Chicago, IL, July 15, 2026—NationaLease hosted the 2026 Human Resources Summit at L7 Chicago by Lotte in Chicago, IL. Held July 13-14, the meeting covered a wide range of topics related to human resources, including employment law, mental health in the workplace, recruiting practices, and more. The event was also certified with both SHRM and HRCI, allowing attendees to earn professional development credit for taking part.
Day one began with a welcome from the meeting chair, Susan Scott, Director of Human Resources at Hub Truck NationaLease, before Dean Vicha, President of NationaLease, gave his state of the union to kick things off. He was followed by Erin McKown, Director of Corporate Development & Training Services at National EAP, who discussed people management skills. Attendees then had the chance to share their best ideas and practices during the lively Idea Session. The top three ideas came from:
- 1st: Suzy Herring, Four Star Leasing, LLC, a NationaLease Member
- 2nd: Carli Kuntze, Aim NationaLease
- 3rd: Alex Brittain, Airoldi Brothers NationaLease
After breaking for lunch, Tiffany Rotondo, Director of HR at Jel Sert, shared the company’s best practices for recruiting. Jane Clark, Senior VP of Operations at NationaLease, followed with her member services updates, discussing resources, training materials, and other tools provided to members by NationaLease. The final speakers of the day were Stephanie Klein, Executive Coach at Mindfire Mastery, and Tracy Levine, Executive Director of the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health Education at The Chicago School, who presented on emotional intelligence and mental health, respectively.
The evening concluded with a group dinner at Quartino Ristorante, where conversations from the day continued over Italian small plates.
Candace D. Washington, Founder & CEO of Pivotal Impact, opened day two with a presentation on retention strategies. She was followed by Neil Dishman, Principal at Jackson Lewis P.C., who discussed several key developments happening in employment law in 2026. The event concluded with the best practices roundtable, giving each attendee the opportunity to bring their questions, insights, and solutions to the group.
“Human resources is facing dynamic changes, particularly within the transportation industry, and coming together is the best way for our members to keep up with the latest policies and practices,” said Dean Vicha. “By sharing common problems, they have the chance to hear how their peers are finding creative ways to address their HR challenges. We’re grateful to everyone for being open, engaging with our invited speakers, and offering their insights to the group.”
The 2027 NationaLease Human Resources Summit will be held July 12-13, 2027, at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas, TX.
About NationaLease
Founded in 1944, NationaLease is one of the largest full-service truck leasing organizations in North America, with over 1,100 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, and a combined customer fleet over 180,000 tractors, trucks, and trailers. The company provides comprehensive fleet management services for private fleets and transportation service providers. More information can be found on nationalease.com.
