Resume Review: On-going
In-person Webinar Discussion: June 19th
WE22: October 20-22nd
Welcome our FY23 SWE Pittsburgh Officers!
Voting for section officers is now completed.
Thank you to all that participated by voting in the election.
We are happy to announce the following officers for FY23.
President – Elizabeth Foster
Vice-President STEM Outreach – Mary Zeis
Vice-President Programming – Laura Traczynski
Secretary – Michal Chlebowski
Treasurer – Kim Daloise
A sincere thank you to our rising leadership for stepping into these roles and guiding us for the next year.
Special thanks to our outgoing leadership who have provided a strong foundation in our section:
President Samantha Orlando
Secretary Lindsay Bonn
Volunteers Needed for Pittsburgh SWE Non-Elected Positions
SWE Pittsburgh Committees are also seeking (non-elected) leads and members on their teams. We already have some interest in some of the roles, but we definitely need more volunteers. Please review the list below to see if you have an interest in or in helping with one of these roles. Email your interest to: swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com
SWE Committees Include:
Nominating Committee
• Proposes at least one qualified candidate for the elected officer
• Holds the election for the officers and reports the results
Fundraising Committee
Leads fundraising efforts in support of outreach, certificate of merit, professional development day and other SWE supported activities
Collegiate Liaison
• Bridge the gap between the section and collegiate sections in the area
• Assist collegiate sections with submitting required section documents (Financial Report, Leadership Roster, Section Agreement, etc).
• Plan annual Leadership Summit to connect all SWE leaders in the area
Membership Committee
• Welcome new (and transferred) members to our Pittsburgh SWE Section
• Member retention, Recognize our members
• Grow our membership in SWE Pittsburgh - ideas are welcome
Social Media Committee
• To connect with our members no matter what social media platform they may be following. • To connect with the larger engineering community in the Greater Pittsburgh area
SWE Pittsburgh Website Committee, Webmaster
• Provides a hub for information about SWE Pittsburgh
Job Bank Committee
• Coordinate job opening listings for companies and universities reaching out to the Pittsburgh SWE section
• Companies and universities who have posted openings on our website and in the newsletter: (and many more!)
Newsletter Committee, Editor
• Provide a communication platform for members & local community
• A point of contact for both members & non-members
• Presently use Mail Chimp for SWE Pittsburgh Newsletter
• Solicit articles from SWE Pittsburgh officers, leaders, and members
• Articles include upcoming events and activities, re-cap past activities, member information, job openings, member achievements, and any other items of interest to the members
SWE-Pittsburgh Events Committee – assist the VP Programming in planning Professional Development Day, tours, seminars, etc., as needed. (Year round)
STEM Outreach Committee
Volunteer leaders coordinate with the VP of STEM Outreach to create and deliver youth programming.
Specific roles include:
· Certificate of Merit Chair – Runs the yearly Certificate of Merit program that recognizes local high school girls who excel in math and science and are interested in engineering or technology as a career.
· YouTube Channel Manager – Uploads videos to our SWENext YouTube channel (as needed)
· SWENext Programming Chair – Creates programming for the SWENexters in Pittsburgh (at least one program every two months), both virtual and in-person. (Year round)
· SWENext Mentor/Advisor Program Chair – Matches high school students with mentors or one-time advisors from our section. Handles any requests we get for job shadowing or talking with an engineer, matching up a SWE member with a student. (Year round)
· SWE-Sponsored Competitions Chair – Handles the details for the three competitions where we sponsor awards: Future City, PJAS, and PRSEF. Interacts with the hosting organization, advertises for volunteers, finds judges, etc. (December – March)
June Event: In-person Webinar Discussion
June 19th at 1 PM ET
Margaux (coffee shop) in East Liberty.
Please watch the webinar in advance of this meeting. You can watch for free by logging in to the Advance Learning Center (linked above) using your SWE account. Thank you to Veronica Jamie-Lara for leading this discussion! Keep an eye out for an eVite coming to you soon.
