On Saturday, February 10, 2018, the Senate and Board of Directors met in Minneapolis, MN, the site of the WE18.  This is the Annual Winter Senate Meeting, the second of two face-to-face meetings in FY18. 
 
The first order of business was motion S-1808, an amendment to the Society Reserve Fund Document.  The motion was prepared by a team made up of members of the Senate, Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, and the Finance Committee at the end of 2017, following a thorough review of the financial state of the Society.  The motion and supporting documents were reviewed by the Senate throughout the month of January.  After all risks were evaluated and concerns addressed, the Senate passed the motion without opposition on Feb. 10, 2018, and the document has been amended. 

Throughout the rest of the meeting, updates from all of the Senate Sub-teams were given, and several discussion groups were formed to review and plan for the future of the Society as we move closer to the start of FY19.  The 5-year Strategic Plan Task Force update included the strategic goals that have been drafted and provided to the Annual Strategic Planning Sub-team.  The current strategic plan will end as of June 30, 2018, so the work of these teams is critical to success.  The teams will continue to work on the plan and operational goals for FY19 in preparation for review and approval by the Board of Directors later this year. 

To find out more about the work being done by the Senate this spring, please reach out to your Senators, which can be found at Senate.swe.org, or contact Senate Secretary, Olivia LeBlanc. 

Deadline for submitting nominations to SWE is March 1
Are you a strategic thinker? Interested in charting the strategic direction of SWE? Nominate yourself or someone else for International Senator.

The International Senator is a member of SWE’s Senate, and is responsible for:

• Charting the strategic direction of SWE by developing and adopting long-range goals for the Society.
  
• Developing and/or adopting proposed changes to the Society bylaws, policies, and procedures that are in line with the strategic plan.
  
• Conducting essential dialogue with Society membership on long-term trends and issues of common interest.
  

In accordance with the adoption of S-1803 "Senate and Regions" Proposal to Amend Bylaws, the International members must elect an International Senator to serve for a three-year term commencing on July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021 (FY19 – FY21).



The deadline for submitting nominations is March 1, 2018 to SWE Headquarters and requires the following:

• Candidate statement as .doc, .docx or .txt, maximum of 400 words. Include name as you want it displayed on the slate.
  
• Photo in gif or .jpg format, at least 300 dpi. File size 1MB maximum.
  

Please be aware of the following responsibilities and time commitments before applying for the position:

• Senators must be voting members of the Society (except special Senators) and will serve for a term of three (3) fiscal years
  
• Senators should anticipate participating in a lot of virtual meetings and communications
• The role typically requires the following time commitments:
  • Monthly conference calls – 1 hour each
  • Participation in 1 sub-team
  • Annual Strategic Planning (2 mandatory face-to-face meetings, calls 1-5 hours per month)
  • Strategic initiatives (Variable)
  • Committees' strategic planning (Variable)
  • Communications (Variable)
  • Face-to-face Senate meetings – At least 2 per fiscal year
  • Annual Conference (Fall; 3 days – mandatory)
  • Winter Senate meeting (Winter; 1 day – mandatory)
  • WE Local (Spring; 1 day – currently not required, but highly recommended)
  • Offline discussions on bylaws amendments and motions (Variable)
  • Active communication with Society membership
• Funding for travel is currently available through SWE for the Winter Senate meeting and annual strategic planning sub-team face-to-face meetings. Future funding to be determined
• These roles and responsibilities are subject to change by the Senate leadership team as the governance changes continue to be implemented

Nominees should possess the five SWE leadership competencies:

• Communication
• Self-Management and Development
• Business Acumen
• Coaching, Mentorship and Sponsorship
• Leadership Abilities

Contact Kate Hull, Speaker of the Senate, to learn more about the role.

By Sarah Watzman, FY18 Region G Collegiate Senator

On Wednesday, October 25th, SWE had a SPA!  This isn't the kind of spa that involves cucumber water, fluffy towels, candles, or massages though -- this spa is the Strategic Performance Assessment, a yearly meeting the Wednesday before Annual Conference with the Society's Annual Strategic Planning Team.

SPA may sound like a misnomer considering this refers to an all-day meeting, but for me, I see attending the SWE SPA as a wonderful opportunity to positively move this organization forward.  During the SPA, participants (which includes Senators, members of the Board of Directors, SWE's Executive Director, the Finance Committee Chair and Chair-elect, the 5-Year Strategic Plan Task Force Lead, and attendees from HQ) begin the Society's strategic planning process.  This involves an intense look at our environment, including the economic and political factors that could impact SWE, the state of women in collegiate engineering programs and careers, and society's perceptions of young girls pursuing their interests in STEM.  With these factors in mind, SPA participants analyze data collected through SWE's membership survey to see how our members believe they are being served by this organization.  Finally, keeping all of this in mind, SPA participants go through programming offered by the Society to identify areas of strength and weakness to determine where we should invest time, energy, and finances in the future.

