Thursday, May 25, 2017

FY18 Section Election: FAQ on our Election Cycle, Part 1

You have questions, we have answers! There have been some good questions we've received on our FY18 Section Election, so we wanted to collect them and provide answers in one stop. The FAQ is grouped by the following topics:
  • Candidate Slate
  • Elected Officers & Positions
  • Petition Period
  • Nominating Committee
If you find that your question is not listed here, let us know! Contact information is at the end of this post. We hope that this helps you understand and participate in the FY18 Election!
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Candidate Slate

What is the Candidate Slate?
This is the listing of candidates that have been vetted by the Nominating Committee and are eligible to be elected officers should they be voted in. It includes listing each candidate for all elected positions:
  • President
  • President-Elect
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Vice President of Professional Development
  • Vice President of Career Guidance/Outreach
  • Section Representative

What is the “Vice President of Career Guidance/Outreach” - I thought it was just “VP of Outreach”?
This is the Vice President of Outreach. Our Section By-laws call out the official position title as Vice President of Career Guidance/Outreach, so it has to be listed on the slate that way.

Why is there an election for President for FY18? I thought that the President-Elect became President?
In FY17, the position of President-Elect remained unfilled. As a result, the President position is on the ballot again for FY18.

I want to add a candidate to the slate - how do I do that?
You can nominate additional candidates, provided that:
  • The member you want to nominate is eligible for the position;
  • The member you want to nominate has given written consent to being placed on the ballot;
  • A minimum of two percent or five of the voting members of the section, whichever is greater, have signed a petition or endorsed an email to place the candidate’s name on the ballot

As of May 17, 2017, our section currently has 582 members on our roster. Two percent of that, rounded up to the next whole number, would be 12 members.

All of required information list above must be submitted to the Nominating Committee before the closure of the petition period in order for a candidate to be considered for the final ballot.

I heard that this was the last year for Section Reps. Is that true?
Yes. You can learn more about how that impacted this election cycle in our blog post, FY18 SWE PNW Election & Section Rep Role Update.


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Elected Officers & Positions

What is the eligibility criteria for the elected officers?
Anyone who wants to run for an officer position must first be a paid SWE PNW member in good standing with the Society, Region, and Section. The president, vice president(s), and section representative(s) must be voting members of the Society. All other section officers must be voting members of the section.

What are the terms for the elected officer positions?
Section officers serve in a position for a term of one (1) fiscal year, to coincide with the Society’s fiscal year which is July to June.

Can someone serve in the same position in back-to-back years?
Yes, as long as they still meet the eligibility requirements for the position they are running for in the following year.

The only exception is with President-Elect position. The person serving as the President-Elect will continue on to the President position the following year. In effect, the person filling the President-Elect role serves the section as an elected officer for 2 years, one fiscal year term each of President-Elect and President.

Can an officer hold more than one position at one time?
Yes! Officers may hold more than one office provided that there is a minimum of three elected officers of the section. However, no one may hold the office of president and treasurer at the same time.

What are the duties of each position?
Here are the duties per our section by-laws and including current operating expectations:

President
  • Represent the section before the public and preside at meetings of the section and its executive council
  • Appoint the chairs of all committees, with the approval of the executive council, except the chair of the Nominating Committee
  • Approve the appointment of all committee members, except the members of the executive council
  • Authorize the disbursement of the section funds within the budget approved by the executive council
  • Be an authorized signatory on all section accounts
  • Coordinate activities and execute the business and policies of the section between meetings
  • Review and approve the year-end section financial report
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of the president or as may be assigned by the executive council or the governance documents


President-Elect
  • Serve as president in the year following their term as president-elect
  • Assume the duties of the president if the president is temporarily unable to serve
  • Assist the current president with all duties

Secretary
  • Maintain records of the section, record meeting minutes at all EC meetings, maintain and update bylaws as needed.
  • Support the virtual brand committee by maintaining connection between the virtual brand committee and the executive council.

Treasurer
  • Be responsible for the collection, distribution, and safekeeping of sections funds
  • Prepare, maintain, and report as directed on the financial position of section in relation to the approved budget
  • Submit a financial report to the Society in accordance with established procedures
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of treasurer or as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents
  • The treasurer manages and reports on SWE PNW’s budget, bank accounts, grants/donations and performs financial audits. If needed, a committee will also lead fundraising drives

VP of Career Guidance/Outreach
  • This position leads explore engineering workshops, the University mentoring program, certificate of merit (COM) and COM scholarships, collegiate scholarships.
  • The committee funds and manages relationships the following organizations: Kids in Science and Engineering (KISE), Expanding your Horizons (EYH), community outreach booths (PSEC, schools, etc.)
  • Chair the Outreach committee
  • Coordinate activities of other committees that support the section’s Outreach goals
  • Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.

