Leslie Morales | Source | Vice President, Operations at U.S. Rubber Recycling

A professional mentor with an extensive background in leadership, management training, team building and business improvement, Leslie Morales embodies the motto she works hard to impart to her team: Be a solution provider, not a problem identifier. Morales’s no-nonsense yet nurturing approach to building professional relationships makes her an ideal fit for U.S. Rubber, a California manufacturer of fitness flooring and acoustical underlayment that gives discarded tires a second life and provides employment to a second-chance workforce. As vice president of operations at U.S. Rubber, Morales oversees every facet of its factory in Southern California’s Inland Empire, including coordination with sales, workforce recruitment and retention, and production. Since joining U.S. Rubber in January 2021, Morales has helped the company meet ambitious goals by creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and support among workers who often have experienced little of either. In her first six weeks, Morales instituted changes that reduced stress and streamlined operations, allowing her team to handle an enormous new stream of orders through Home Depot. Morales draws know-how and inspiration from her 34-year career at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Southern California. She started in the company’s lauded management trainee program, rising through the ranks to regional director of operations and business management.