THE GEAR Serving the 216 Members of the SWE-WI Section, and its Supporters Inside This Issue WE17 Highlights 1 SWE Member Spotlight 3 Upcoming Events 8 Ongoing Events 9 Recent Events 10 SWE News 12 Events at a Glance Madison Trivia Tuesdays (recurring) WE Local Milwaukee Conference March 9-11, 2017 WE17 Highlights SWE WI members traveled to Austin, Texas to join thousands of attendees at WE17 October 26th-28th. The conference included an incredible career fair, inspiring sessions, and numerous networking opportunities with women from across the globe. The weekend culminated with Celebrate SWE, an evening where sections and members were recognized for their many accomplishments in the past year. SWE-WI was honored to receive the Bronze Professional award (above, below). Susan Schlett also accepted the SWE Distinguished Service Award for over 35 years of significant contributions to SWE (right). December 2017 The Gear Page 1
WE17 Highlights Continued Gina Janke WE17 Highlight (right): Fangirling with one of my early professional heroines, Bonnie Dunbar (shown on the far right). She did a Fellows Technical Track on Huma Factors in Spaceflight, discussing the ongoing challenges for the next generation of engineers. She was in the second group of NASA Space Shuttle astronauts, selected in 1980. She flew on 5 shuttle missions from 1985 to 1998. This photo op was cool for me since my first job out of college was working on the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engines) for Rockwell International Rocketdyne Division (now a part of Aerojet). Showing off the new SWE WI polos at WE17 (below). The Gear Page 2
Member Spotlight Scholarship Committee Chair Gina Janke There are several good memories with SWE but my favorite is my first national conference in Milwaukee in 2004. It was the time I first realized how many other women engineers there were outside me and my company, similar to me. I also enjoyed going to the Over the Hill suite and meeting the women engineering pioneers that came before me and their stories. SWE was the only women s organization on my college campus, where only 10% of the students were female. I felt it was a very welcoming organization and I continued for those relationships and its technical network once I graduated. SWE s role in my life has evolved over the past 30 years of membership. I moved several times for both professional and personal reasons. Through these times, I found a SWE section where I could contribute to the section as well as get the career support or professional development I needed. My section leadership roles allowed me to develop better organizational skills, become a better team member and a more effective leader in my career. At times, when I was seeking a new career opportunities, SWE member relationships helped me find other professional options. Like most organizations, you get what you put into it and I have striven to make the most of my membership, both as a contributor and a benefactor. Gina was a collegiate SWE member at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. She has been involved as a member of the Los Angeles Section, Sacramento Valley (CA) Section, and has served leadership positions as a professional member in the Wisconsin Section including Public Relations Chair, Acting President, and Section Treasurer. Currently she serves as the scholarship committee chair for the Wisconsin Section and the Treasurer for Region H. The Gear Page 3
Member Spotlight Membership Chair Susan Schlett My favorite memory of being part of SWE would be receiving the SWE distinguished service award during this past 2017 conference in Austin, TX. It is an enormous honor, and I so appreciate having my 35 years of dedicated work to the Society recognized. I helped form my collegiate SWE section while in college. I concurred with my (all male) professors and members of the local Hartford (CT) professional SWE section to see our school obtain a SWE charter in order to have a SWE section. I drove to Detroit (from Hartford) with another student and a professional SWE member to present our case for having a charter at my very first SWE conference! We subsequently received the charter and I became the first president of the Trinity College SWE section in 1984. SWE helped me professional by expanding my network among Sikorsky employees and their sister companies. Susan Thomas Schlett is a senior SWE life member who has spent the past 35 years making a distinct impact on SWE at all levels. She chartered and served as the first president of the Trinity College collegiate SWE section. As a professional, Susan has served as the Wisconsin section president and several terms as the membership chair. At the Society level, she has been a part of the collegiate upgrade committee as well as serving as the membership committee chair. The Gear Page 4
