what she’s been experiencing. The sales director who realizes she’s been mentoring all along and can now do it intentionally.

Your difference is your strength. The Women In Automotivecommunityp roves it every year, and now is the time to bring your team into that momentum.

Ready to create your own ripple effects? Join the Women In Automotive community and discover what changes when your dealership prioritizes growth, representation, and authentic connection. Learn more about WIA 2026and how to bring your team to the next conference.