Sunday, December 6, 2015

Call for FY16 SWE PNW Leadership Team Volunteers

We have a great team behind the scenes helping to lead & plan activities for SWE PNW – but we can always use more help!

If you are interested in taking on a volunteer role from small to large, let us know. Below are the current areas where we could really use your help and the contact emails.

Outreach (swepnw.outreachvp@gmail.com)

  • Outreach Vice President (please contact swepnw.president@gmail.com if you are interested in this role)
  • Exploring Engineering Activities committee and/or event hosts
  • Event photographers
  • Outreach event recap authors for newsletter and/or blog

Professional Development (swe.pnw.prof.develop@gmail.com)

  • Event photographers
  • PD event recap/key take-aways authors for newsletter and/or blog

Virtual Brand Team (swe.pnw.virtual.brand@gmail.com)
  • Committee members to help with the behind the scenes infrastructure planning, development, and maintenance
  • SWE PNW Member Forum Conversation Starters/Leaders
  • Newsletter Reviewer(s)
  • Guest Contributors to help with content (written or photos) for newsletter, blog, and/or social media postings

Friday, November 27, 2015

Embrace the Power of Mentoring

SWE Pacific Northwest professional section will be partnering with the SWE student sections at the University of Washington, Seattle University, and Everett CC in a structured mentoring program, and we want you to be a part of the program.  It is a short time commitment, but a very valuable experience for the students.  If you are interested in being a mentor, please see below for details of the program!

Who:  
Experienced engineers of any discipline.  Each interested mentor will complete the short bio/experience questionnaire found here: http://goo.gl/forms/A4oRiim1Gx

Please submit questionnaire by December 4th. We will need enough mentors as there are students signed up to the program and it will be first come first serve for mentors.  Please help spread the word!

What:
A structured, on-going mentorship with an experienced engineer so engineering students can gain access to professionals’ experiences.  We would love to have SWE members as mentors, but it is not a criteria.

When:
The program will meet with everyone 4 times over the course of the academic year.  The first meeting will include a speaker to discuss mentoring.  It will also be a chance to network and meet your potential mentor/mentee (similar to speed mentoring).

We will pair mentor and mentees based on preference questionnaires submitted after the first meeting. The mentor and mentee will then schedule meetings on their own (over the phone, over a cup of coffee, etc.) to engage in a mentoring relationship.

The kick-off/pairing meeting will be Monday, December 7th at 6:00PM (location details to follow). You must attend in order to participate in the program.

Future Dates for Group Mentoring Meetings:
March 1st
May 18th
Note: All meetings include dinner. Please save the dates now.

Questions?
Contact kay.pre@gmail.com and tamairaross@yahoo.com

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Girl Scouts of Western Washington STEM Fair

The Girl Scouts of Western Washington is hosting a STEM Fair. They are having a bridge building contest (Tiny Trusses) and on the testing day will be hosting a STEM fair during bridge testing.

When: Saturday February 27th 10:00-12:00
Where: Burlington-Edison High School

They are inviting all Girl Scouts in the area to come out to our STEM fair and bring their families and friends . Girls at the fair will range in age from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Contestants are 4th—12th grade. Girl Scouts of Western Washington would like to have a wide variety of STEM based tables, activities and displays to interest and educate girls on STEM opportunities, careers and companies.

If you, your group or your company are interested in hosting a table/activity, please let them know. Email the information listed below to Erica.fifer@gmail.com
  • Business/Group Name
  • Contact Person Name
  • Contact Number
  • Email
  • We will bring a: Display/Game/Activity
  • Space needed (approximate area you’d like)
  • Brief description of activity/game/display


Friday, November 6, 2015

SWE Region J Awards Program FY16

General Information:
The Region J Awards Program consists of two section awards, two individual awards, one employee
resource group award, and three membership awards. The awards will be presented at the ABJ Region Conference in Seattle, WA on February 20, 2015.

All submissions are to be submitted electronically to regionj.swe.awards@gmail.com. Please note that if your section or MAL group applies for more than one award, then a separate application must be submitted for each award. The submission deadline is December 23, 2015.

Incomplete packages, packages that do not follow the specified format, or those that exceed the word count requirements will be removed from consideration. In the event of a tie for any region award, honors and/or cash prizes will be split between the submissions included in the tie.

