FY24 Section Election Guide - Candidate Bios and Statements

Hello Readers! The FY23 Nomination Committee is excited to present the following slate of candidates for consideration by the membership as SWE PNW officers for the FY24 fiscal year:

• President-Elect - Extending nomination until 07/09

• Secretary

• Treasurer-Elect

Secretary Candidates

Kelsi Bonner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsibonner

Biography

My name is Kelsi Bonner, and I am running for secretary of the SWE PNW section. I moved to the Seattle area in 2021, where I landed a job as a structural engineer working on residential projects.  I have been an active member of SWE for six years; I was a member of my collegiate section since my freshmen year of college, and I recently joined the SWE PNW section. In the past year with SWE PNW, I have participated in numerous events and coordinated an outreach event with high school students at Edmonds College. I have attended multiple WE Local conferences, including the conference in Seattle in 2023. I am passionate about SWE because I love inspiring kids within the community to pursue STEM careers and enjoy connecting with other professional members. 

Candidate Statement

Hello, I am Kelsi Bonner and I am running for secretary of the SWE PNW Section. In my collegiate SWE section, I served as secretary and treasurer, and as a member of the leadership board, I eagerly contributed in meetings and planning of section events. As secretary of my collegiate SWE section, I kept correspondence and meeting notes organized to improve the communication among the leadership board members, and I updated the website and social media to ensure members were aware of upcoming events. If I am elected as secretary of the SWE PNW section, I hope to keep members updated and engaged by ensuring all relevant section information is accessible through all platforms (website, email, blog, and social media) because I want to promote participation from members to maintain and grow our section membership. I am dedicated, organized, and hard-working, which is why I believe I would make a great secretary.  I would greatly appreciate your vote. Thank you!

Treasurer-Elect Candidates

Taylor McGriff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-mcgriff-83535384/

Biography

 

Hi! I’m Taylor. I graduated from WSU with my BS in Mechanical Engineering in 2020. I work for ATS Automation, a controls contractor in Western Washington, as a Sales Engineer where I do preliminary design of controls system and estimating. Outside of work I am a hip hop dancer, novice ice skater, and a huge fan of both Taylor Swift and Minions. Throughout my life I have always found myself in finance roles, with the most recent being a finance advisor and treasurer of my sorority. I love the community that SWE allows us to build here in the PNW and would love to use my background to help keep this community stay strong.

 

Candidate Statement

Since attending the WE Seattle conference earlier this year I have been excited to be more involved in SWE. I am excited to learn more and be more involved. I have had past experience in finance positions throughout my life which I hope to apply to the treasurer position going forward. In university, I was the treasurer of my sorority managing 200 member accounts and a budget of $300,000. I also spent a semester in the student body government as the Finance committee chair for the ASWSU Senate managing a budget of around $300,000 as well. Post graduation, I previously worked as a Finance Advisor for my sorority and oversaw the decisions and planning for a chapter. I had to overcome many obstacles when working with young adults which included solving problems of overspending, and rebalancing budgets. In my day job, I am an estimator and work with budgets every day. I have projects that I managed for years before they came to fruition. I also have projects where I have had to turn around pricing in as quickly as a few hours. By being more involved, I hope to meet more people. Throughout life, I have found that the best way to meet people is to be where others are. I hope that by taking on this role I might get to meet more people and make friends. That might sound odd, some people might think that finances are not the best way to meet people, but I have found that finances impact every area of an organization and give me the opportunity to meet even more people, plus it comes easy to me. I would be thrilled to be more deeply ingrained in this community I have come to love so much. Thank you!

"Let's Get it" Series - Professional Development Event #2

 

Let's Get it Series: Building your Personal Brand

Thursday June 29th, 2023 6-7 PM

Google Meet, Video Call Link: https://meet.google.com/tfv-wmrm-akx

Please join us for the second event of our "Let's Get It" professional development series. 

This second event will focus on building yourself up by aligning your goals with who you aspire to be - all stages of professionals welcomed!

Our speakers will be:

                                Dana Day

Dana is the Project Engineering Manager for Modular Power Sustaining Projects, responsible for the engineering projects affecting Lynnwood and Kaohsiung production. In her first year at Crane A&E she established a framework and gates for sustaining projects to operate under, while not limiting the team’s nimbleness and independence.

Prior to joining Crane A&E in January 2022, she was a technical project engineer for flight controls, airplane systems, and most recently, passenger seats at Boeing. She started her career as an MRB engineer on the 747 airplane, providing technical solutions to nonconformance issues. 

