Erica Bruno's grandfather didn't finish eighth grade and still built a 17-franchise, 800-employee dealer group. Her mother became one of the country's first female dealer principals. Erica's own contribution to that legacy is making sure fewer women have to fight for a seat at the table the way they did.
Erica Bruno grew up around dealership legacy on both sides of her family. Her grandfather, Jack Barboza, was the first Portuguese Chrysler dealer in the nation. Her mother, Denise Bruno, was the seventh female Toyota dealer principal in the country and the first female Hyundai dealer on the East Coast.
I'm not afraid to ask for it.
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Three Generations of Betting on Yourself
Her mother didn't want Erica in the industry, having lived its harder edges firsthand. The agreement was Erica would go to school first, so she studied history and anthropology with a minor in jazz voice, about as far from a dealership as a degree gets. She came back anyway, convinced she could help make the industry better, not just for women, but for everyone.
That belief became the Women of Color Automotive Network, founded in 2020, now five years in with more than 1,300 members. WOCAN's model is straightforward: tell them what you want to learn, marketing, service, leadership, whatever it is, and they connect you to someone in the industry who can actually teach it.
The Hand Mirror: A Leadership Lesson Worth Stealing
Erica's clearest piece of advice has nothing to do with gender or background, it applies to anyone leading a team.
As much as you might want to say, flip it around on someone else, flip it around on yourself, because that's how you're ultimately going to grow.
Most people keep the mirror pointed outward, cataloging what everyone else got wrong. Turning it around, and actually looking at your own part in a situation, is uncomfortable and also the only version of the exercise that produces real growth.
Erica also spoke openly about navigating real personal loss in 2025, and credited the community she'd built, through WOCAN and beyond, with helping carry her through it. Finding your people isn't just a career strategy. Sometimes it's the thing that gets you through a genuinely hard year.
What This Means for Your Store
WOCAN is a real, specific resource worth knowing about, wocautonetwork.com, if someone on your team, especially a woman early in her career, wants to grow into a new skill or role.
But the same instinct works inside your own four walls too. Consider whether your dealership has any space, formal or informal, for people to find others who share their background, their goals, or their path into this industry. It doesn't need a name or a budget to start. Sometimes it's as simple as making sure the people already doing this quietly, mentoring, connecting, checking in, know that support is welcomed and noticed, not just tolerated.
