WOCAN Breakfast at ASOTU CON 2026: Building Community That Moves People Forward

At the third WOCAN Breakfast at ASOTU CON 2026, Erica Bruno hosted a thoughtful and deeply practical conversation about community, confidence, sponsorship, allyship, and the role women continue to play in shaping automotive leadership.

WOCAN, the Women of Color Automotive Network, began in 2020 as a Zoom meeting during the pandemic and has grown into a nonprofit community of more than 1,300 members. Bruno, who serves as treasurer for WOCAN in addition to her role as Senior Director of Key Accounts at Recall Masters, opened the session by sharing how personally meaningful the community has been in her own life, especially through a difficult year of loss.

That set the tone for the breakfast. This was a conversation led by women who have built careers, carried responsibility, made hard decisions, and created space for others to grow.

Erikka Tiffani Wells, General Manager of Walser Hyundai and one of WOCAN’s co-founders, challenged the idea that women do not support other women. She named the pressure many women in automotive have felt when it appears there is only one available seat at the table.

Her takeaway was clear: stop treating one another as competition. Build relationships, make connections, and believe there is room for more than one woman to grow, lead, and succeed.

Liza Borches added that support is less about gender alone and more about mindset. The people who help others move forward are the ones who believe there is enough opportunity to go around.

Her challenge was practical: look for people who will help others get into the right room, find a seat at the table, and pursue the next opportunity.

Thuy Adomitis spoke directly to self-limiting beliefs, calling fear something that needs to be tested every day. Her point was simple and useful: the first step is usually the biggest one.

For women early in their careers, or leaders hesitating before a next move, her advice was to get curious, ask questions, and keep learning. “Have the curiosity of a five year old,” she said.

Ashley Cavazos named a common pattern: women often wait until they feel fully ready before speaking up, applying, asking, or stepping forward.

Her encouragement was to move anyway. She also shared the importance of building a personal “board of directors,” people who offer guidance across professional, personal, and spiritual areas of life.

The panel drew an important distinction between mentorship and sponsorship. Mentors advise. Sponsors advocate.

Borches offered a useful challenge: ask whether you are showing up in a way that makes someone want to bet on you. Sponsorship is built through action, follow-through, and trust.

Wells added a highly actionable tip from Hyundai’s Olabisi Boyle: keep a “receipt book.” Track your wins, results, projects, and contributions throughout your career. Do not wait until a promotion conversation or job interview to remember what you helped build.

Bruno named apologizing as something many women need to stop doing immediately. Borches added guilt, especially the constant feeling of not doing enough at work, at home, or for oneself.

Wells spoke to overperforming, sharing how her early years as a GM led her to work unsustainable hours and model unhealthy expectations for her team. Her lesson was that leadership does not require burning yourself out to prove you belong.

Cavazos added a needed companion to all of it: give yourself grace, especially in seasons of transition.

The panel also made clear that WOCAN is not a closed room. Allies are invited, needed, and welcomed.

Cavazos pointed to allies who consistently show up, support the work, and ask how they can help. Wells shared a vulnerable story about being dismissed after an experience of racism, contrasting it with a later leader who simply listened and asked how to support her.

Her advice was direct: do not try to explain away someone else’s experience. Hear them. See them. Support them.

The session closed with a reminder that automotive is ultimately about people. Borches, who coined the phrase “love people more than cars,” tied it back to the emotional experiences people have through vehicles, careers, teams, and communities.

That was the heartbeat of the WOCAN Breakfast. Careers grow when people are seen. Confidence grows when people are supported. Communities grow when people keep making room.

So here’s the question: Who can you sponsor, encourage, introduce, or make room for next?