WE Local Events Inspire Connection

Spring is a good time to reflect on the WE Local season when the Society of Women Engineers hosts small, regional conferences worldwide to allow members to make deeper local connections. This year, I’ve attended sessions in San Jose, California, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Prague in the Czech Republic, and I look forward to traveling in December to Pune, India. 

The thing I love most about WE Local events is seeing attendees take time to begin or renew relationships with each other. I enjoyed dinner with members of the San Jose Collegiate Section. It was terrific to hear students talk about their plans for postgraduation. Our conversations reminded me of my time in college and how excited my classmates and I were for the future. I also renewed friendships in Milwaukee, and now I’m eager to visit Prague, where I will join new friends who have promised to show me some local flavor. 

Each WE Local now hosts a discussion panel based on the theme for fiscal year 2025: Together We Rise. In Milwaukee, we had a phenomenal panel of women, which included Kate Sokolnicki of Rockwell Automation, Bich-Van Pham, Ph.D., of The Kraft Heinz Co., Talia Cawrse of GE HealthCare, and Susan Ipri-Brown, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It is always a treat for me to get to know women like Ipri-Brown, who lead similar associations and care deeply about each other’s missions.

As I look forward, I’m most excited about taking the new connections I’ve made this past year with me into the future. One of the most powerful goals of this year’s theme is finding new connections and gaining new perspectives on what our futures can be, regardless of what others may tell us.

Speaking of our theme, this issue of SWE Magazine explores women from SWE’s history who you should know and what it takes for men to become allies of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the current environment. The magazine also continues its ongoing feature, “Building a Legacy,” showcasing some of the most important events in SWE’s history. These articles highlight how we’ve stayed strong for 75 years and why our partners are so important in ensuring that we’ll continue strong for another 75 years. 

I’m also pleased to announce that SWE now has a record 50,000 members globally. In 1950, a small coalition of women came together to form SWE, support each other, and create a mission that, while focused on women engineers, was open to all who wanted to pursue the profession. Let’s be honest: Engineering is fun, and it was a joy in 1950 as it is today to join others who want to face and fix complex problems. 

Please pause as you read through this issue to think about your engineering connections and how you can reach out to be the spark that ignites something new with a partner, SWE member, or anyone invested in the success of women in engineering and engineering technology. Our mission is only as strong as those of you who empower others every day in the name of SWE. We wouldn’t be 50,000 strong without each and every one of you.