Specific questions concerning the Region J Award Program can be directed to the Region J Awards
Chair at regionj.swe.awards@gmail.com.

Award Summary

  • Professional Development Program Award
    • Collegiate and Professional/MAL sections invited to apply
    • Event must have been executed during FY15 or FY16 to be eligible
    • One $50 cash award presented to collegiate AND professional section
  • Outreach Program Award
    • Collegiate and Professional/MAL sections invited to apply
    • Event must have been executed during FY15 or FY16 to be eligible
    • One $50 cash award presented to collegiate AND professional section
  • Emerging Leader Award
    • Collegiate and Professional/MAL members invited to apply
    • One award presented to a collegiate AND professional member
  • Distinguished Outreach Service
    • Professional/MAL members invited to apply
    • One award presented
  • Employee Resource Group Award
    • Professional/MAL sections invited to apply
    • Event must have been executed during FY15 or FY16 to be eligible
  • Membership Awards (No application needed)
    • Awarded to sections with best growth and retention
The awards packet can be found here: http://www.swe-pnw.org/awards--recognition.html

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Announcing the FY16 Region J Mentorship Program!

The SWE Region J Mentoring Program is officially underway!

We invite SWE professional members to join as a mentor and/or as a mentee.  Resource packets and virtual sessions on various SWE related topics will be provided as part of the program to make this a successful and rewarding experience for mentor and mentee.

Call for Mentors:
  • You might be a mentor if you:
    • Are you a current SWE member
    • Have a passion to inspire and develop others in SWE 
    • Have a desire to grow your own leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills
  • We are looking for SWE members in Region J of ALL experience levels to mentor more junior members in the region. 
  • Whether you’re only a couple years in or have been a member of SWE for as long as you remember, there are other SWE members out there who can benefit from your experience and guidance! 
  • Mentors can share experiences in professional development and personal choices as well as grow SWE connections.  
  • Sign up to be a SWE Region J Mentor here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/766SYD5


Call for Mentees:
  • You might be a mentee if you:
    • Have been thinking about developing you SWE path
    • Are looking for someone who can share experiences in professional development and personal choices  
  • As part of this program you’ll be paired with a more senior SWE member who can help you build your career and also help you navigate the many benefits of SWE, including award applications, opportunities to be involved, and also networking.
  • Sign up to be a SWE Region J Mentee here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZR3Y6Q


The FY16 Region J Mentoring Program will be taking sign-up through 11/30/15. For any questions please contact the Mentorship Chair, Pratima Rao (pratima.gn.rao@gmail.com).

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Sedro Woolley Area Girl Scout Bridge Building Contest - Mentors Needed

Erica Fifer is a civil engineer and Girl Scout leader in Western Washington. She is planning a bridge building contest for 4th grade girls in the Sedro Woolley area, which is about 1 hour north of Seattle.

One thing they are looking for are engineers (women or men, but women would be great) to help with the events and be mentors. Below are some of the key dates, activities, and types of volunteering role.

Key Dates & Activities:

  • January 16th - Initial meeting
    • This is when they will go over the majority of the information and have girls start discussing and drawing their designs.  
    • This would be a 2.5-3 hour time commitment.
  • January 30th - Finalize drawings and get drawings approved
    • The teams would come with their drawings done.  
    • Mentors will review them, make suggestions and approve the final drawing.  
    • Girls will be given their bridge building kits and start on building if they have time.  
    • This would be about 2 hours.
  • February 13th - Optional day
    • Girls to come get help with bridge building and get questions answered.
  • February 27th - Testing and STEM festival day.
    • They will be testing each bridge to find the break load and plan to have different groups and individuals come in and have STEM booths.

