MIAMI, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) 46th Annual Conference, the Solera Foundation celebrated the graduating class of the WIND x WOCAN Leadership Academy 2.0, a six-month program built in partnership with the Women of Color Automotive Network (WOCAN) to strengthen professional skills, leadership capabilities, confidence, and career advancement for women across automotive retail. The ceremony convened graduates, WOCAN board members, dealer principals, OEM executives, and Solera leadership under this year’s NAMAD theme, “In Concert: Driving Strategic Growth through Strategic Alignment.”
Women, and women of color in particular, remain significantly underrepresented in dealership leadership, ownership, and executive operating roles. The Solera Foundation was built, in part, to change that curve, not with symbolic statements, but with structured programs that develop leaders on a repeatable cadence and connect them into a network that keeps compounding after the coursework ends.
A second cohort. A larger footprint. A working model.
The Academy began with a shared vision between WOCAN and Solera to bring world-class leadership development to WOCAN’s rapidly growing membership. From early conversations in Solera’s Westlake board room in 2023, the organizations aligned around a simple but powerful idea: leadership development should be practical, accessible, and connected to real advancement for women across the automotive industry. That vision became the inaugural WOCAN/WIND Leadership Academy, which celebrated its first graduation in Miami in August 2024 and quickly proved to be a transformative experience for participants.
For some graduates, the inaugural ceremony marked the first formal graduation of their lives. Participants left with leadership fundamentals they could carry into their dealerships, teams, and careers, beginning with one of the Academy’s most enduring lessons: put your own oxygen mask on first. Graduates proudly displayed their stoles alongside dealership certifications, added the credential to their resumes, and used the experience to pursue new opportunities, higher-level leadership roles, and greater confidence in how they showed up at work and in their communities.
Part of a global platform for women’s leadership
The WOCAN Leadership Academy is one activation inside the Solera Foundation’s broader global leadership portfolio, which now spans Women in Dealerships (WIND), Women in Insurance and Insurtech Network (WIINS), and the Global Circularity Consortium, connecting women leaders across dealerships, insurance, technology, and sustainability in more than 120 countries. In the last twelve months alone, that portfolio has been activated across NIADA, NADA, FACONAUTO, and now NAMAD, recognized by Spain’s #1 business publisher: El Mundo as one of the country’s “100 Best Ideas” for advancing female leadership in automotive, and profiled internationally as one of the most credible corporate models for developing diverse leadership pipelines in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Tonight’s ceremony extends that model directly into the minority dealer community. NAMAD represents one of the most consequential audiences in automotive retail, and hosting the WOCAN 2.0 graduation on the NAMAD main stage makes visible what Solera believes: leadership pipelines for women, and for women of color specifically, are not a diversity project. They are a strategic investment in the future of the industry.
“What we are celebrating tonight is not a ceremony. It is evidence. Evidence that when an individual decides to take their development into their own hands- deliberately, systematically, and without qualification, the entire industry moves. Each graduate carries a network, a set of tools, and a standard of leadership back into her dealership, her community, and her career. That is how you change an industry, not with a slogan, but with a compounding pipeline of prepared, confident, well-networked women who lead without asking permission. At Solera, we are proud to power that pipeline, and we are only getting started.”
— Jing Liao, Chairwoman of the Solera Foundation and Chief Administrative Officer, Solera
Graduates in their own words
The Class of 2026 showed how that impact has grown. This year’s cohort brought together women at different stages of their careers, including first-time participants, returning graduates, entrepreneurs, dealership leaders, consultants, and WOCAN board members helping shape the next generation. Together, they continued the work of reflection, practical learning, leadership development, and career-building that defines the Academy. Their stories make one message clear: leadership growth does not end at graduation. It compounds.
“The first time, WOCAN and Solera gave me the space to really look at how I was showing up, how I was leading, and what I needed to change. The second time, I was reminded that I’m happy to be here, that I belong here, and that I make a difference. It reminded me how much I’ve grown since that first graduation, how much growing I still have left to do, and who I keep choosing to be.”
— Mabel Peralta, Key Account Executive, OPENLANE, and two-time graduate of the WIND x WOCAN Leadership Academy
“As we were opening the dealership, I was taking the leadership program, so the timing couldn’t have been better. The concept I keep talking about is headwinds versus tailwinds. You want to reduce the headwinds and increase the tailwinds, the people who help and support you in reaching your vision. That lesson has been key as we started this business.”