VP of Professional Development
  • This position leads and manages technical talks and tours, skills development events, social/networking events, and the book club.
  • Assume the duties of the president if the president is temporarily unable to serve and if president-elect position is unfilled or if president-elect is also temporarily unable to serve
  • Chair the professional development committee
  • Coordinate activities of other committees that pertain to professional development of section members
  • Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.

Section Representative
  • Represent the section as a voting member on monthly region conference calls and in person region meetings. Act as a liaison between the section and the region
  • Submit section reports to the region (3 per year)
  • Perform those duties expected of them as described in the region governance documents
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of section representative or as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.
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Petition Period

What is the purpose of the petition period?
The petition period allows sections members to provide feedback on the candidates and section election process. This is also the time for members to ask question about the process.

How long does the petition period last?
The petition period closes 15 days after the slate is announced. For the FY18 election cycle, the petition period closes on May 30, 2017.

What kind of candidate feedback is the Nominating Committee looking for?
The Nominating Committees is looking for your feedback and/or concerns on the candidates list on the slate. This feedback should be focused on the requirements of the position and the mission of SWE.

How will my feedback on candidates be used?
All feedback will be assessed by the Nominating Committee and used to make any necessary adjustments to the slate before the ballot is posted for the voting part of the election cycle.

I want to provide feedback on a candidate - how do I do that?
Please email your feedback to the Nominating Committee at swe.pnw.nomination@gmail.com.

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Nominating Committee

What is the Nominating Committee?
The Nominating Committee oversees the section election process. They are responsible for the following:
  • Soliciting interested candidates
  • Vetting interested candidate slate
  • Ensuring candidates meet the requirements of the position(s) they are running for
  • Reviewing and taking any necessary action on feedback provided during the petitions period
  • Presenting the final ballot
  • Conducting the voting period and tallying the results

Can members of the Nominating Committee be on the slate/ballot?
No. Per our section by-laws, members of the nominating committee may not become candidates during their tenure of service on the Nominating Committee.

Who are the members of the Nominating Committee that are overseeing the election for FY18 officers?
The members serving on the Nominating Committee in FY17 to support the FY18 election cycle are:
  • Tamaira Ross (Committee Chair)
  • Cary Kaczowka
  • Kimber Hinson
  • Maria Barna

How can I get involved in the Nominating Committee activities in the future?
The call for Nominating Committee members typically goes out mid-fiscal year, in the December/January time frame. Look for specific calls then.

Alternately, let one of the officers know and they’ll make sure to keep you name in mind when the call does go out next year.


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This FAQ was compiled and reviewed by Theresa Krack and Elaine Reeves, FY17 Section Representatives. It is based on the information contained in the SWE PNW By-laws and additional information relevant to the FY18 section election cycle.

If you have questions on this FAQ, please contact them at swe.pnw.section.reps@gmail.com.

If you have questions or feedback pertaining to the FY18 Section Election Cycle, please contact the Nominating Committee directly at swe.pnw.nomination@gmail.com.



Sunday, May 14, 2017

FY18 Candidate Bios: Section Representative

The FY18 nominating committee is very excited to present the following candidate bios for the elected positions listed below:
  • Section Representative (elect 1):
    • Theresa Krack
    • Wendy Jenkins
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Theresa Krack

Theresa is excited to be running for the position of FY18 Section Representative!

She has been an active member and leader in SWE PNW since 2013 and has been a professional member for over 10 years. As one of SWE PNW’s Section Reps for the last two years, Theresa have actively represented the section in SWE business meetings and governance change discussions at both Society and Region/WELocal conferences.

One of her accomplishments with SWE PNW has been leading the strategic effort to integrate and upgrade the section’s virtual footprint and communication platform. This has been an ongoing, multi-year project that Theresa has combined with her role as Section Rep to improve the member-to-member engagement and communication of key SWE information.

Theresa completed a dual degree program, earning a B.S. (major: physics, minor: math) from the University of Wisconsin (UW) – Eau Claire and a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the UofM – Twin Cities. She completed her Master of Engineering in Management online through the UW – Madison while working full time as an engineer (and moving from Wisconsin to Washington). Theresa has worked in the aerospace industry on aircraft certification projects for approximately ten years and currently works at Honeywell Aerospace in Redmond, WA.