So here's the types of volunteers they are looking for:

  • Bridge Building / Examples
    • She is looking for adults to make bridges that they can have completed before January 16th.
    • These would be entered into the 'adult' or 'professional' division and to give girls some ideas to start with. 
    • A kit would be provided and you'd have until January 16th to build a bridge. 
  • Mentors
    • She needs folks to be mentors.  
    • The idea is that each group of 2-3 girls will have a mentor assigned to them, each mentor will have 3-4 groups (depending on how many groups and mentors they get).
    • They want to be sure the girls are doing the drawing and designs, but they want a mentor to help out by answering questions, making suggestions and making sure the drawings and design seem reasonable.
    • This would be a commitment to be at the events on January 16th and 30th for up to 3 hours each day.
  • STEM Festival February 27th
    • They are also looking for companies or groups to host booths at the STEM festival.
    • They are going to invite all Girl Scouts in the area and families and friends.  
    • This will likely be 4 ours or more and is still in the planning stages

If you could contact Erica Fifer by November or December 2015, that would be great.

FY16 Region J Positions Still Available

Want to make a bigger impact in SWE? Then consider helping out at the regional level! The following positions are still open. Anyone interested contact Wendy Jenkins or your SWE PNW Section Reps (swe.pnw.section.reps@gmail.com) if interested.

Region J Social Media Chair: 

  • The social media chair is responsible for maintaining the region’s social media accounts, posting and sharing articles and needed.  
  • This is a great opportunity for someone wanting to get involved but without a huge time commitment.  
  • All that’s needed is some social media savviness.


Region J Conference Coordinator: 

  • The conference coordinator serves as the Region J representative/liaison into regional conferences, particularly for years when we’re doing a joint conference with Regions A and B. 
  • Great opportunity to be in the loop on region  conference planning.


Region J Assessment Chair: 

  • The assessment chair is a new role for this year. 
  • This role requires you to work with the Region J treasurer to do financial assessments and audit the region’s financials. 
  • This is a good opportunity to learn more about SWE’s finances.


Region J Webmaster: 

  • The webmaster is responsible for maintaining the Region J website, making updates to the page as requested. 
  • This is a great opportunity for someone wanting to get involved but needing flexibility with their availability to volunteer. 
  • You don’t need extensive web design skills for this one – the interface for updates is pretty user friendly!


Region J Newsletter Editor: 

  • The newsletter editor is responsible for collecting articles and putting together the Region J newsletter, which goes out roughly once a quarter. 
  • This is another good opportunity to get involved with a lot of flexibility, and a chance to stay up to date on what is going on in the region. 
  • You also have a chance to get a little creative!


Region J Mentoring Co-Chair: 

  • The role of the mentoring chair(s) is to run the region J mentoring program. 
  • Information on how the FY15 program was run will be provided form past chairs, but there is a lot of flexibility in this role and opportunities for new ideas and improvements. 
  • Can be either just professional mentoring, or both professional and collegiates, potentially partnering with collegiate leaders in the region.


Saturday, September 5, 2015

ABJ2016: Explore, Empower, Engage is coming - and volunteers are needed!

Mark your calendars for February 18-21, 2016 – it’s going to be a great joint region A, B, and J conference hosted by Region J and the PNW section!

The website (http://abjconference.swe.org/) is live and already has some great information up on the conference activities and planned events for the conference weekend. Here are some quick highlights for what's up on the website:
In addition to the great things being planned, the planning committee is still looking for volunteers to help behind the scenes.

Here's the current list of volunteer needs:

  • Sponsorship Committee:
    • Multiple people are needed to contact potential sponsors for sponsorship.
    • One person is needed to serve as liason to the finance committee.
  • Program & Speakers Committee:
    • Multiple people are needed to review session speaker abstracts in October and November.  
    • Multiple people are needed to review keynote nominations in October and November.  
    • The committee meets every Wednesday at 7pm PT.
  • Marketing Committee: 
    • Advertising:
      • One person is needed to serve as chair and spearhead conference advertising. They will be responsible for getting the word out that the conference is happening (on radio, TV, news, newspapers, local journals, letting tech companies know, etc.).
      • Multiple people are needed to help the chair.
    • Communications: 
      • One person is needed to attend and take minutes for the weekly Conference Planning Meeting on Mondays at 6:30 
      • One person is needed to handle social media updates about the conference.
      • One person needed to create the conference program book.
    • Website:
      • One person is needed to help with website updates and to serve as a backup to the website chair.
  • University Integration Committee: 
    • Multiple people are needed to help plan the Career Fair and Hiring Event, including reaching out to sponsors (with the Sponsorship Committee), planning correspondence and marketing for the event (with the Marketing Committee), and supporting during the Career Fair (organizing, verifying tables & companies are oriented, etc.).  
    • Multiple people are needed to help review technical poster competition abstracts from December to February.
  • Outreach Event:
    • Multiple volunteers are needed to help plan and coordinate the Outreach event on Sunday afternoon of the conference.
    • One person is needed to manage the local STEM showcase during the pre-event time.  They will be responsible for reaching out to local STEM organizations (there’s a list) and tending to them day of.