Professional Development Day Recap
Thank you to all who attended or presented at Professional Development Day! It was a successful event and received a 9.7/10 rating from attendees!! We hope to see you at next year’s Professional Development Day. If you’re interested in accessing the content from PDD,
please reach out to Elizabeth Foster at emedfoster@gmail.com. Finally, another thank you to our to sponsors, SoftWriters and Eaton, for making this day possible!
It’s Time to Renew Your SWE Membership!
Thank you to the following SWE Pittsburgh members
who have already paid and renewed their membership in SWE for FY22:
Allison Flatt, Azin Shamshirgaran, Carol Pan, Chuck F Bleil, Deborah M. Tomko, Elizabeth Medley Foster, Hannah Starek, Isabel Duarte de Holanda Marques, Jenna Beital, Katherine Anne Tometich, Kendra Wong, Laryssa Bauer, Lucero Lopez, Michal Ann Chlebowski, Naga Katreddi, Rebecca Voss, Stephanie Paige Folkmire, and Xinyu Zhang.
A special thank you to SWE Life Members,
whose memberships are automatically renewed each year:
Fern DoVale, Roberta (Bobbi) Ferguson, David Guttendorf, Krissy Guttendorf, Janet Henke, Kathryn Kukla, Kylie Mazurek, Suzanne Laurich-McIntyre, Ruthann Omer, Helen Patricia, Marilyn Reeder, Mary Ann Walsh, and Mary Zeis.
Note: if you have renewed, but are not yet listed – you will be recognized in subsequent newsletters. If you have not yet renewed, please Renew Now !
Remember – June is the deadline Time for the $5.00 discount! – Use code EBIRDFY23
The SWE FY23 will begin on July 1, 2023! You should have received an email reminder from SWE headquarters. When you renew, your membership will be active for all of FY23 ending on June 30, 2023.
Are you retired or unemployed? There is a special rate available, with dues just $50 per year.
Are you a member of NSBE, SHPE, or AISES? You can save 30% with a joint membership.
Are you a K-12 Educator? There is a special rate of just $20 per year for you.
Life members and C2C members do not need to renew, as SWE will automatically renew these memberships.
Our members are taking advantage of the many membership categories: from Collegiate to Career, Professional, Associate, Graduate, multi-year Professional, Unemployed, Retired, and Life Membership.
All members: please remember to keep your SWE Profile up to date with your current address and employment.
At each stage of your career, SWE is here to help you build your local and global community. Together we inspire the next generation of engineers, advocate for those within the profession, and learn from fellow members who are legacies in the making.
Did you know that 20% of your membership dues come back to our Pittsburgh SWE section? This money is of great help to us locally - in running STEM Outreach programs, networking events, and professional development events.
And the money that goes to SWE HQ helps fund webinars, the online career center, section support, society-level outreach events, and so much more. (We couldn’t have all our programming without you!)
STEM Outreach Recap – A Busy Spring!
SWE Pittsburgh has been very active with STEM Outreach, with four events in the last five weeks.
On April 30, SWE hosted a hands-on activity table at the BotsIQ Finals Competition. Veronica Jaime-Lara from Smith+Nephew brought a CORI system to demonstrate. This is a handheld robotic system for surgical knee replacement. Students got the opportunity to learn about knee replacements and interact with CORI. At the other end of the table, Chuck Bleil and Mary Zeis helped students make electric greeting cards from copper tape, a button battery, and an LED bulb.
Separately, Smith+Nephew’s SWE group provided other volunteers as judges for the competition, led by Britta Ulm.
On May 13, SWE hosted a hands-on activity table at a STEAM Night organized by the Whitehall Public Library and the South Hills Interfaith Movement for afterschool students. The afterschool program mainly serves English Language Learners and resettled refugee students in grades 1 through 5. Parul Chauhan and Mary Zeis helped the students make Putty Balls. It was a big hit, with students coming back throughout the evening to make more.
On May 20, SWE hosted a hands-on activity table at the Carnegie Science Center for their SciTech Sports day. Students made a ball launcher from paper tubes and rubber bands and then tried to launch their aluminum foil ball into the target. We interacted with over 200 students in ~ 4 hours! Thanks to Deepika Devarajan, Kim Williams, Mikie Chlebowski, Jay Iyengar, Chuck Bleil, and Mary Zeis for volunteering.