Member Spotlight Outreach Coordinator Heidi Balestrieri My name is Heidi Balestrieri, I am married to an engineer and have two smart daughters. I joined SWE as a student at North Dakota State University. After receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering, I started working at John Deere Des Moines Works as a design engineer. I didn't plan on continuing my SWE membership after graduation, until I received an invitation to a Heart of Iowa SWE meeting where I met a great group of women from all career stages and knew that was something I needed. I haven't looked back since. Early on in my career it allowed me to meet other women engineers in a new city. A few years into my career, I became the HOI SWE section president. This allowed me to try out a leadership position with low risks and learn that I liked being a leader. At the end of my tenure as president, I had my first daughter and decided to step back a little from SWE and take on a smaller role. A few years later I moved to Wisconsin, and started a job designing electric rope shovels used in mining and joined SWE-WI. I've held a few positions in SWE-WI (alternate section representative, membership chair). I am currently the Outreach Coordinator since this aligns with my passion for sharing engineering as a career choice with young girls. Outside of work and SWE, I am active with my kids and help out with their Girl Scout troops (sharing engineering activities) and am the Cookie Coordinator where I use my organizational skills and an Excel spreadsheet to keep everything running smoothly. I am also a FIRST Lego League Coach for two teams. A favorite memory of SWE is a professional meeting in Iowa where topics ranged from women's bathrooms in engineering wings of universities to discussing the recent event of 9/11 on a technical level. The Gear Page 5
Member Spotlight Google Coordinator Becca WollenzIEn I joined SWE while in my undergrad at UW-Madison because I was looking for a way to further women and girls in STEM fields and UW SWE had many outreach opportunities. One of my favorite memories was hosting a girl for Day on Campus, an overnight experience where undecided seniors in high school could learn about engineering at UW and the different majors that were offered. I went on to see the girl that I hosted walking around campus and found out that she ended up majoring in engineering! SWE has also helped me in my career. It is a wonderful way to build a network and it was incredibly motivating to see the women around me push themselves in challenging roles. This guided me towards a leadership development program at Cardinal Health, where I work now on disposable medical products. The Gear Page 6
Upcoming Events 2018 WE Local Milwaukee The conference will be taking place at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 9-11, 2018. You can view the tentative conference schedule on the WE Local Milwaukee page. This conference will feature breakout sessions with content on various topics that focus on the collegiate and professional at all stages of their careers. In addition to these sessions, Friday will also feature events including a Career Fair, State of SWE Lunch, and conclude with a WE Local Celebration. Check back on the registration page periodically and make sure to sign up once registration opens. The Gear Page 7
Ongoing Events MADISON AREA TUESDAY NIGHT TRIVIA As engineers, we often learn a lot that others do not. Go ahead and put that knowledge to use towards team trivia. It is a casual, weekly get-together over food and drink with fellow engineers. Location: Great Dane East, 876 Jupiter Drive, Madison Date: Tuesday Nights Time: Starts at 7:30PM, recommend arriving by 7PM to meet the team Cost: Any food/drink orders Contact: Barb Gosenheimer (goosbmp@gmail.com) or Kristen Seashore (keseashore@gmail.com) so we can save you a seat. The Gear Page 8
recent Events Neenah Glass Museum Fox Cities Event On November 16th, SWE members in the Fox Cities area met at the Bergstrom Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah for a special after-hours event that is held once a month. At this event there is a theme and a speaker that is usually a glass artist. This museum is one of the only museums to showcase glass art exclusively and it started with a donation of a paperweight collection. The museum holds many beautiful paperweights of varying styles and detail. The museum also has a couple rotating exhibits, the one featured now is on art from private collections and have a modern style. The museum is also a great place to look for gifts and they have glass classes frequently. The speaker that night was Audrey Handler who is one of the first women in America to blow glass. Her story was intriguing as she shared about her schooling with only men in the class and starting her own studio which is where she creates today in Verona, WI and is the oldest glass studio in the U.S. still operational. She has been very successful and has shown her art in many galleries since her beginning. It was very interesting learning of some of the struggles she faced being a Dinosaur, Lino Tagliapietra, 2011 woman glass artist in a time where only men worked with glass and how similar those struggles were to being women in engineering. The SWE members then went to a nearby pizza place afterward to discuss their thoughts on the museum and speaker. ~Andie Falasco The Gear Page 9