As planning goes forward, please check out http://abjconference.swe.org/be-a-volunteer.html or contact regionabjconference@gmail.com with your questions on volunteering.

We hope to see you there in February 2016! 

Meet the new officers for FY16!

Please give a warm welcome and congrats to the elected officers for FY16:
  • President: Kathryn Cook
  • Treasurer: Suzanne Hakam
  • Vice President of Professional Development: Grace Lefebure
  • Vice President of Outreach: Amy O'Dell
  • Section Representative: 
    • Theresa Krack
    • Julie Bennett
    • Elaine Reeves

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

2015 Regions ABJ Leadership Summit

The FY16 ABJ Leadership Summit (formally the Regions A, B and J Meeting) will be hosted by the The Northwest Star Region (J) and the Southwest Idaho (Boise) Section on August 14-16th.

The ABJ Leadership Summit is an annual gathering of the west coast SWE region leaders and your participation is highly encouraged. ABJ is a very informative event and is often used as a forum to solicit feedback and gather ideas on present and future Society endeavors. Whether you are a seasoned vet or new to SWE, ABJ is a fun and informative event. It is also a great way to meet SWE leaders in a more intimate setting. If you are planning to attend, please let us know!

DATE: August 14-16, 2015

LOCATION:
475 West Parkcenter Boulevard
Boise, ID 83706
(208) 345-2002

The Saturday and Sunday meetings will be held nearby at Boise State University.

REGISTRATION:
$70 professional members
$75 professional non-members
$40 professional unemployed/retired
$40 collegiate member
$45 collegiate non-member

Your registration cost includes lunch and snacks on Saturday, August 15th.

SCHEDULE:
Friday: Hospitality suite 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday: All regions meeting (8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Sunday: Individual region meetings (8 a.m. to noon)
The full agenda will be provided on the Region J website: http://regionj.swe.org/abj-leadership-summit.html

HOTEL RESERVATIONS:
A block of rooms is reserved for meeting attendees at a discounted rate until July 31, 2015.
For reservations, please click here and use group code SWE. The room rate is $99/night for either a King bed or 2 Queen beds and includes a hot breakfast for two (2). If you plan to arrive earlier than 8/14 or stay later than 8/16, please call the hotel directly at (208) 345-2002.

Note: Breakfast will not be provided in the meeting rooms. Hot tea, coffee, and water will be provided throughout the day. A morning and afternoon snack will be provided. Should you require breakfast or additional snack, please plan to eat the hotel breakfast or bring your own items.

PARKING: Free.

TRANSPORTATION:
Many airlines provide scheduled service to and from Boise the Boise Airport. Visit http://www.iflyboise.com/ for more information.
The hotel offers a 24 hour complimentary shuttle to and from the Boise Airport via a joint cooperative with other hotels. Just hop on one of the free green and red Boise Shuttle Service vans at the airport and tell them you are going to the Holiday Inn Express off Parkcenter Blvd. Shuttles leave from the hotel to the airport every :05 and :35 after the hour. More information about this free service can be found on the Boise Shuttle Service website or by calling the hotel.
Taxis are also available at the airport and should cost around $15.
The hotel also offers a complimentary shuttle to downtown Boise. Please check with the front desk for availability.

FOOD: 
Please notify us of any dietary restrictions by e-mailing governor-j@swe.org.  Please put the words "Food Restrictions" in the e-mail subject.

We look forward to seeing you in Boise!

Brittney Elko, Region A Governor
Rachel Morford, Region B Governor
Wendy Jenkins, Region J Governor


Monday, June 29, 2015

FY16 Candidate Bios: Section Representative

Section Representative Candidates:


Theresa Krack

Theresa Krack has been an active participant and member of the Society of Women Engineers since her college days at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is passionate about continuing her development as a professional engineer but also strives to pay it forward to the next generation and continue to find ways to improve the SWE connections for current members.