Beyond the workplace, Dana is a STEM Outreach Advocate and leader within the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at the society and local levels. In 2015, Dana was a recipient of SWE’s Distinguished New Engineer award, a reflection of her achievements in her career, at SWE, and in her community. She helps lead her daughter’s girl scout troop and coaches her kids’ soccer team.

                Piper Duckett                            

Piper is a Seats Supply Chain Operations manager, responsible for development projects to bring customer directed seat designs to Boeing in time for their airplane delivery plans. She's been at Boeing for 12 years in a variety of roles, including Interiors with galleys, lavs and electrical inserts.  Piper was highlighted in BNN (Boeing News Network) for her inclusive "Boeing Behaviors" as a leader. Before Boeing, Piper had a 25 year career in retail with The Bon Marche (later Macy's) and excelled at a variety of roles from buyer, regional homestore manager, director of gift registry services, VP store manager and DVP Gatekeeper, managing communications and logistics between the corporate office and the stores. She's been married 38 years to a terrific, supportive husband and they are parents to two grown daughters. One of their daughters is transgender and they are supportive of LGBTQ rights for all.

Please register for this event at this Google form by June 26th: https://forms.gle/CABpzDDDXXCbk47g9

Call for FY24 Nominations

 

Call for FY24 Nominations

Hello SWE PNW!

We hope that this note finds you well! As we are preparing for a great FY24, we are opening the nomination period for the SWE PNW elected officer positions.

This year the elected officer positions for the executive council are:

• President-Elect (two-year term, becomes FY25 President)
• Secretary (one-year term)
• Treasurer-Elect (two-year term, becomes FY25 Treasurer)

Please note that the President and Treasurer positions are already filled for FY24 as they were voted President-Elect and Treasurer-Elect for FY23. Each executive council position will have at least the following responsibility: All elected officers are expected to attend the monthly executive council meetings.

The following positions will be appointed by the FY24 executive council once the elections are complete:

• Vice President of Outreach
• Vice President of Professional Development
• Vice President of Social & Networking

Additional details of each elected and appointed position are included in the second half of this post.

Your nomination, for either elected or appointed position(s), needs to only consist of your name and position(s) of interest at this time. Please limit nominations to up to 3 position(s) and provide order of interest by email to swe.pnw.nomination@gmail.com by Sunday, May 28th, 2023.

If you have any questions about making a nomination for any of these positions, feel free to reach out to the Nomination Committee. We are more than willing to help answer your questions!

Thank you,

SWE PNW Nomination Committee

Kelsie McCall, Gail Fukimoto, Colleen McClure, and Lin Rosenfield. 
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President (Filled for FY24)

The role of section president is to be filled by the president-elect from the prior fiscal year’s elections.  If the president-elect is unable to fulfill the duties or was not elected by section membership, the role of the president must appear on the ballot. The president’s duties are to include but are not limited to:

• 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 chair of nominating committee;
• Approve the appointment of all committee members, except the members of the nominating committee;
• Authorize the disbursement of 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;
• Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
• Perform other duties normally associated with the office of president or as may be assigned by the executive council or the governance documents.

President-Elect

The role of president-elect is meant to spend the year learning what the president’s role entails such that the seat-holder can easily transition to President in the next fiscal year. The candidate must be willing to dedicate time throughout the two (2) years as a President-elect and President to lead the officers, and to work with SWE headquarters. The president-elect's duties are to include but are not limited to:

• Assume the duties of the president in case of temporary absence or temporary inability to serve;
• Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned;
• Authorize the disbursement of section funds within the budget approved by the executive council; and
• Perform other duties incident to the office of president-elect, whether assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.

Secretary

The position of secretary is elected to a 1 (one) year term.  The secretary’s duties will include but are not limited to:

• Maintain records of the section, record meeting minutes at all EC meetings, maintain and update bylaws as needed;

• Serve as the section data officer and send out email communications to membership;

• Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned;

• Support the virtual brand committee by maintaining connection between the virtual brand committee and the executive council; and

• Perform other duties normally associated with the office of secretary or as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.