On May 26, SWE ran a virtual Zoom Networking/Game Night for high school girls. Students played S-W-E-G-O, a form of bingo, where they networked with our SWE members and other students to find participants who fit the descriptions on the SWEGO card squares. The students enjoyed the evening, as evidenced by a post-event survey satisfaction rating of 4.5 out of 5 and a “recommend to a friend” score of 4.6. 100% of the students said they met someone new.
Thanks to SWE Pittsburgh members Kylie Mazurek, Deepika Devarajan, Lindsay Bonn, Erica Erickson, Natalie Amos, and Mary Zeis for volunteering for the event.
Are You Going to WE22?
October 20 – 22, 2022
George R. Brown Convention Center - Houston, TX
Register now and book your hotel room!
The theme this year is, “A World of Opportunity Awaits”.
BE AMBITIOUS - Break out of your comfort zone! Reconnect with old friends and build new friendships and professional relationships with ample networking opportunities.
RAISE YOUR SIGHTS - With approximately 300 organizations on site at the 2-day career fair, WE22 is the perfect place to explore new opportunities and interview for professional positions and student internships.
NEVER STOP LEARNING - Enjoy keynotes, Inspirational Insights general sessions, and over 250 professional development sessions. WE22 has an incredible wealth of education and inspiration for attendees!
Receive 20% off your registration now through 8/31/2022 with the code WE22EARLY20
Professional SWE Member
$475
$380
Retired or Unemployed Members
$250
$200
Collegiate SWE Member
$125
$100
Discounts – Volunteer at WE22!
Fulfilling a volunteer role at WE22 and/or Invent It. Build It. (IIBI) is easy and fun and makes you eligible to earn a registration refund post-event. To be eligible for the volunteer refund, you must check-in for your shift at the WE22 Volunteer Room.
Note: Only one volunteer refund or promo code is allowed per attendee. Refunds cannot be combined with a registration promo code. So, choose which option is right for you.
A 25% post-WE22 refund for volunteers with a single shift of 3 hours or less.
A 50% post-WE22 refund for volunteers with a shift(s) between 3-6 hours.
A 75% post-WE22 refund for lead volunteer positions or a general volunteer shift(s) over 6 hours.
Please let us know if you are planning to attend, either in-person or virtually! Send an email to swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com.
SWE Pittsburgh Certificate of Merit Program Recap
We had a very successful year with the SWE Pittsburgh Certificate of Merit Program. 48 schools participated, which is a record high. And 130 high school girls were honored.
The SWE Certificate of Merit Program is a way for our section to recognize local high school girls who excel in math and science and are interested in engineering or technology as a career. Each participating school can nominate a senior, a junior, and a sophomore. We honored 46 seniors, 43 juniors, and 41 sophomores. (Some schools did not submit names for all three grades.)
The seniors receive a certificate, a $100 check, a “join SWE” flyer, and a personal, handwritten “Congratulations” note. The juniors and sophomores receive a certificate, a “SWENext Be That Engineer” brochure, a personal handwritten note, and an invitation to join SWENext (the free program for K-12 students).
The monetary awards are funded partially through the generosity of Southwestern Pennsylvania Engineering Outreach (SPEO), who gave us a $2000 grant this year. Thank you to SPEO! We couldn’t have reached so many schools without you.
The rest of the monetary awards came from member dues rebates and fundraising. Thank you to our members for renewing each year! And thank you to Jay Iyengar, our Fundraising Chair.
66 high schools were invited to participate. 48 schools submitted nominees. They were:
Allderdice High School
Hempfield Area High School
Preston High School
Ambridge High School
Keystone Oaks High School
Quaker Valley High School
Baldwin High School
Kiski Area High School
Riverview High School
Barack Obama Academy
Ligonier Valley High School
Seneca Valley Senior High School
Bishop Canevin High School
Lincoln High School
Seton LaSalle High School
Brashear High School
Mars Area High School
Shaler Area High School
Brentwood High School
Montour High School
South Fayette Township High School
Canon-McMillan High School
Moon Area High School
Sto-Rox Jr. Sr. High School
Carlynton Jr/Sr High School
Mt. Lebanon High School
The Ellis School
Chartiers Valley High School
North Allegheny High School
Thomas Jefferson High School
Elizabeth Forward High School
North Catholic High School
Trinity High School
Fox Chapel Area High School
Norwin High School
University High School
Franklin Regional High School
Oakland Catholic High School
Upper St. Clair High School
Greater Latrobe Senior High School
Peters Township High School
West Mifflin Area High School
Grove City Area Sr. High School
Pine-Richland High School
Western PA School for the Deaf
Hampton High School
Pittsburgh SciTech Academy
Westinghouse Academy 6-12
Thanks to SWE member Claire Bradshaw who was this year’s Certificate of Merit Program Chair.