recent Events RWEN and SWE-WI Girl Scout Badging Event On October 5th, 2017 RWEN (Racine Women Engineering Network) and SWE-WI members visited a Racine Wisconsin Elementary school s Brownie Girl Scout troop to work on an engineering badge event. SWE and RWEN members shared their background and why they developed an interest in engineering and also did two hands-on-activities. Twelve 3rd grade girls improved the process for assembling bracelets by using industrial engineering principles. The girls worked together on circuit boards to create circuits in series and in parallel to light a bulb and put the bulb on a dimmer switch. Once girl after the event said Wow, I did it! and was excited to tell her family all about it. The troop has invited the women engineers back to do an event next year. SWE s Outreach Committee recognized the Wisconsin section in their Outreach Metric Tool drawing with a $100 gift card. The section will be featured in their December issue of Outreach News You Can Use and in the AllTogether blog. The Gear Page 10
SWE Programs SWENext is a way to become part of the Society of Women Engineers as a student through the age of 18. Become part of SWE and #BeThatEngineer! Joining is free. Families and educators play a key role in the success of SWENexters. The SWENext program offers resources and information for adult advocates as well. Who can be a SWENexter? Students please complete the application to join. Any student 13 or older may join SWENext. For those younger than 13, a parent will need to be the primary contact. Adult advocates who would like to be on the SWENext mailing list - Please complete the mailing list form. Who can support a SWENexter? Families, educators, and SWE members To find out more, check on the SWE Next page: here! Current Job Postings: We do not currently have any job posting Job Postings You can never quite predict the job market, but SWE can help you know some of your options! Below are a few of the current job posting from our most recent SWE e-blasts. Click on the job title for further details. Helpful Job Sites: To stay updated on new job opportunities, checkout SWE e-blasts, or these websites! SWE Career Center: http://careers.swe.org/home/index.cfm?site_id=18141 SWE Wisconsin Page: http://www.swewisconsin.com/index.html The Gear Page 11
SWE News Social Media Coordinator Her-storian Fox Cities Event Planner Open Positions If you are interested in these positions or have questions please contact Andie Falasco awfalasco@gmail.com The WE Local Milwaukee team is looking for a couple more people for two leadership roles. The descriptions are below. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Kolanczyk kolanczyke@msoe.edu Communications Subcommittee The Communications Subcommittee assists with the promotion of WE Local events, upcoming deadlines and host city conference deadlines, new, and the like to a designated audience upon meeting with the WE Local manager. The Subcommittee will also provide timely feedback on WE Local host city specific communications and print/digital collateral. Time commitment: Up to 4 hours/month Collegiate Poster Competition Subcommittee The Collegiate Competition Subcommittee works alongside the LAB Collegiate Competition Subcommittee to coordinate the abstract and poster competition for their particular WE Local conference. This subcommittee coordinates and collects all submissions, including judging and awarding of participants. Time commitment: Up to 4 hours/month, however during evaluation time, up to 8 hours/month The Gear Page 12
Scholarships Martha Maxwell Scholarship Applications now accepted through January 31, 2018. This scholarship is for currently-enrolled Wisconsin and U.P. Michigan engineering college students. This year, SWE-WI will be awarding two $1000 scholarships to female engineering students. For more details and eligibility requirements, see SWE Wisconsin website: http://www.swewisconsin.com/pages/outreach/collegiatescholarships.html Online form is located at: https://form.jotform.us/61146737524154 Any questions, please contact Gina Janke, SWE-WI Scholarship Chair at: SWE-WI_Scholarship@swe.org The Gear Page 13
Newsletter Information Advertisement Information Website and email postings may be covered by a set fee instead of the Corporate Supporter option. An individual posting to the website and an email message to all SWE-WI members is $50. The website posting will remain in place for a 30-day period. Postings to the website are generally completed in 3 to 7 business days after the request has been confirmed. An email notice to SWE-WI members and subscribers will follow a website posting with the same information. Requests for a large number of postings at one time may take longer to prepare and post. The preferred format for postings is Microsoft Word (version 2003 or higher); other text formats will be considered on an individual basis. Postings will remain on the SWE-WI website for a 30-day period. If the posting is for a job and it has not been filled in that 30-day period, a Corporate Supporter can request a 30-day extension via email. Please put SWE-WI Newsletter Entry in the subject line. Newsletter Entry Send us your stories! We want to see what our professional and collegiate members are doing in the community! We are looking for events that SWE has hosted, job posting, member milestones, interesting articles or books that you would like to share with others., truly a multitude of topics. If you have something you want to see in the newsletter and share with everyone please send the information listed below to SamanthaBilletdeaux@gmail.com or MicheleGagas@yahoo.com, with the subject of SWE Newsletter Entry. Name: Date of Event: Event Title: Brief Description of the Event: Pictures of Event Section Title (if applicable) Contact Email The Gear Page 14