Theresa was a professional member of the SWE Wisconsin (SWE-WI) Section from 2006 to 2013. Her passion was to help bridge her interest in SWE with her life-long passion for Girl Scouting. In May 2012, she became the SWE-WI Girl Scout Liaison, working to keep SWE-WI involved with Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE), coordinating STEM outreach events for both groups. For one such event, she organized a booth at the Girl Scout 100th anniversary Rock the Ice celebration, making silly putty with both girls and adults. She also support a SWE-WI program to connect established and active section members to new and less active members to help ensure that they felt connected to the section.


When she moved to the Seattle area in the fall of 2013 to work with Honeywell Aerospace, she became engaged and affiliated with the Pacific Northwest (SWE PNW) Section. Theresa worked to fit the SWE PNW events, both professional development and outreach, in her schedule of balancing moving, a new job, and a Master of Engineering program. She wanted to quickly connect with her new local section and was able to start meeting new people and learning what SWE PNW has to offer.


After learning about some of the difficulties connecting members across the challenging geography and traffic considerations, Theresa approach the SWE PNW leadership team with a 2 year plan to revamp and develop an improved virtual footprint for the section, in the hope that improving the virtual space for the group would provide better member-to-member engagement for the section. She became the Virtual Brand Coordinator and started to work at improving the section’s virtual footprint.


Just shy of halfway through that plan, she has transitioned and update the section webpage, launched an integrated social media platform, and has been working to streamline the behind the scenes infrastructure for the group. Theresa is excited for some of the new improvements that she’ll be launch for the Section in FY16 and looks forward to continuing to work with the SWE PNW!

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Elaine Reeves


Elaine Reeves received her B.S.E.E. from the University of St. Thomas in 2009 and is currently working towards her M.S.E.E. at the University of Washington.


She is currently working as an EMC Test Engineer and Deputy Quality Manager at Microsoft Corp where she performs controlled emission and immunity testing on ITE products. From 2009 – 2012 she was an EMC Test Engineer at Northwest EMC in Brooklyn Park MN, where she primarily focused on medical equipment testing.  She has been a member of both SWE and IEEE since 2001 as an undergraduate student.


Professional/Technical Society Activities:
2012 St. Cloud State University School Counselor
2012 University of St. Thomas School Counselor (interim)
2009-2012 SWE-MN Professional Development Committee Member
2012-present PNW-SWE Member
2009-2012 SWE-MN Member
2009-present IEEE Member
2009-present IEEE EMC Society Member
2008-2012 Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers
2010-2012 SWE National Scholarship Reviewer
2012 SWE-MN Scholarship Reviewer
2011-2012 SWE-MN Professional Development Committee Co-chair

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Julie Bennett

Julie Bennett is an Engineer and Scientist at the Boeing Company where she currently works as a project manager for the Product Development Electromagnetic Effects team supporting new technology projects and sustaining delivery efforts for BCA. Julie earned a bachelor's degree, a Master of Science in Engineering, mechanical, and a Master of Business Administration, operations, from the University of Washington. Julie was a former Treasurer for the Pacific Northwest Section and currently serves on the engineering program advisory boards for Central and Western Washington Universities.

FY16 Candidate Bios: VP Outreach

Vice President of Career Development (Outreach) Candidate:

Amy O’Dell

My name is Amy O’Dell and I have been involved with SWE-PNW for about three years. I am currently working as a Performance Engineer at Boeing in the Engine Performance group. Throughout my time with this section I have been involved in various outreach events, chaired the Certificate of Merit program for three years, and last year I served as the Vice President of Outreach. Prior to coming to the SWE-PNW section I was heavily involved with my collegiate SWE section at Iowa State University. During that time I was the Director of Outreach for two terms.











FY16 Candidate Bios: VP Professional Development

Vice President of Professional Development Candidate:

Grace Lefebure

I moved to Seattle about 3 years ago from West Chester, PA to work as a Stress Analysis Engineer at Boeing. I graduated from the University of Virginia (UVa) in 2012 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in biomedical engineering; these studies reflect my passion for biomechanics, and I would ultimately like to use my degree to innovate products to reduce sports-related injuries.