Treasurer (Filled for FY24)

The role of treasurer is to be filled by the treasurer-elect from the prior fiscal year’s elections.  If the treasurer-elect is unable to fulfill the duties or was not elected by section membership, the role of the treasurer must appear on the ballot. The treasurer’s duties will include but are not limited to:

• Be responsible for the collection, distribution, and safekeeping of section funds;
• Be an authorized signatory on all section accounts;
• Prepare, maintain, and report as directed on the financial position of the section in relation to the approved budget;
• Submit a financial report to the Society in accordance with established procedures;
• Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
• 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.

Treasurer-Elect

This role is meant to spend the year learning what the Treasurer’s role entails such that the seat-holder can easily transition to Treasurer in the next fiscal year. The candidate must be willing to dedicate time throughout the two (2) years as a treasurer-elect and treasurer to lead the officers, and to work with SWE headquarters. The treasurer-elect’s duties will include but are not limited to:

• Assume the duties of treasurer in case of temporary absence or temporary inability to serve;

• Be an authorized signatory on all section accounts;

• Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and

• Perform other duties incident to the office of treasurer-elect, whether assigned by the president, the treasurer, or the governance documents.

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Vice President of Outreach

The position of VP of Outreach is appointed to a 1 (one) year term.  The duties of this position will include but are not limited to:

• This officer manages and oversees the section’s outreach activities;
• Oversee the deployment of SWE PNW Student K-12 Outreach Programs such as:
• Explore Engineering Workshops
• Kids in Science and Engineering (KISE)
• Expanding your Horizons (EYH)
• Community outreach booths (e.g., PSEC Engineering Fair booth)
• Schedule and plan events, engage volunteers, and manage the outreach portions of the section budget;
• Oversee the section Outreach Committee; and
• The intent of this role is to serve as liaison with student outreach programs, especially K-12.  As the size and volunteer interest in the section allows, mentorship programs with collegiate students may be coordinated through other section volunteers, such as a mentoring program coordinator.

Vice President of Professional Development

The position of VP of Professional Development is appointed to a 1 (one) year term.  The duties of this position will include but are not limited to:

• This officer will be responsible for the section’s professional development; 
• Develop events including but not limited to technical talks, technical tours, skills development/workshops, and Executive leadership talks;
• Schedule and plan events, engage volunteers, and manage the professional development portions of the section budget; and
• Oversee the Professional Development Committee. 

Vice President of Social & Networking

The position of VP of Social & Networking is appointed to a 1 (one) year term.  The duties of this position will include but are not limited to:

• This officer will be responsible for the section’s social and networking activities; 
• Develop events including but not limited to coffee chats, happy hours, trivia/game nights, and event meetups (sports, hiking, etc);
• Schedule and plan events, engage volunteers, and manage the social and networking portions of the section budget; and
• Oversee the Social & Networking Committee. 

 

SWE PNW Annual Banquet - April 30th, 2023

We'd like to invite you to our Annual Banquet to celebrate coming to the end of FY23 and connect new and lifelong SWE members in the region!

We will start our program with a Keynote Speaker 💜

Followed by lunch:

- Caesar Salad

- Quinoa Salad

- Grilled Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon*

- Grilled Marinated Flank Steak*

- Soba Noodle Dish (V)

- Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Market Vegetables

- Grand Central Bakery rolls and butter

- Assortment of Cookies

Lastly, we will have a brief summary of SWE PNW over the last few years and then plenty of time to mingle and take pictures at this gorgeous venue!

Please RSVP by heading to the Eventbrite and buying a ticket by April 22nd: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/swe-pnw-annual-banquet-2023-tickets-586579524147

"Let's Get it" Series - Professional Development Event #1

Let's Get it Series: Building Essentials

for your Financial Outlook

Wednesday April 26th, 2023 5-6PM

Google Meet, Video call link: https://meet.google.com/afn-zfhm-cww

Please join us for the first event of our "Let's Get It" professional development series. 

This first event will focus on building essential knowledge and skills for financial planning - from early career to mid-career professionals.

Our speaker will be Vikram Ganu:

Vikram is a senior manager in Ernst & Young LLPs (EY) Private Tax group. He provides tax advisory & compliance services to founder-led enterprises, family offices, individuals, private foundations, and their related businesses.

He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of California and a Registered Investment Adviser Representative with the US SEC.

Please register for this event at this Google form by April 22nd: https://forms.gle/47mo4SXDLnRURZxt7

WE Local - Seattle

WE Local - Seattle March 31st- April 1st

We'd like to invite you to participate in the upcoming WE Local - Seattle Conference on March 31st & April 1st. 

