Section Representatives - September 2010

Welcome to FY11 for SWE-MN!

Welcome to the new SWE year! Please allow us to introduce ourselves; we are your Minnesota Section representatives for the upcoming fiscal year.

• Lindsey Roberts McKenzie, a Project Engineer at Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., is your first veteran section representative this year, having also served in FY09 and FY10.
• Charlene Willenbring, a Project Engineer at Goodrich Sensors and Integrated Systems, is your second veteran section representative this year, having also served in FY10.
• Kalyani Mallela, a Senior Systems Engineer at Starkey Laboratories, Inc., is your new section representative this year.

You may know us by our previous title, “COR” or Council of Representatives, but over the past two fiscal years, our title and role has changed. Our new role as section representatives is to be the voice of the Minnesota Section members, but we will focus primarily on local and regional Society concerns, programs and systems. The role of the section representative is to represent the Minnesota Section membership on both local and regional issues. We will also act as the official contact between the Region H Senators and the Minnesota Section to ensure that your voice is heard at the Society level. The three Minnesota Section representatives will continue to report the information and business of the Society at all levels to the Minnesota members.

SWE is also moving in to its second year of having a Senate structure and with that comes the election of one new professional senator and one new collegiate senator for Region H. The following Senators will be the voice for Region H membership at the Society level:

• Region H Professional Senators:
- Diane LaFortune – Chicago Regional Section
- Christine Cabrera – Detroit Section
• Region H Collegiate Senator:
- Allison Machtemes – Iowa State University

The Senate is a high functioning deliberative body focused on the long-term strategic position of the Society. The Senate is responsible for legislative duties such as changing bylaws and setting individual dues. The Senate is a much smaller size governing body with 32 members: 22 Professional Senators (two for each region) and 10 Collegiate Senators (one for each region). This smaller size will enable more effective interaction and deliberation. The Senate will focus on national Society concerns, programs and systems. The Region H Senators serve as a direct conduit and point of contact for any member in Region H to express concerns and issues at the national level. If you have questions about the Senate or the new role of the Section Representatives, please don’t hesitate to contact us at sectionrep@swe-mn.org .

Region H Committees – Open Positions
A great way to get involved at the region level of SWE is to participate on a region committee. The following Region H Committee has open positions:

• Celebrate SWE – This committee is responsible for organizing the theme and “spirit” items for the Region H tables at the Celebrate SWE event at National Conference.

If you are interested in participating on this committee, other region committees or have questions, please contact us at sectionrep@swe-mn.org. We will forward your information on to the appropriate Region H elected official.

Region H HART Meeting
The Region H fall caucus meeting has a new name! The Heartland Annual Round Table (HART) will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010 in Rolling Meadows, IL. The Chicago Regional Section will be hosting the meeting. The purpose of this face-to-face meeting is to allow our section leaders to interact with the Region leadership in preparation for the Annual Conference. Meeting attendees will include Region H Officers, Section Representatives and Section Presidents. The focus of the meeting will be on Region H business and training. The agenda includes plans to discuss Senate proposals and mega issues. This face-to-face meeting will give us the opportunity to review the SWE overall strategic plan and the Region strategic outlook.

WE10 The Annual Conference for Women Engineers – Register Now!
WE10 is the largest and most comprehensive gathering of forward-thinking women engineers and technologists. Adding to the already high energy of WE10, the culmination of the yearlong SWE60 Anniversary Celebration will provide inspiration and spike enthusiasm. Throughout the conference participants will experience numerous career-shaping opportunities, as well as draw from the energy of SWE’s strong past and promising future to launch innovation and define success.

Join us for WE10 as we move ourselves and our industry forward!

If you are planning on attending the Annual Conference, then be sure to log on to the Minnesota Section Community and update the Annual Conference Attendance List. This list will enable you to coordinate with other SWE-MN members who are going to the conference. A great event that SWE-MN plans for every Annual Conference is a networking dinner for SWE-MN members. Updates regarding the networking dinner, including the scheduled date, will be included in the upcoming weekly emails and in the October newsletter. You can sign up for this dinner by indicating your interest in the Annual Conference Attendance List. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

Region H Conference – Mark Your Calendars!

The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor collegiate section is working on fund raising and beginning to plan the logistics for the conference. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for additional details.

Please feel free to contact us at sectionrep@swe-mn.org with your comments, questions or concerns. Please note the new email address!

Cheers to a great new year!
Lindsey, Charlene, and Kalyani