I currently serve as the Newsletter Editor of SWE-PNW. Within this role, I communicate events, activities, and news to our members and work with the virtual brand team to ensure consistent interaction with members. In addition, as a board member of the UVaClub of Seattle (Alumni group), I organize events to encourage Alumni networking and a connection to the University after graduation. Prior to moving to Seattle, I held various leadership roles at many organizations that helped me develop a diverse set of skills, including Fundraising Chair, Marketing Chair, Service Chair, etc. Most notably of these was my 2 year term as president of the Monroe Society at UVa, an organization that sets up prospective student visits with current students, where I coordinated hundreds of volunteers and transformed our communication strategy.

I am interested in the VP of Professional Development role because I believe that learning never ends and learning something new brings people together. I hope to plan a variety of events that stimulate engaging conversations to facilitate learning and encourage relationships among SWE members.

Outside of work, I stay very active in athletic endeavors like triathlons, yoga, boxing, and soccer. I’m looking forward to competing in a triathlon this June and my first backpacking trip in July.

FY16 Candidate Bios: Treasurer

Treasurer Candidate:

Suzanne Hakam


Suzanne is running for a second term as your section treasurer as she has spent this past year digging into SWE-PNW’s books and getting the records cleaned up and prepared for the IRS audit that is sure to come as we will be hosting the FY16 Tri-region conference. Suzanne is well suited for this position as she knows the details and history of our funds. She was Section Treasurer 2002/2003, again in 2004/2005 (as a replacement) and Region J Treasurer in 2007/2008.
Suzanne Hakam is a long-time, active SWE member (since 1983). She has held both appointed and elected positions on the national, regional and local levels, serving two years on the Board of Directors as the Region J Director, three years as a regional student coordinator, twice as PNW Section President, and twice as Region J Representative to the Society Nominating committee. She has held other positions in the PNW Section over the years: Program Chair, Membership Chair, Professional Development Chair, Newsletter Editor, Section Representative, Certificate of Merit & Freshman COM Scholarship Chair, and the Vice President of Career Guidance.
Suzanne received her MSEE in 1984 from Wichita State University and her BSEE from the University of Washington in 1979. She works primarily on military derivative programs for The Boeing Company for over 35years. She is currently in Wideband Communications and RF Systems in Kent, performing
Environmental and EMI qualification tests and integration of phased array communications technology and electronic avionics boxes.
When she is not busy with SWE, working at Boeing, or parenting her teenager Lara, Suzanne also enjoys reading, gardening, and Toastmasters. She is also a Girl Scout leader.

FY16 Elections Open!

Hello SWE PNW Members,

Elections are now open for the FY16 elected officer positions. Please take a few minutes to cast your vote using the following link.


The ballot will say active until July 21, 2015, after which the voting period will close.

If you are interested in participating on a section committee or have any ideas for the section, send an email to FY16 President Kathryn Cook at pnw@swe.org.

Thank you for your vote!
PNW Nominating Committee

Friday, June 5, 2015

FY16 Elected Officer Slate Announcement

Hello SWE PNW Members!

The PNW Nominating Committee is excited to announce the elected officer slate for FY16. As we close FY15, we would like to thank all of the outgoing officers for their dedication and leadership. Transitioning into FY16 we want to build on our outstanding outreach programs as well as support each of our members in developing their professional networks and leadership skills.

To support these goals, the Nominating Committee is proposing the below slate for the FY16 Elected Officer positions:
Position
Candidate
Vice President of Professional Development
Grace Lefebure
Vice President of Career Guidance (Outreach)
Amy O'Dell
Treasurer
Suzanne Hakam
Section Representative #1
Theresa Krack
Section Representative #2
Elaine Reeves
Section Representative #3
OPEN
Secretary
OPEN
President Elect
OPEN

If you are interested in being added to the proposed slate of candidates, please contact the Nominating Committee at swe.pnw.nomination@gmail.com no later than June 20, 2015. After June 20, 2015, the Nominating Committee will send out voting information to all members. 