Her team included Janet Henke, Jay Iyengar, Elizabeth Foster, Kim Daloise, and Mary Zeis.
Claire, Mary, Elizabeth, and Jay writing the personal notes to each winner.
Thanks also to SWE members who attended high school award ceremonies to present the certificates in person: Mary Ann Walsh (presented at 3!), Sierra Barner, Kim Daloise, Dorothy Measures, Joanne Smith, Jane Updyke, Michal Chlebowski, and Mary Zeis.
Pictures from Awards Ceremonies
Left: Mary Ann at Mt. Lebanon Senior Ceremony
Right: Mary Ann at Mt. Lebanon Junior Book Awards Ceremony
Left: Mary Ann at Upper St. Clair HS Right: Jane Updyke at Sto-Rox High School
Mary at North Catholic High School
Appreciation for SWE Pittsburgh’s Certificate of Merit Program
“Just wanted to connect and thank you for the inspiring note and recognition you and SWE provided to Grace last night. She was so elated and thankful. We were moved by your support and so thankful leaders like you are committed to reaching back to help others on their path!”
- Doug K., father of the North Catholic HS sophomore who received our SWE award
“Hello! My name is McKenzie and I was chosen as a recipient of your SWE Certificate of Merit Award! This is the email that was provided on the lovely handwritten note that accompanied my certificate and check, so I hope this reaches the right people. I just wanted to express my gratitude for receiving this award as it shows me that my hard work is being recognized. It is nice to see that this society exists in such a male-dominated field, so I am so excited to join it when I get to college! Thank you again for your generosity and support!”
- McKenzie, senior at Canon-McMillan, going to Case Western to study engineering
“Thank you so much for recognizing our outstanding female students!”
- Karen J Rubican, School Counselor, Canon-McMillan High School
“Thank you so much for giving me the SWE award! I appreciate the encouragement you gave me as another woman in STEM. The award meant a lot to me!”
- Sophie, Senior at Upper St. Clair, going to University of Michigan for Computer Science
“Thank you so much for giving me the award! I am so grateful for it. It’s such an honor and I will keep continuing my engineering exploration in the summer. Thank you!
- Sophia, Junior at Upper St. Clair
“Thank you so much for your generosity in giving me this award! It means a lot to me. I am honored that you chose me and that my work has been recognized.”
- Natalie, Sophomore at Upper St. Clair
“Thank you so much for recognizing and encouraging our outstanding female students!”
- Lynn Kistler, Science Curriculum Leader, Upper St. Clair High School
“Thanks so much for continuing this program. We love being able to encourage students (especially girls) to consider STEM fields. Presenting these awards gives us a wonderful opportunity to remind them that in a few short years, they'll no longer be STUDENTS but could be actual professional SCIENTISTS or ENGINEERS or whatever exciting & challenging career they are considering or dreaming of now. “
- Julie Ann Mountain, Teacher, Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
“Thank you for recognizing these young women for their commitment and hard work!”
- Lisa Gibson, Gifted Coordinator & SWE Next Sponsor, Fox Chapel Area High School
Appreciation for SWE Pittsburgh’s Certificate of Merit Program
“Thanks to SWE for sponsoring and administering this program!”
- Matt Anticole, HS Physics Teacher, Norwin High School
“This is such a great program and we really appreciate being able to participate.”
- Susan Hlebinsky, Science Department Facilitator, Peters Township High School
“Thank you for your continued support of my students!!”
