WE22: October 20-22nd
General Body Meeting: October 27th, 7:00 pm
STEM Outreach Event: November 3rd, 6:00 pm
Fall General Body Meeting
Please join us for our first general body meeting of the year on Thursday, October 27th, 7 pm-8:30 pm.
Come hear about our section’s goals, events, and other plans for this year.
This meeting will be virtual; the Zoom information will be sent out prior to the event.
Last Call: Are You Going to WE22?
Please let us know if you are planning to attend WE22 in Houston on October 20 – 22, 2022. We’ll be taking a picture of all of the SWE Pittsburgh members at the conference.
Send an email to swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com. So far, we know that Lucero, Mary, Chuck, Mikayla, Kim, Dianne, Sophia, Julie, Natalie, Paige, Veronica, Kalavati, Mikie, Emily, Helen, and Kathy are attending. Hope you can, too!
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. I wanted to share some updates on our section goals with you. Our executive team met and brainstormed goals in August, which we then finalized at our September executive board meeting.
Here is a link to a detailed version of our goals (complete with sub-goals and team leads assigned to goals). In brief, our overarching goals are: (a) improving member retention and increasing the number of active members; (b) maintaining and developing industry partnerships; (c) furthering diversity and inclusion efforts; and (d) addressing SWE Mission Award areas of weakness. If you’re interested in helping us accomplish any of these goals, please reach out and let’s chat about how you can get involved!
We’ll discuss our goals as well as section operations in more detail at the General Body Meeting on October 27 - I hope to see you there 😊
Thanks,
Elizabeth Foster
SWE Pittsburgh President
Eaton Mixer Recap
On Thursday, September 22nd, we partnered with Eaton for a mixer at Condado! This event was in connection with the Global Clean Energy Action Forum, which was held at the Pittsburgh Convention Center.
Self-Care Social Hour Recap
We had our first virtual program of the year on September 28th, which was a self-care social hour. It was fun to catch up and share tips on how to relax and relieve stress.
5th Annual SWE Collegiate Leadership Summit
Written by -SWE Collegiate Liaison-Lucero Lopez
This year’s collegiate leadership summit was held at Carnegie Mellon University in the Danforth Conference Room in the Cohen University Center on September 24th, 2022. Attendees included members of the professional SWE Pittsburgh section, our sponsors Hatch, Eaton, and Omnicell, and the collegiate sections of Geneva College, Grove City, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Penn State- Erie Campus, and the University of Pittsburgh.
The summit covered a wide range of topics, including membership, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, mentorship, outreach, and many more SWE resources. Brought back by popular demand, we also designated a block of time for officer roundtables: a session dedicated to each position from each prospective school to sit down with one another and share ideas, insights, and experiences that would help in the upcoming year. This session is always a big hit; in fact, the Carnegie Mellon University SWE Section President Siya Scindia commented, “My favorite part of the summit was the officer round tables session! It was great to connect with SWE leaders from other collegiate sections and bounce ideas off of each other. I definitely feel like all the sections are much more connected now, and I’m looking forward to collaborating on future initiatives.” Needless to say, we hope to continue this tradition for all future collegiate summits.
In addition to making connections to our professional SWE section, the collegiate students got an opportunity to network with our attending sponsors. Hatch delivered the keynote address and answered students’ questions about the transition into industry. Eaton presented some live demonstrations on the variety of products they offered and highlighted upcoming opportunities for collegiates to consider.
With the close of a successful summit, I want to say thank you again to all our SWE Pittsburgh Speakers and volunteers and the generous support of our sponsors.
Volunteers Needed for STEM Outreach
Here’s the latest opportunity to volunteer for in-person/on-site STEM Outreach. Help inspire the next generation of engineers!
Pittsburgh Science & Technology STEM Fall Festival – Thursday, Nov. 3, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Location: SciTech Academy, 107 Thackeray Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (On Pitt’s campus, right below Benedum Engineering Hall; Free parking in the lot next to the building.)
SWE Pittsburgh has been invited to host a hands-on activity table at SciTech Academy’s STEM Fall Festival. This event typically has over 200 people attending (students and families).
We need volunteers for this event. Since it is in the evening, it is perfect for SWE members who work. Family and friends are welcome to volunteer with you.
On September 10, 2022, SWE Pittsburgh hosted a hands-on activity table at the Southwest PA STEM Fest in Washington, PA.
The kids made paddle boats powered by a rubber band and then got to race them in the water “canals”. The boats were made from paper cups, skewers, plastic straws, and a lot of duct tape! This activity was a big hit, with some kids coming back to race again and again.
Over 115 kids made boats and raced them. We also talked with over 55 parents about engineering careers.
Thanks to SWE members Chuck Bleil, Mary Zeis, and Elizabeth Gillian for volunteering at the SWE table. Thanks, also, to Elizabeth’s husband, Alec!
Check out Job Postings in the Newsletter and on the SWE Website
Are you an Employer looking to post a job? Contact swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com
SWE Pittsburgh Membership Updates
Thank you Renewing Members!
During the previous month, the following SWE Pittsburgh members have paid and renewed their membership in SWE for FY23:
Amrutha Ramesh, Casey McBride, Danielle Larson, David Dadowski, Geeta Shirvalkar, John W. Zondlo, Macey Hanes, Mikayla Ferchaw, Sabrina Liu, Sandy Jo Risha, Sierra Barner, and Susan Finger
We are at 52% renewed members. Our goal is 80% renewals. If you have not yet renewed, PLEASE continue to support our mission and renew on the SWE website. The SWE early registration discount has ended. Those who renew without the discount, will instead be entered into the SWE Pittsburgh drawing for a chance to win $5.00.
Welcome New Members! Please join us in welcoming the following Professional members to the SWE Pittsburgh Section:
Erika Carrara | Professional Member, BS, Chaminade University of Honolulu, employed as Chief Information Security Officer, Wabtec Corporation
Lydia Guthrie | Professional Member, MS, Mechanical Engineering, Penn State University, BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, employed as Director of Program Management – CRDS, Eaton Corporation
Rebecca Neiser | C2C Member, Student, Mechanical Engineering, Penn State University
We look forward to seeing you at our future events!
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 FY23 Leadership
Elizabeth Foster - President
Laura Traczynski - Vice President – Programming
Mary Zeis - Vice President – Outreach & STEM Outreach Co-Chair
Michal Chlebowski - Secretary
Kimberly Daloise - Treasurer
Mary Ann Walsh - Membership Co-Chair
Carolyn Casavan - Membership Co-Chair Open - Fundraising Chair
Veronica Jaime-Lara - Social Media Chair
Deepika Devarajan - STEM Outreach Co-Chair
Dorothy Measures - Job Bank Coordinator
Shannon Falk - Webmaster
Cassandra Solarczyk - Newsletter Editor
Lucero Lopez - Collegiate Section Liaison
Chuck Bleil - Data Officer
Jayashree Iyengar - Chennai Partnership/Global Relations Chair Open - Certificate of Merit Program Coordinator
Mikayla Ferchaw - YouTube Manager
Michal Chlebowski - Carnegie Science Center (CSC) Event Coordinator Open - STEM Outreach for Schools 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
