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:

• Call for Speakers is open until September 30th: http://abjconference.swe.org/call-for-abstracts.html
• Call for Keynote Nominations is open until September 30th: http://abjconference.swe.org/call-for-keynote-nominations.html
• Sponsorship packet is now posted: http://abjconference.swe.org/sponsorship--support.html
• Registration will be opening in late September!

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

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:

Holiday Inn Express Boise-University Area

475 West Parkcenter Boulevard

Boise, ID 83706

(208) 345-2002

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

REGISTRATION:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-regions-abj-leadership-summit-tickets-17310869276!

$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

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.