Going into the last year of Section Reps, Theresa believes this is a critical role for the section to have an experienced voice representing the section in the region, society, and governance discussions. She hopes to continue to be that representative voice for the section.
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Wendy Jenkins
Wendy Jenkins joined SWE in FY04 and quickly took on leadership roles.  Since moving to Seattle in 2009 she has held many section positions including Section Representative, Treasurer, and President.  She has also served at the region level as Senator and most recently Region Governor.  

Having spent the last few years in region level positions, Wendy is excited to once again get involved in the local section.  She hopes that her knowledge and experience will prove beneficial in helping the section reach its FY18 goals.  

Outside of SWE, Wendy enjoys hanging out with friends, playing softball, and traveling.  She recently left Boeing and now spends most of her time working towards starting her own home inspection business.

FY18 Candidate Bios: Vice President of Outreach

The FY18 nominating committee is very excited to present the following candidate bios for the elected positions listed below:
  • Vice President of Career Guidance/Outreach (elect 1):
    • Dana Day
    • Lynette Lopez
    • Sarah McDowell
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Dana Day
Dana is a long-time advocate for STEM outreach for girls. Having served as the FY12 SWE-PNW President, she is familiar with the potential strength and passion this section has to give back to our communities by sharing our love stories about engineering. As FY11 President-Elect, she sought out a task force to bring back PNW's partnership with the local girl scout groups. Dana looks forward to growing that partnership as the FY18 VP of Career Guidance.

Dana has been a SWE member since 2004, a SWE Distinguished New Engineer award recipient in 2015, and has held a several positions throughout SWE. Most notably, she was the FY15 Society Outreach Chair. Dana worked with the SWE Outreach director and her team to launch the Outreach Metric Tool and the popular SWENext program during her term. She also focused on building better connections and relationships with the sections and outreach advocates across the Society. For 5 years, she was on the core planning team for the Invent It. Build It. event that is held on the last day of the annual conference. She has continued to be a key figure in executing large-scale STEM Outreach events, including at the 2016 Joint Regions' ABJ Conference and the SWENext DesignLab event at WE Local San Jose.

Dana wants to continue to build on the SWE-PNW outreach foundation by building stronger partnerships with local STEM organizations, expanding our outreach portfolio, and enabling our members with the right training to become confident and effective outreach leaders.
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Lynette Lopez
Lynette Lopez is a manufacturing engineer at Boeing working on production of the 777 fuselage. She has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Arizona University, and is currently working on an MBA from Pepperdine University. 

She began her SWE membership as the president of her university’s SWE chapter in 2005. For the past 3 years, she has led the Expanding Your Horizons events for SWE PNW, an event which focuses on introducing middle and high school girls to careers in STEM.


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Sarah McDowell
Sarah McDowell has been a member of SWE since 2013 as a mechanical engineering student at Washington University in St. Louis.  As a collegiate member, she planned and organized the Girl Scout Day event, which included various engineering-based activities for the girls ages 8-14.

She has always been passionate about encouraging young girls to learn more about STEM fields and gain the confidence and interest to pursue them throughout their education.  She also volunteered for Girls for Science, a Chicago-based organization that supplements the public schools' science curriculum by teaching middle school girls about various STEM subjects on intensive Saturday learning sessions.  Sarah has continued being an active SWE member since graduation and joined the PNW Chapter when she moved to Seattle in October 2016.

FY18 Candidate Bios: Vice President of Professional Development

The FY18 nominating committee is very excited to present the following candidate bios for the elected positions listed below:
  • Vice President of Professional Development (elect 1): 
    • Marina Dannecker
    • Sonia Hingorany
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Marina Dannecker
Marina became a SWE member while she was an engineering student at UCLA. As a sophomore, she joined several committees for UCLA's collegiate SWE section. During her junior year, she was on the executive board as Evening With Industry External Chair. As a senior, Marina served as President of the UCLA section. In this role she lead a board of 16 people to organize outreach, professional development, advocacy, and mentorship events.

After graduating college, Marina moved to Seattle and joined SWE-PNW. This past year she has been a member of the Professional Development Committee and helped to plan events like technical tours. She is excited to continue being involved in SWE-PNW by organizing more events that help empower women to succeed in STEM fields.




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Sonia Hingorany 
Sonia Hingorany currently serves on the SWE PNW Executive Committee as one of the Section Reps focused on Membership Engagement. This year, she has organized several social events including happy hours (and head shots!) and a tour of one of Amazon's Prime Now Fulfillment Centers. Sonia looks forward to continuing her involvement with SWE and leading the professional development mission this coming year.

