Kristine Barnes, P.E. has been a SWE member for over 20 years and a Life Member since 2016. She has held numerous leadership roles since college at all levels of the Society. After serving as the Region H Collegiate Representative while she was a graduate student, she served as a Collegiate Leadership Coach. Upon moving back to the Chicago area, she held multiple roles in the Chicago Regional Section including Treasurer and President. Kristine is a long term member of the Finance Committee and was the Chair in FY18. She then started her work with the Senate in FY19 and led the creation of the FY23-FY27 Strategic Plan as Deputy Speaker of the Senate in FY22.
Kristine has gained significant experience in strategic planning over the past 6 years. Her goal as Speaker is to further define the Senate’s role within the Society. She would enhance the impact they have on the future of the profession by encouraging them to think boldly about systemic barriers to gendered minorities realizing a sense of belonging in engineering and technology. Kristine will leverage her previous experience to lead the Senate’s strategic work and creation of meaningful recommendations. She has a passion for creating connections and looks forward to being the link between the Board of Directors and the Senate.
Kristine is a Vehicle System Engineer for Full-Size Pick-Up Trucks and Variants at General Motors responsible for the financial and overall execution of Body and Exterior Engineering components. Since joining General Motors in 2016, she has worked multiple roles within Body Engineering including Side Closures Engineer, Issue Resolution Team Co-Chair, and Rear Bumper Lead Engineer responsible for the first integration of Super Cruise technology into full size trucks. After that she was appointed the Quality Lead for Bumper, Fascia, Grille, and Exterior Trim. Prior to joining General Motors, Kristine worked for over 9 years in the nuclear power industry as a Principal Engineer at AREVA Inc. and was a technical expert in finite element structural analysis. She supported a wide variety of projects including concrete and steel design. Kristine is a licensed engineer in the state of Texas, holds a BSCE and MBA in Engineering Management from Valparaiso University and an MSCE from Marquette University. In recognition of her dedication to engineering excellence, Kristine was awarded the Emerging Leader Award in 2020 and the WE Local ELiTE award in 2019.
Email: senate-speaker@swe.org
