What can we help you find?

Episode 89: Will Jenkins & Justin Turner, Black History Month Edition 2026

Released on
February 26, 2026
Key Takeaways
  • Freight rewards tenure and depth. The professionals who build lasting careers invest in skill development and relationships from the very beginning.
  • Representation in freight leadership matters because visibility signals possibility. Without it, talented people opt out before they start.
  • Changing industry representation requires deliberate company action, not just exceptional individuals who make it through despite structural headwinds.
  • Mentors and sponsors who have already navigated the industry are one of the most direct paths to accelerating a career in freight.
  • The reps who improve fastest actively seek out coaching rather than waiting for their manager to offer it.

In this Black History Month 2026 edition of The Journey Podcast, Will Jenkins sits down with Justin Turner — Managing Partner at Journey — for a conversation that's personal, professional, and specific. They talk about growing up in the South, what that background taught them about resilience and community, and what it's meant to build careers in executive logistics roles as Black professionals in an industry where representation at the leadership level remains a work in progress.

Will and Justin share stories from their own trajectories: the mentors who opened doors, the rooms where they were the only person who looked like them, and the ongoing work of showing up credibly in spaces that weren't designed with them in mind. They're honest about the weight of that — not as a complaint, but as a reality that shapes the way they operate and the choices they make about who to bring along with them as they build influence in freight.

The conversation covers representation in freight logistics leadership specifically: why diversity at the executive and decision-making level matters beyond optics, what changes when leadership actually reflects the range of people working in the industry, and what freight organizations can do concretely to accelerate that shift rather than gesture toward it. Will and Justin also discuss mentorship as both a personal resource and a professional responsibility — the obligation that comes with access to platform, relationships, and visibility in a space where those things are still unevenly distributed.

This episode is for freight professionals who care about building an industry that creates opportunity for everyone capable of contributing to it.

For more on Journey's team and values, visit About Us or explore Journey's freight recruiting.

Episode FAQs
How can Black professionals build long-term careers and ownership in the freight industry?
Why does representation matter in the freight and logistics industry?
What advice do experienced freight professionals give to people just starting out in the industry?
Know someone who would enjoy this episode?
Latest Episodes