Q: Your theme for your presidency is Together We Rise. Why did you choose this phrase, and what does it mean to you — on both a professional and personal level?
A: The process for selecting a theme involved a lot of work with SWE and to try to find a sweet spot that encompassed my story while also making it a meaningful phrase for SWE to build content around. When we were talking through possible options, this one came up, and it literally gave me goose bumps. I knew it was the right theme as soon as I heard it. Not only is it a great follow-up to Live Without Limits — because when we live without limits and boundaries, then we can rise together to conquer the challenges and opportunities that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers can bring us — but it is what my life is and will always be about.
I’ve read a lot of biographies of great women, and they always seem to include their origin story — what made them the superheroes they turned into. I don’t have any great origin story or one person or one event that changed my way of thinking. I didn’t have a 4.0 GPA; I wasn’t a Mensa prodigy when I was 5. I was very simply someone who always loved understanding how the world works. Every success or opportunity I’ve had in life is because someone — mostly other ‘SWE-ple!’— stepped up and showed me the way. Some days it was simply to roll their eyes and tell me that, of course, I could do the thing I thought I couldn’t do (and then clearly did). And some days it was to tell me I was wrong about how I approached a conversation or needed to rethink how I was working on a problem.
I’ve worked hard. In fact, my husband has politely asked me to perhaps take a break from my pursuit of education while our girls are little and if three degrees can be enough for a bit. But my hard work would mean nothing if not for the people around me to lean on, mentor me, and point me in the direction of the right opportunities at which they knew I would succeed. They help me become my more authentic self and love me for exactly who I am.
My goal for this year is to infuse that thinking in everything we do as the Society of Women Engineers, as we all continue to grow personally and professionally and help other women through the challenging headwinds that are coming our way.
Q: SWE has made tremendous progress in the past few years, with membership reaching more than 47,000 and the annual conference in Los Angeles breaking attendance records. How can SWE keep that momentum going?
A: The biggest thing that will always have the most impact to any organization like SWE is engagement from its members. We will continue to create content and opportunities for members to use, but the real impacts will always come from members working at their local levels, changing perspectives and thinking one conversation at a time, then encouraging folks to come along with them. Together We Rise!
Q: Even with all the progress that SWE has made, there are challenges to women in STEM from many directions, from laws banning the mere mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion on college campuses to the continuing underrepresentation of women and historically marginalized people in many engineering disciplines. What are your plans to help SWE counter these headwinds, and how can members and volunteers help further those plans?
A: SWE’s mission is to empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.
How we fulfill that mission has changed over the years as the challenges changed. But we will always continue to be laser focused on that mission and have an eye on how the environments both in the United States and globally are affecting women.
This year we will be focusing on an operational goal to specifically study how the current challenges are affecting each of our major global regions and whether our current programming is meeting the needs of the membership or if additional resources are needed. This includes evaluating WE Local policies and locations, the offerings in the Advanced Learning Center, and working on additional resources for advocacy at the state level (in the United States).
Q: SWE has expanded its reach globally with affinity groups, targeted content, and WE Local events that attract thousands of women in key cities in the United States as well as Europe and India — among many other efforts. How can SWE capitalize on this and keep the trend toward global growth moving in the right direction?
A: One of the biggest keys is understanding the local cultures, ecosystems, and partners in each of the regions in which we’re working and making sure we’re empowering local advocates. People’s ‘currency’ — what they value and what motivates them — differs drastically across the world and even within the United States, where I live. We’re building brand awareness, and that’s a huge start to being able to make real change globally!
Q: Where did your interest in engineering come from, and what were the toughest challenges you faced in your career?
A: I honestly didn’t have a deep interest in engineering in school; it wasn’t something that was heavily talked about in my school. I stumbled into it when someone suggested that engineering would be a good way to focus on design and that there would be a huge need in the software world coming soon with the increasing sizes and complexity of software systems. I feel so lucky that a casual conversation pointed me in the right direction!
Some of the toughest challenges I’ve faced are finding my voice and maintaining my authentic self when I changed projects or jobs throughout the years. I had to learn that I had to adjust my skills — not who I was — to fit into new environments. If I tried to change who I was and how I interacted with people, then I lost a lot of what was special about my leadership style.
Q: What three words describe you and your leadership style?
A: Direct. Collaborative. Relationships.
Q: What are some key moments in your journey with SWE that stand out to you and perhaps helped define your theme?
A: SWE has always been a big part of my life and learning who I am as a person, a leader, an engineer, and a mom. SWE friends and peers always show up when we need support or critical feedback on work. There isn’t any particular part of my journey that was definitive — it was the fact SWE was always a constant in my life.
Q: What do you look forward to most this coming year, and what can members and volunteers look forward to under your leadership?
A: I’m mostly looking forward to podcasting! It’s so much fun to have a great conversation with someone new and learn a little more about each other.
From a leadership perspective, we’ll be focusing on the volunteer experience and making sure we’re empowering SWE members wherever they are globally and no matter what stage they are in in their life and career.