WE Local conferences take place around the world and are organized by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to bring together participants in all stages of their collegiate and professional journey. The conferences create space for engineers and partners to connect through professional development sessions, inspirational speakers, networking opportunities, and more.

The local conference does not come to the PNW often, but we welcome the conference and you all!

Seattle is one of the world’s leading cities for technology, and a place where innovation and ingenuity comes to life. Join hundreds participants in all stages of their careers to network and learn through professional development sessions, inspirational speakers, networking opportunities, and more. Connect at our career fair featuring recruiters from top engineering and technology companies, and be a part of a WE Local Community. You will leave with renewed inspiration – and definitely a few new friends. 

Registration is open and early bird prices are available until March 10th!

Registration includes: 

• Two full days of conference admission, including keynotes, educational sessions, special events and workshops
• Access to the Career Fair on Saturday

WE Local Seattle will take place at the Sheraton Grand Seattle at 1400 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101. To make a reservation, book here.

WE Local Seattle Social Committee is looking for individuals or companies in the Greater Seattle Area that can help sponsor or support activities at the conference. 

This year’s social committee’s theme is “The Great Outdoors”.

• Hand on or visual demonstration or display showcasing Pacific Northwest's culture and commitment to the environment
• In-Kind donation for Raffle or Trivia Winners

WE Local Seattle Collegiate Competition Committee is looking for individuals to participate as judges for both undergraduate and graduate student categories. 

There are other volunteering opportunities with the conference, and volunteering may allow for a discount on conference registration.

Please reach out to welocalcommittee@swe.org if you're interested in volunteering!

We hope to see you there! 💜

Join the Outreach Committee! Upcoming Outreach Events

Join the Outreach Committee!

Are you interested in helping organize and run outreach events? Do you have a passion for getting kids into STEM? If so, we want you to help out on the outreach committee! Keep an eye out for a meeting time and location!

Here are some upcoming events to get involved with: 

Upcoming Outreach Events

Raisbeck Aviation High School (RAHS) - Industry Night 

Volunteers needed for RAHS Industry Night! We are looking for professionals from all STEAM backgrounds to mingle and chat with high school students. Come share your stories over a light meal and good company. You can also choose to mentor any students you meet during the event. Interested? 

Email Geya at swepnw.outreachvp@gmail.com. Please reach out ASAP!

 

Thursday February 9th

3:15pm call to order (but can show up right at 3:45pm if needed)

3:45-5:15pm event 

 

Raisbeck Aviation High School

Tukwila, WA 98108

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Girls Who Tech Pitch Weekend

 

 

Mentor a team for the Girls Who Tech Pitch weekend! Looking for passionate, driven, like-minded field experts who can come together to mentor youth, learn, network, and help showcase students’ potential. During this 3 day event, student teams will work with a variety of mentors to propose launching a startup company or program that will address a social/community need. If interested in volunteering, please fill out this mentor interest form. Mentors will be asked to be available during the following times.

Required Times for Mentors:

Saturday 2/11:  1:00 - 3:00 Mentor Sessions - for mentor-specific rotations

3:00 - 5:00 Group work sessions - to be available for open sessions/troubleshooting

 

Sunday 2/12:  10:00 - 12:00 Group work sessions - to be available for open sessions/troubleshooting

 

Friday evening mentors are not required, but they are certainly welcome to get a feel for the students and the pitches that will move forward. The same would be true for the final presentations that occur on Sunday. For a full schedule, you can visit the website.

 

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Lake Washington Girls Middle School - STEAM Café

We are looking for volunteers to come and talk to middle schoolers about their work and career paths! This is a recurring volunteer opportunity that is held monthly on either Mondays or Thursdays during 11:30-12:10pm. Teachers are interested in bringing in underrepresented individuals: minority, LBTQIA, first-generation college, etc. If this is you and you’re interested in getting involved, please fill out this google form and Katie (Science & STEAM teacher) will get in touch with you! (If you do not identify with the underrepresented groups listed but are interested in volunteering, please still apply!)

 

Lake Washington Girls Middle School

Seattle, WA 98144

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Arrowhead Elementary STEM Night                                                      

Your help needed at Arrowhead Elementary STEM Night! We are looking for 4 volunteers to help run our outreach booth and engage with elementary students as you lead them through a hands-on activity, the articulating hand workshop. Interested? Email Geya at swepnw.outreachvp@gmail.com. 

 

Tuesday March 21st

5pm set up

5:30-7:30 event

 

Arrowhead Elementary

Kenmore, WA 98028