August 26, 2025 in Podcast
Employee Spotlight: Cathy Sofjan Wolf
April Chapman:
Hello everyone and welcome to the APLL Pulse podcast where you can uncover new insights from the logistics and freight forwarding industry through the seasoned experts at APL Logistics, a global supply chain provider. We’ll help you keep pace with the current topics impacting businesses, and advance your logistics strategy.
Well, hi everyone. This is April Chapman, your host. Every now and then we do an employee spotlight here on the podcast so you can get to know some of the amazing people we have here at APL Logistics. Today I’m excited to introduce you all to Cathy Sofjan-Wolf, who has been with us for over 32 years. Now, I have known Cathy for years. Not only did we spend time on the same team, I even reported to her for a little while, so I know what it’s like to be inspired by her. Not only does Cathy have a long history within the supply chain industry, but she also is someone who feels passionate about mentoring others. She partners with national and international non-profits with that focus and has mentored over 2,000 youth. Thanks for joining us today, Cathy.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Hi, April. Thank you for having me.
April Chapman:
I’m so happy you’re here. So let’s begin where it all began. Can you describe to everyone what your first position was here at APL Logistics?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Sure. I actually started in Jakarta, Indonesia as an Operation Manager, and then I moved to New Jersey and I joined the Account Management team, started with a Logistics Analyst position, and then ended with the Global Account Manager.
April Chapman:
But you’ve had a lot of different positions within this company then, huh?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
That’s right.
April Chapman:
Yeah, you’ve met a lot of people… A lot of people have had an opportunity to work with Cathy. Okay, so what role are you in right now?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
So 10 years ago I have moved to a technology team and my current position is Technology Solutions Manager.
April Chapman:
Out of all of those jobs, what is the one that has been your favorite position or your team along the way?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Actually, my favorite position is Technology Solution Team Member. So the reason why I really like this position with my past experience and my leadership and coaching skills, it helped me along the way with my origin destination as well as customer-facing experiences. I’m able to support and provide best solution to our day-to-day end-to-end supply change data management for both our internal as well as external customers.
April Chapman:
Yeah, so that’s the team that I was on with Cathy years ago, and it’s a very interesting team because you’re right in between, you’re kind of in between the customer and IT. You’re kind of advocating for the customer and the helper that puts those two pieces together, what we can do technology wise, and then what the customer needs and you get to advocate for them. So you’ve done such a great job at that role.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Thank you.
April Chapman:
I’m glad that’s the one that you enjoy the most and that’s the one that you’ve been doing for a while here, so that’s good to hear.
I want to spend some time today, because this is an employee spotlight, we’re talking about not just what you’ve done here, but we’re talking about who you are. I like to pull the curtain and say, who are the people behind the scenes here and what are they doing? And I know that you have made a huge impact in this world and I want to talk about that.
So let’s spend some time talking about mentorship in many, many ways you have dedicated your life to this call. Just so our guests know, Cathy has been awarded a Women’s History Month award by New Jersey, Hudson County. She’s got an Everyday Hero Award by Up with People, a Champion of Peace award by the Rotary International Club, as well as recognition as one of the advisors to guide youth for earning the Congressional Award Gold Medals, the highest civilian honor by the United States Congress. And these are just a few of the accolades that have attempted to recognize the huge difference she’s making in this world. Cathy, that’s really, really amazing. What is it about mentoring youth in particular that draws you?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Well, April, when I was in college and also in my early career stage in international supply chain, I had a few mentors that actually stick by me and guided me until I have reached through that successful path when I needed it the most. And I have learned moving forward to pay it forward to other people that needs help. And one of my favorite course, believe it or not was international study degree, is intercultural communication. And this knowledge, I was just really passionate about this topic and it’s kind of directly led me to this international logistic career, believe it or not, just by one course, it really helped me make that decision.
April Chapman:
One course can change your life.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
That’s right.
April Chapman:
I actually took that course. I loved those courses. Well, I know that you just got back from Ireland too, and that trip had to do with this passion of yours with mentoring. So could you share a little bit about that with our audience?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
I was in Limerick, Ireland for one week attending a reunion with Up with People, reconnecting with the castmates that I traveled 40 years ago. I took a gap year in college, which wasn’t supported by a lot of people, but I did it anyway. I had the opportunity to travel with 125 cast members that come from over 20 countries. We were traveling building bridges of understanding through music and dance. At that time, as you can imagine, no internet, no social media, so the TV reporters that were falling us all over the place, it was such an experience. In total, we traveled 39,656 miles, eight countries across street continents.
April Chapman:
Wow. What an opportunity for a young person.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
It was, yes. So this travel experience actually has helped me expand my horizon and kind transform it as an educational experience and it helped shape me who I just kind of come out from my shell. Travel actually has enriched me with life skills, nurtured me to be a responsible and basically a global minded citizen. So I was able to see a lot of things that I wouldn’t have the opportunity just to stay in one place.
Some of the example that I have really learned, it just prepared to deal with unexpected changes in this world such as global security, social economy. I mean, we of course build a long-lasting friendship, but also throughout the journey we established many professional network throughout the world.
April Chapman:
Before LinkedIn.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Yes, exactly. I mean, I’m just going to share a few highlights. I was sent to do a public relation near the border of Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was in a small city called Enniskillen. We were there for almost two weeks, and then we had a daily curfew in effect. You’ve see, the political unrest and the security was very tight. Often we had to evacuate from the building.