- Michael Miller, Physics/Engineering Teacher, Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy
“Thank you for doing this again this year! The girls really appreciate it.”
- Steven Fortunato, Teacher, Seneca Valley Senior High School
“Thank you for your work and time”
- Paul Stadelman, Mathematics Teacher/Department Chair, Shaler Area High School
“Thank you for including us in your program!”
- Stephanie Gutshall, Science and Tech Ed Department Chair, South Fayette Township High School
“Thank you for everything you do.”
- Joe Herzing, School Counselor, Sto-Rox Jr. Sr. High School
“As always, we greatly appreciate being included in this program and having this opportunity to recognize our students!”
- Samuel Rauhala, Interim Science Dept. Chair, The Ellis School
“I would like to thank you for including out school in this award. We are honored.”
- Katrina Cimorelli, Assistant Principal, University High School
“Thank you for doing this every year!”
- Alexis Zywan, Teacher, West Mifflin Area High School
“Thank you so much. We are very appreciative that you were able to include us.”
- Katrina Cimorelli, Assistant Principal, University High School, Morgantown, WV
“Thank you so much for including KOHS and this wonderful recognition program!”
- Michael Linnert, Principal, Keystone Oaks High School
“Thank you for doing this each year!”
- Julie Sitko, College and Career Counselor, Moon Area High School
"Thank you for recognizing our students!"
- Barbara Lucido, Guidance Secretary, Grove City Area Sr. High School
Volunteers Needed for STEM Outreach - Resume Review
Do you look at resumes as part of your job? Would you like to help high school girls put their best foot forward with their resumes?
SWE Pittsburgh is offering a Free Resume Review service for high school STEM-interested girls between now and the end of June. For girls without resumes, we offer a 30-minute consultation session after the girl fills out a resume worksheet that we provide them.
We’ve had a great response to this offer with over 30 girls signing up already with more registrations coming in every day.
We need SWE members who are knowledgeable about resumes to review these resumes and give feedback. We have a handy tips sheet to guide you so that all volunteers are giving consistent feedback.
If you are interested in reviewing resumes or conducting consultation sessions, please reach out to swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com. Thanks!
Check out Job Postings in the Newsletter and on the SWE Website
Please remember to keep your SWE profile up-to-date - please include your employment, education, and address; also remember to check to opt-in for SWE to send you emails (email is the main method of SWE Pittsburgh communication to our members). Members’ information is how we keep in touch with you and it is not shared outside of SWE
Did you know that by simply shopping on smile.amazon.com and selecting Society of Women Engineers as your supported charity, Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to our Section? How awesome is that!
If you want to put your Amazon shopping to good use, follow these steps:
Step 2: Select Choose your charity -OR- change the charity your supporting
Step 3: Search for Society of Women Engineers
Step 4: Search for the Pittsburgh, PA Location
Step 5: Shop shop shop! Well, remember to shop at Smile.amazon.com!
SWE Pittsburgh FY22 Leadership
Samantha Orlando - President
Elizabeth Foster - Vice President – Programming
Mary Zeis - Vice President – Outreach & STEM Outreach Co-Chair
Lindsay Bonn - Secretary
Kimberly Daloise - Treasurer
Mary Ann Walsh - Membership Co-Chair
Carol Pan - Membership Co-Chair
Jayashree Iyengar - Fundraising Chair
Veronica Jaime-Lara - Social Media Chair
Deepika Devarajan - STEM Outreach Co-Chair
Dorothy Measures - Job Bank Coordinator
Erica Stevens - Webmaster
Cassandra Solarczyk - Newsletter Editor
Laura Traczynski - Collegiate Section Liaison
Sara Guza - Collegiate Section Liaison
Chuck Bleil - Data Officer
Claire Bradshaw - Certificate of Merit Program Chair
Mikayla Ferchaw - YouTube Manager
Michal Chlebowski - Carnegie Science Center (CSC) Event Coordinator
Dianne McMaster - Nominating Committee Chair
Look for us on the SWE Pittsburgh website and contact any of us by sending an email to swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com
Would you like to sponsor SWE Pittsburgh?
If you would like your company to be a local sponsor, contact SWEPittsburgh@gmail.com