Sonia moved to Seattle almost two years ago for her full-time job. She currently works at Amazon in the North America Transportation and Logistics organization. Sonia earned her MBA from Carnegie Mellon University where she focused on concentrations in Information Systems and Operations Management. Before earning her MBA at CMU, Sonia previously worked at Accenture for five years in a technology consulting capacity. She earned her BS in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Cognitive Science from UCLA where she initially got involved with SWE. Sonia held a position on the SWE board for three years. She played several key roles in SWE at UCLA as the Internal VP, responsible for handling funding for the organization, as well as the Evening With Industry chair. 

Sonia likes to play soccer and tennis and enjoy the outdoors including running, hiking, and skiing. She loves to travel; Sonia has been to more than 30 countries and visited 40 states in the US.
 

FY18 Candidate Bios: Secretary

The FY18 nominating committee is very excited to present the following candidate bios for the elected positions listed below:
  • Secretary (elect 1):
    • Erin Kiselica
    • Marina Dannecker
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Erin Kiselica
Erin Kiselica is originally from Syracuse, NY, and graduated with her Bachelors in Computer Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2012.  She moved to Seattle in early 2016, and is currently a Software Engineer at Amazon in the International Expansion organization.  As part of her role, Erin builds and supports software for India-first initiatives focused on improving seller experience.  In her spare time, she enjoys exploring Seattle, reading as many books as possible, and learning to play new board games.

SWE has been an important part of Erin's life since her freshman year of college in 2007.  As a collegiate, she held various leadership roles including Webmaster and Outreach Coordinator, organizing RIT SWE's award-winning overnight outreach program 2 years in a row.  As a professional, Erin continues to be involved in SWE through outreach, as a society scholarship judge, and served as Section Representative for SWE Philadelphia in FY16.  She hopes to continue to grow her involvement with SWE PNW this year!


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Marina Dannecker
Marina became a SWE member while she was an engineering student at UCLA. As a sophomore, she joined several committees for UCLA's collegiate SWE section. During her junior year, she was on the executive board as Evening With Industry External Chair. As a senior, Marina served as President of the UCLA section. In this role she lead a board of 16 people to organize outreach, professional development, advocacy, and mentorship events.

After graduating college, Marina moved to Seattle and joined SWE-PNW. This past year she has been a member of the Professional Development Committee and helped to plan events like technical tours. She is excited to continue being involved in SWE-PNW by organizing more events that help empower women to succeed in STEM fields. 

FY18 Candidate Bios: Treasurer

The FY18 nominating committee is very excited to present the following candidate bios for the elected positions listed below:
  • Treasurer (elect 1):
    • Ann Mary Myers
    • Sherrie Rippe

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Ann Mary Myers
As a participant of PACCAR Emerging Leadership Roundtable in Spring 2016, I had to go through a program to find my personal strengths were and it was determined that my top five qualities were:
  1. Activator – Outstanding in bringing thoughts into action
  2. Ideation - To find connections between seemingly disparate things
  3. Analytical – Search for reasons and causes to factor in everything that affects a situation
  4. Futuristic – Inspired by what the future could be and inspiring others with this vision
  5. Significance – To stand out and get recognized
I am passionate about advocating for changes in workplace to create an inclusive environment that addresses the needs of women in a way that increases productivity. In the past, I have been an active member of Society of Automotive Engineers and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. I have served as the Vice Chairman and Treasurer for the local IEEE chapter during my undergraduate days and have been a mentor to college students at Seattle University in the recent past. This is my first year with the Society of Women Engineers and I look forward to being a leader with SWE.

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Sherrie Rippe
Sherrie Rippe is a Tooling Stress Engineer at Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Everett, WA. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, she earned her Masters and Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Her passion is helping others grow in their professional and personal lives, she serves as a Board member for the North Seattle College Education Fund and is a Professional Career and Life Coach. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her husband, and playing with her two dogs and cats.

I am currently running for Treasurer of our section for FY18.  I have learned a lot about Non-Profit accounting in my time as a board member for North Seattle College Education Fund, and I would love to continue to increase my knowledge and aid in the fiscal health of our section. I have experience developing and revising policies and procedures, and would enjoy working with the executive board to ensure all of our procedures and policies are up to date. As a professional member, I have served as SWE-PNW Membership Chair FY09 thru FY11, as SWE-PNW Secretary FY12, and SWE-PNW Section Representative FY15. I am eager to apply my knowledge of how SWE operates to the role of treasurer.



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