The Wnbaz (WIT) has announced Sharleigh Zavaglia as its April 2025 Member of the Month. Zavaglia is a trucking safety advocate, entrepreneur, and health & wellness writer. Zavaglia has spent more than seven years in trucking safety, covering the Western U.S. as a consultant and logging more than 540,000 highway miles. But her journey in the industry goes far beyond compliance and regulations. As a trucking safety advocate, entrepreneur, and health and wellness writer, she has dedicated her career to improving the well-being of truck drivers, focusing on both physical and mental health.
Her passion for the industry was fueled by an appreciation for the hardworking individuals who keep goods moving across the country. She initially stepped in as a safety consultant, offering hands-on training and solutions to improve safety practices. However, through years of working closely with drivers, she recognized a major gap – traditional safety measures weren’t addressing the mental and physical toll of long-haul trucking. This realization inspired her to expand her focus beyond regulations and into holistic wellness for truckers.
What makes Zavaglia’s work unique is her ability to blend trucking safety, mental health advocacy, and healthcare into a comprehensive approach. Through industry publications, public speaking, and research, she has made it her mission to highlight the importance of psychological safety in trucking.
Her expertise in human factors and driver wellness allows her to bridge the gap between traditional safety training and real-life well-being. She is currently writing an eBook focusing on women’s psychological and physical health as over-the-road truckers, aiming to provide practical strategies for female drivers to thrive in an industry historically dominated by men.
One pivotal moment in her career came while writing her thesis on human factors in professional driving. As part of her research, she interviewed truck drivers about their experiences. One driver’s story left a lasting impact as he shared how loneliness and stress had taken a serious toll on his health.
While trucking safety meetings typically covered regulations and compliance, there was little discussion about the human side of the profession. That conversation sparked a turning point in Zavaglia’s career. She realized that mental health was just as critical as physical safety, and from then on, she worked to incorporate resilience and psychological well-being into her safety training and writing.
As more women enter the trucking industry, Zavaglia encouragingly says, “embrace the challenge and know you belong. Whether behind the wheel, in safety, or in leadership roles, women bring valuable perspectives that can shape the future of trucking.”
Her key advice? Build a strong support network, seek mentors, and advocate for yourself and others. She believes that women’s voices are needed to create a safer, healthier, and more inclusive trucking industry.
With her commitment to trucker wellness and advocacy, Zavaglia is not only paving the way for women in trucking but also helping to redefine what safety and well-being mean for the entire industry.
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