— Sefi Adash, title and dealership details to be confirmed
“I know personally I’ve grown a lot. I’m so proud that my alignment has come into full display over the last year or two since participating in both Leadership Academies, first as a member and now as part of the board and part of the team.”
— Erica Bruno-Martin, Senior Director of Key Accounts, Recall Masters, WOCAN board member, and Leadership Academy graduate
“I felt ashamed of being green and yellow when everyone else seemed to be red and blue. Having the opportunity to take that assessment again, reframe it, and recognize that green and yellow are actually my superpowers challenged me to listen, to learn, and to stop letting the fear of saying the wrong thing keep me from saying anything at all.”
— Shannon Neilson, Consultant, IM@CS
Together, these stories reflect the Academy’s broader purpose: equipping the full Class of 2026 with stronger voices, greater confidence, expanded networks, and practical tools for high-impact leadership. Many participants have already applied the Academy’s lessons to pursue new leadership opportunities, advance into larger roles, launch new ventures, mentor others, or navigate periods of personal and professional change with greater clarity.
The Academy is delivered in close partnership with the WOCAN Board, whose leadership shaped the program’s curriculum, selection process, and mentorship arc.
A year of disciplined execution
Solera Foundation’s “Paying it Forward” leadership portfolio has moved from concept to global platform in less than eighteen months:
- WOCAN Leadership Academy 1.0 and 2.0, developing women leaders across independent, franchise, and minority-owned dealerships
- WIND activations at NIADA, NADA, FACONAUTO, and NAMAD, establishing a global footprint for Women in Dealerships within twelve months
- “Stepping Into Your Power” at NADA 2026, convening women leaders across dealerships, OEMs, lenders, and technology
- WIND Global Digital Community, a private platform sustaining connection and mentorship for women leaders worldwide
- WIINS 1 Year Anniversary Across North America, Europe and APAC, extending the same leadership model into the global insurance industry, with more than 500 participants engaged in its first year
- Recognition by Spain’s #1 El Mundo as one of the “100 Best Ideas of the Year” for advancing female leadership in automotive
What comes next
As the WIND x WOCAN Leadership Academy continues to grow, so does its impact. What started as a shared vision between two organizations has become a powerful platform for developing women leaders across the automotive industry, creating a ripple effect as graduates continue to elevate themselves, their organizations, and the communities and industry they serve. The Academy will continue to scale into subsequent cohorts, with the Solera Foundation and WOCAN preparing to open applications for the next class. Solera will continue to invest, at company scale and Foundation scale, in the platforms that make that leadership visible, connected, and lasting.
About the Solera Foundation
The Solera Foundation unlocks the potential of women as a leading force for change, fosters holistic health and growth, drives sustainable business practices, advances ethical AI, and enhances safety and security for communities. Through flagship programs like Global WIND (Women in Dealerships), Global WIINS (Women in Insurance), the WOMEN Leadership Academy, and the Global Circularity Consortium, the Foundation invests in platforms that enable leadership to scale across industries worldwide.
About the Women of Color Automotive Network (WOCAN)
The Women of Color Automotive Network (WOCAN) is a community of women of color across the automotive industry committed to advancing representation, leadership, and opportunity. WOCAN connects members through mentorship, education, and industry programming designed to accelerate careers and influence at every stage.
About Solera
Solera is a global leader in vehicle lifecycle management software, data, and services. Operating in more than 120 countries and serving over 280,000 customers, Solera provides the digital infrastructure that powers critical operations across the automotive ecosystem, serving manufacturers, dealerships, insurers, repairers, recyclers, parts and fleet operators worldwide.
At its core, Solera is built on a proprietary automotive data foundation and a cloud-based AI infrastructure designed to operate at industry scale. By embedding intelligence directly into workflows and continuously innovating across its platform, Solera enables customers to move faster, reduce complexity, and deliver better outcomes. By serving the full vehicle lifecycle, Solera creates unique synergies across its network, helping customers unlock greater value, improve performance, and succeed in an increasingly complex and connected industry. Solera is home to many leading brands in the automotive and vehicle ecosystem, including Identifix, Audatex, DealerSocket, Omnitracs, LoJack, Spireon, eDriving, cap hpi, Autodata, and others. For more information, visit www.solera.com.
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