Region J Scholarship Fundraiser by SWE PNW

As we bid a fond farewell to Region J, we'd like to do one last thing to solidify the region's legacy. Region J plans to use its remaining region funds to endow a second scholarship. They are currently a little short on the necessary $25,000 required to endow a new scholarship. SWE PNW voted as an EC on April 22, 2018 to commit to a fundraising goal of $1,500 to help Region J close the gap to reach $25,000.

Endowing this scholarship will be Region J's final act. We hope you will join us in enabling the region to empower women to succeed one more time! If you are able, please make contributions through the link below by  Friday, May 25, 2018.

Margaret "Pritch" Pritchard

Donation Link: https://www.paypal.me/swepnw/25

What?

The new scholarship would be named for Margaret (Pritch) Pritchard, aka the “Godmother of Region J.” The new scholarship, if endowed, would have the following criteria:

• Renewable for 5 years
• Scholarship Recipient Class Status: Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate
• SWE collegiate membership required
• Any engineering major
• Geographic location preference: Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho
• Geographic selection based on College location, not home address

Statement from Daria Wightman, who co-chaired the 1996 SWE National Convention:

I would love to have an endowed scholarship in Margaret Pritchard (Pritch)’s name. Pritch was the godmother of the Section and Region J. She helped with the 1996 Convention in Portland and used her connections to provide local native American entertainment. 

She also mentored many of us in the Region as well as had SWE friends throughout the US. Since she traveled for her consulting engineering work, she was more comfortable being a member at large. However, she attended the Region conferences and Section activities when she was in town.

Pritch was a pioneer in the engineering field as one of the first SWE members in the Region. She solved engineering problems in water, wastewater, manufacturing, laundries, and energy around the world as well as in the United States.

She was quite a character and inspiration. She lived in Milwaukie and Oak Lodge, Oregon all her life and has been interviewed by local historians and SWE. As a pioneer in the field of engineering and consulting, she would be a great role model for young students applying for the scholarship. Her life would have so much more power to inspire and motivate and it would keep her memory alive.

To learn more about Pritch, check out these links:

• Oral History: http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Margaret_Pritchard
• SWE Pioneer: http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/page/4986-margaret-pritchard
• Podcast: SWE Stories – Tales from the Archives Episode #2: http://alltogether.swe.org/2017/11/podcast-swe-stories-tales-from-the-archives-episode-2/

Have questions about this SWE PNW Fundraiser?

• Contact our Section Treasurer at swe.pnw.treasurer@gmail.com for information on the finances or donation side.
• Contact our Section Rep at swe.pnw.section.reps@gmail.com for information on the Region J side. 

FY18 Region J Elections

Election season is upon us! If you are interested in getting involved at the region or society level of SWE, please let us know! There are many great opportunities to showcase your leadership skills. FY18 leadership position terms run from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.

We are currently soliciting applicants for:

* Professional Senator

* Collegiate Senator

* Region Representative to the Society Nominating Committee

* Region Collegiate Representative

* Region Collegiate Communications Editor

* Lt. Governor

* Treasurer

* Secretary

The Senator positions and Representative to the Society Nominating Committee are normally 2-year terms, but the Society has a plan to dissolve SWE regions at the end of FY18, so these positions would serve 1 year and FY18 would be the last year for all region leadership positions! 

For more information about these positions, go to this link on the Region J website: http://regionj.swe.org/uploads/2/0/3/7/20375581/region_officer_position_descriptions-042214-aco.pdf

If you are a professional interested in running for any of these positions, please contact Coral Jean (coraljean.cotterell@swe.org).  If you are a collegiate, please contact Nicole Woodman (nicole.p.woodman@gmail.com) for more information ASAP.

Applications (which consist of your name, section, membership number, and a list of previous SWE experience-year & role) for Senator, RCR, and RCCE are requested by Friday, February 10th, 2017. These candidates approved by the nominating committee will also have to submit a photo and candidate statement (a short bio and explanation of why you are running/what you hope to accomplish in the role) to HQ for inclusion on the Society ballot. More details will be provided on this later. Note that you are welcome to go ahead and submit your photo and candidate statement with your application.

The requested due date for the other region positions, Lt. Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Society Nominating Committee, is March 1st, 2017.

Note that some travel funding is available for all of these roles.

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This content was provided by:

Alice Orrell, Coral Jean Cotterell, & Stephanie Chin

Region J FY18 Nominating Committee

SWE PNW Bylaws Review - Call for Participation!

Greeting SWE PNW Members!

Recent changes in SWE's governance structure has necessitated change for our Section's bylaws. This specifically relates changes made to how Section Representatives are allocated per section.

If you would like to be involved in reviewing and making changes to SWE PNW's bylaws alongside our leadership team, please attend our bylaws review meeting.

This will occur from 9:00 - 10:00 am at the Redmond Panera Bread (private room) on February 19th

Please RSVP at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bylaws-review-meeting-tickets-31585576309

For more information on the Society level bylaws & governance changes, please check the following:

• Region J Senators' blog
• SWE Governance Update Page:
• Video Playlist on Youtube

Thanks!

Grace

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Grace Lefebure

President

Pacific Northwest Section

swepnw.president@gmail.com

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

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).

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.