If you are interested getting involved with one of our committees (ex: outreach, professional development, finance, membership, or virtual brand), please also reach out to the Nominating Committee. Note there is no deadline for becoming involved with a committee.

We also welcome all suggestions and comments for the section! If you have any thoughts or ideas, please contact on our webpage here: http://www.swe-pnw.org/contact-us.html.


Sincerely,
Kathryn Cook (FY15 President-Elect)


Nominating Committee Members:
Kathryn Cook - Chair
Lisa Schmalhurst
Yael Tropen

Friday, March 13, 2015

WE14: A Global Exchange for Change

SWE's annual conference took place in Los Angeles, CA at the end of October. The fun-filled weekend was packed with lectures, dinners, expos, and networking opportunities - in total, I attended 23 different events!

For me, the most influential portion of the conference was the inspiring female leaders in the engineering community. In particular, three of these women stood out: Tara Mohr, Jessica Matthews, and Felicity Briody. Tara Mohr, the author of Playing Big, spoke about how to leverage your strengths to excel in any area; her key points included silencing your inner critic and unhooking from praise and criticism.

Another thought-provoking speaker, Jessica Matthews, preached the importance of understanding the impact of an innovation in the emotional and social realms by citing examples from her company, Unchartered Play. Unchartered Play creates children's toys (soccer ball, jump rope) that harvest the kinetic energy of play - the harvested energy is then used to power a light, which makes a huge difference in the lives of people in communities without electricity around the world.

Furthermore, Felicity Briody, shared her passion for engineering education in Australia by describing her engineering event model called Power of Engineering. Power of Engineering events have successfully increased enrollment in high school math and science classes as well as raised interest in pursuing a STEM career. The variety and quality quality of the events at WE14 were unbeatable. Can't wait to see what Nashville has to offer next year!

(By Grace Lefebure, originally published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, November 2014)

Honors for SWE PNW Members

Boeing Technical Fellowship
Congratulations to the SWE-PNW members who have been selected as one of Boeing’s Associated Technical Fellows for 2015. The Fellowship provides a technical career path as an alternative to a management career path, with compensation and benefits increasing with leadership responsibilities. The entire Fellowship membership represents roughly the top 4.5 percent of Boeing's technical and scientific employee population.

  • Gross, Gwen; EO&T, Boeing Research & Technology; Materials, Process & Physics; Tukwila, Wash.
  • Matheson, Evelyn; Commercial Airplanes, Airplane Development; Electronic & Electrical Engineering; Everett, Wash.
  • Miller, Adrienne; BDS, Phantom Works; Systems Engineering; Tukwila, Wash.

SWE PNW Member Honored by Women of Color STEM Conference
The Women of Color STEM Conference celebrates superior achievements and leadership of minority women in the fields of engineering, science, technology and mathematics (STEM). The conference also provides encouragement and promotes educational opportunities for professional women and aspiring students in these fields.

The Women of Color STEM Conference is produced by Career Communications Group, a Baltimore-based multimedia service company founded in 1982 to promote engineering science and technology to minorities. Among the honorees at the event in Detroit, the following SWE PNW member was honored as a Technology All-Stars for innovative contributions to STEM-related fields: Melinda Hanczyc (works for Boeing Commercial Airplanes).

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, December 2014)

The Next Generation of Communication & Interaction for SWE PNW is Coming!

We are launching an exciting new effort to update the virtual interface we offer for our section.

The first step: our webpage!

We are transitioning our webpage to new servers and updating the format (and content). This change will be happening over the Thanksgiving weekend and hopefully will be up and running by the first week of December. There may be some hiccups with the transition due to the holiday, so bear with us.

Beyond that, there are going to be some great things in the works to help build and improve over virtual brand and the interface we provide to all of our members.

If you want to follow along with the details of where we are at, the status of things in work, and hints of the great things to come, head on over to Google+ and circle us there (SWE PNE Virtual Brand). If you want to help, send us a message there or through our email.

So have patience as we goes through these updates - and get excited for the awesome things to come!

Theresa M. Krack
SWE PNW Virtual Brand Coordinator

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, December 2014)


November 2014 Events & Activities Recap

General Body Meetings Recap

During the second week of November, SWE PNW hosted three general meetings and happy hours in various locations throughout the Puget Sound.