April Chapman:
Oh, scary.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Either a bomb threat or something else happening because of the political unrest. And also another thing that I was really, truly enjoyed, we still talk about it today, a youth ambassador to Coca-Cola in Japan because they’re celebrating 100 year anniversary and one that really hit me the most. We sang a Song of Peace in Hiroshima, Japan.
April Chapman:
Oh wow, that’s amazing.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Yeah, it was very touching and very emotional, so some experience that you don’t forget ever. And the fun part was the Rose Parade in Pasadena also, we practiced Super Bowl XX performance in a muddy field in Belgium. And it’s just like we did a lot of things that maybe some of the other youth never had the opportunity.
April Chapman:
Most would never have those opportunities. So when you were looking after these things, because you had this global mindset at that point, were you looking for a company that was global or was this just kind of accidentally falling into a position that ended up being a global position?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
It certainly helped me, led me to be in the international field. And shipping, logistics, supply chain is just one of the area that I was really interested in after I graduated from college.
April Chapman:
I never worked for a global company before, APL Logistics, and I don’t think I could ever go back. I just really love learning about the different cultures and having friends that think differently and live in different environments. It just adds a depth to my own life that I don’t think I could ever go back from that. Do you know what I mean?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Yes, I totally agree. Because of all these experience, I felt like my life’s enriched by all this experience. So I continue sharing my travel experience with other youth and giving them the opportunity to learn through service learning activities outside their classroom.
So today I actually, I had the opportunity to continue mentoring students for the past 22 years. I have certified over 100,000 community service hours.
April Chapman:
Oh my gosh.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Yeah, it’s a lot. And also we completed humanitarian project in over 50 countries, and I had the opportunity as well to travel with the youth group 13 summer committee outreach trip, both in the United States as well as overseas. And I have seen a lot of changes and positive changes, of course, it’s so rewarding and fulfilling to see many youth that I have mentor and come back and they become successful either in private or public sectors. Some of them become doctors today, nurses, police officers, engineers, teachers. It’s so heartwarming to see them, how successful they are. And it’s such a great reflection. And one of my favorite well known quotes that I always listen or hear from many people, it’s by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
April Chapman:
That’s good. That’s a really good quote. And just thinking about all the lives that you’ve had this opportunity to impact and invest in and just the ripple effect of all that. Like you’re saying, they’re in the world, they’re doing amazing jobs and amazing things to know that you were able to invest a little bit of time in. And sometimes I think people get scared off by thinking it’s going to be like, they don’t have time, but you have time. We just, y’all spend it differently. I love how you take that same time and you invest it into other people’s futures and it actually helps our areas, it literally helps the world. So thank you Cathy for doing what you do.
Well, Cathy, we have to wrap it up for today, but I’d like to leave our audience with some advice from you. If there is a person out there that wants to be mentored, where do you recommend that they start?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
My advice would be work with a leader or a mentor that can bring the best your potential. He or she does not only guide you but also nurture you until you reach your goal. Not just somebody will only talk to you, advise you in a month or two, but actually they can follow your growth and both in personal career as well as your personal growth. Because I’m very grateful that I had that opportunity outside and also in the company APL Logistics.
April Chapman:
And don’t you think working with the young people gives you such hope for where they’re going? I think a lot of people look at young people and they don’t see hope, but they don’t actually know them and they’re not interacting with them. I hear negative stuff sometimes, but often it’s because they’re not in the trenches really pouring into those people. I think the more you spend time with the generations that are coming up, the more you see all the good in them and what they’re going to bring that’s different than maybe what we brought, but it’s exciting.
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
I totally agree because it’s not only showing something great to the youth, to the younger generation, but I also felt that I have learned so much from them and it’s kind of helped bridge that gap in different level of age gap or professional gap, you kind of be able to learn to collaborate with the younger generation.
April Chapman:
What about if someone is looking to be a mentor? Where would you recommend that they start?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
You can search for someone that know the field for some time and ask them a question. So my advice would be first contact would be your HR to check whether any availability for opportunity to look for a mentor in a different location or in a different department and they will be able to match you up with the interests of field that you’re looking for.
April Chapman:
Do you believe in cross mentorship from different departments or do you think that someone should mentor someone within their own, maybe operations or sales or all that? What are your thoughts about it?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Well, I fully believe that cross-functional training, it’s very beneficial and I have actually done that for quite some time. The outcome is very positive and it’s helped build working together better among different departments. And it’s opened up a positive communication channel from one department to another, and you can work together and collaborate better.
April Chapman:
Wonderful. And then are there external resources or places that you would recommend if it’s outside of even our company for mentorship? Do you have anywhere that you would direct people?
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Yes, I do, actually. Since I have a large global network now, based on my experience, I actually have recommended quite a few youth to be mentored by some of my friends throughout my global network based on the field that they’re interested in.
April Chapman:
So we could come to you and say, “Put me on your list.”
Cathy Sofjan Wolf:
Absolutely. I’ll be happy to help as much as I can.
April Chapman:
I like that. I like that. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Cathy. I’m quite certain you’ve inspired many and to all of our guests, make sure to share this with a friend and we look forward to seeing you next time on the APLL Pulse podcast.
Thanks for joining us today. If you like what you heard or if you have any questions about today’s episode, reach out to us at Global_Marketing@APLLogistics.com. Make sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast apps. You’ll also find us on LinkedIn or visit us at APLLogistics.com. We’ll see you next time on the APLL Pulse Podcast.
If you like what you heard or if you have any questions about today’s episode, reach out to us at global_marketing@apllogistics.com. Make sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast apps. You’ll also find us on LinkedIn or visit us @apllogistics.com. We’ll see you next time on the APLL Pulse Podcast.
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