An informational session hosted by the SWE Senate.

Date: Saturday, September 15, 2018
Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM CT
Register now!

Speakers: Olivia LeBlanc, Tamaira Ross, Hope Toole Schwalls

Are you interested in becoming a SWE Senator or nominating a candidate for the Senate in FY20? 
If so, please join FY19 Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Olivia LeBlanc, and Senators Tamaira Ross and Hope Tools Schwalls as we discuss the purpose and goals of the Senate, Senator roles and responsibilities, and leadership opportunities available within the Senate. 

 By the end of this session, attendees should be able to:

1. Discuss the role of the Senate in the Society
2. Understand the requirements and commitments of a SWE Senator
3. Recognize how to get involved with the Senate through the nomination process

There will also be time for Q&A. 

Please contact senate-deputyspeaker@swe.org  with any questions.

By: Alexis Wasserman, Senator

The FY19 Senate is proud to announce that Dhanu Thiyagarajan has been elected as a Special Senator for this fiscal year. I have had the privilege of working with Dhanu for the last few years though our various roles within the SWE Senate and the WE16 Local Host Committee. I along with the rest of the Senate look forward to working with her this year on the Senate.
 
Each year the Senate has the option to elect up to three Special Senators to bring in people with specific experiences and knowledge to fill any gaps that may be identified based on the current year’s goals.  The Senate leadership recognized that a collegiate voice was missing from this year’s Senate.  Dhanu was an ideal choice to fill in this gap due to her previous experience within the society and leadership to make positive change for collegiate members within the society.
 
Specifically, Dhanu represented SWE Region E as a collegiate senator in FY18, where she was instrumental in making and gaining support for senate motion S-1809: Collegiate Section Counselors.  Dhanu not only recognized an existing problem and potential solution; she also helped the SWE leadership understand the diversity of SWE collegiate sections and their needs as she gathered support for the motion. 
 
In FY18 Dhanu additionally supported the senate’s efforts to ensure a strong communications flow under the new SWE governance structure, in which a transition away from regions has removed a previous communication mechanism.  She ensured that communications preferences of collegiate members were understood and considered in developing the plan for Senate communications.
 
For FY19, Dhanu will join the Senate Strategic Initiatives Sub-Team and will lead a new strategic initiative focused on collegiate member engagement.  Her past leadership and experiences described above have made her well-suited to champion this initiative.
 
Dhanu joined SWE in 2011.  She served as section president of University of Pittsburgh SWE and was named an Outstanding Collegiate Member at WE15. Dhanu is currently a graduate student member of SWE.

Dhanu’s election was one of the first two motions in front of the FY19 Senate as S-1902.