Thank you to all who were able to come out and make these events a success! Members had the opportunity to learn more about SWE and meet other members from across the section.

We look forward to meeting more PNW members at future events and encourage continued feedback from each of our members on what you would like to get out of SWE this year; whether through outreach events, social networking, or professional development.

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, December 2014)


Summer 2014 Events & Activities Recap

Here's a recap of some of what we did over the summer of 2014:

Seawall Tour
SWE-PNW had a great turnout for our most recent tour – this time getting an in-depth look at the City of Seattle’s Elliot Bay Seawall Project. Jessica Murphy returned as our tour guide, sharing the vast complexities of such a unique project. 
Jessica spoke previously at a Tech Talk, returning for a tour by membership request. The tour group gathered at Pier 62 and walked south to the Seattle Ferry Terminal, stopping at locations where construction is in work. Currently, construction can be seen periodically along the route, with open sections roped off and viewable to the public.



Summer Socials
We had a great time at our June and July Socials at Lazy Boy Brewing and La Palmera, respectively. 



(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, August 2014)

August 2014 Event & Activity Recap

Check out some of our August 2014 Event Summaries below:


Planetarium Event
On Saturday, August 23rd, approximately 20 SWE-PNW members and their family and friends enjoyed an evening of stargazing at the University of Washington’s planetarium housed in the Physics-Astronomy auditorium. This informal show was led by Kristine Washburn, faculty advisor for the Everett Community College’s SWE-Collegiate Interest Group.

She guided participants through the night time sky as viewed from Seattle, farther north from Alaska, and even from below the equator, identifying the north star and surrounding constellations along the way. We looked at star clusters, nebulae, planets, and galaxies that have been mapped over a significant period of time with the cooperation of universities as well as government and private industries. It was a highly engaging and interactive session.


2014 ISEC Family Science Fest
Our outreach volunteers headed to the Museum of Flight for the 2014 International Space Elevator Consortium's (ISEC) Family Science Fest on Saturday August 23rd.

We had a booth at the event along with many other STEM outreach groups and our activity was paper helicopters. The kids had a blast finding out the differences between the big helicopter and the small helicopter and seeing what happens when you switch the orientation of the rotors. We even had some helicopter races by dropping two of them from the second story of the museum and seeing which one hit the ground first! Thanks to all of our volunteers!

(Originally Published in the SWE PNW Newsletter, October 2014)

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Newsletter & Events Update

(Originally posted on swe-pnw.org on January 14, 2015)

Happy New Year!

We hope everybody's year is off to a great start!

We're off to a bit of a rough start - we're currently working through a few glitches right now on our virtual communication and the newsletter distribution - but don't worry, we have a plan in plan to fix and improve that. We're working on a new mailing list distribution tool that should give us not only better content and list management but also improve layout and format embedded in the email. It's very exciting, so keep your eyes peeled!

Since we've had some issue with the distribution the newsletter, we're highlighting the upcoming February Tech Talk here to make sure the word gets out. We will be hosting Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz, who will share her experience as a tech entrepreneur​. Here are the basic event details:

February Executive Tech Talk & Networking
When: 2/24/15, 7-8:30PM
Where: Local 360; 2234 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98121
Includes: Dinner from Local 360
Cost: $35.00 for the event, $2.92 ticket fee = $37.92
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/february-executive-talk-networking-tickets-15302732886 

We hope you'll join us for the February Tech Talk. Keep watching the webpage and our current Facebook group for updates and information.

Thanks for your patience!

Take care,
Theresa Krack
SWE PNW Virtual Brand Coordinator

Pardon our dust!

(Originally posted on swe-pnw.org on November 26, 2014)

Welcome to the new home for our section webpage! We're in the process of updating the format and platform for our webpage, so please pardon our dust as we go through the changes.

In addition to a new webpage, we are also working on an integrated virtual brand, which will help us provide information to members, allow for greater member interactions with each other, and help improve our groups overall communication.

Keep watching the webpage and our current Facebook group for updates and information as we launch these new tools and features. We are targeting a full go-live in January 2015 - so let's get excited and ready to interact in a new way!

Thanks for your patience!

Take care,

Theresa Krack
SWE PNW Virtual Brand Coordinator

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