The gaps identified through the SPA will then be used at ASPR -- the Annual Strategic Plan Review, a yearly meeting occurring the Friday before the Winter Senate Meeting.  ASPR reviews SWE's operational plan in relation to the identified gaps, so that we can better serve our members and grow the impact of this organization.

Personally, I really enjoy this big picture, strategic view of the Society.  As a graduate student, I am used to collecting and analyzing data from different sources then letting my findings lead me to a new conclusions (or problems sometimes too).  As a member of the Annual Strategic Planning Team, I love being able to apply these skills to my passion for SWE.  Although spending a day at the spa could be a nice relief from graduate school, I also am grateful for this opportunity to positively contribute to an organization that has given me so much.

By Jamie Tylicki, FY18 Senate Communications Sub-Team Lead and Region G Senator

The #SWESenate has voted at #WE17 in Austin and ALL of the bylaws motions have PASSED!

S-1803 Senate and Regions: Passed
S-1804 Collegiate Member Voting Rights: Passed
S-1805 Competency Model for Nominations and Elections: Passed
S-1806 Standing Committees: Passed
S-1807 MAL President: Passed

The changes allow SWE to move forward with implementing changes to help the Society become more flexible, more inclusive, and better suited to fulfill our mission of advocating for women in engineering.

Details on the specific language of the motions can be found at senate.swe.org. Further information will be provided in the coming weeks and any questions can be directed to governance@swe.org.

The Senate is proud to welcome Dhanu Thiyagarajan, Region E Colllegiate Senator, to share her perspective on the proposed bylaws motions and how they will specifically impact collegiates, which will be voted on at the Senate meeting on Saturday, October 28, 2017. 

Did you know that SWE is currently undergoing several governance changes? How does this mainly affect collegiate members?

1. There is a motion for the Senate to vote on at WE17 for all collegiate members to become voting members of SWE. This means that we will now have a say regarding SWE elections and our leaders. This will come into effect immediately, so you may be voting as soon as this spring. More information will be conveyed from headquarters [HQ] about the election candidates and process as it approaches if the motion is passed through the Senate.

2. If passed at WE17, Regions will be dissolved at the end of this fiscal year. This means you will no longer have Region Collegiate Representatives, Regional Senators, or Governors. Your Section President's main form of communication with SWE will be HQ and the Leadership Coaching Committee [LCC]. Your day to day communication will not be changed and will remain with your specific collegiate section. There are still adjustments being made to this process, but more detailed information will be sent out later in the year with specific changes of HQ vs. LCC taking over specific responsibilities to cover section support exactly the same, if not more than currently existing. You can already contact them for support at HQ@SWE.org. This will also change the leadership pipeline, since region leadership will not be a gateway that collegiates can use to become more involved with societal SWE. SWE's nominating committee will take into account collegiate experience to ensure all voices are heard within each committee. More information will also be conveyed regarding further leadership opportunities within SWE as a Senator, part of a committee, etc. This will allow you get involved with societal SWE in a more direct manner and learn about the organization past your specific section. Region conferences will no longer exist and will be replaced by WE Locals.

If interested, please check out more information about the governance changes at http://governance.swe.org.


About Dhanu:

Dhanu Thiyagarajan is a collegiate senator for Region E. She is currently a M.D. candidate for 2019 from Temple University and graduated as a biomedical engineer from University of Pittsburgh. Although in a slightly different career path, many of the issues relate among the fields, so she continues to be involved with SWE.

​About Stephanie:
​
I am currently a Quality Engineer for GLOBALFOUNDRIES in Essex Junction, Vermont, and have held various positions in process engineering and quality at the Vermont 200 mm Semiconductor fab for the past 6 years. Before that I was a graduate of the University of Maine, and received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. It was at the University of Maine that I started my journey with SWE, and have maintained that passion since. I’m proud to say that this is my 10th year of involvement with SWE! In those 10 years, I’ve held a number of positions at the section level from Section Treasurer, Vice President and President between the UMaine Section and the North Country Section in Region F. Moving to Vermont, my first course of action was to find my local SWE section. “SWE is Your Constant” from WE16 was a theme that rang true for me, and still does today. During my time in Vermont, I became more involved with my Region, and ultimately becoming one of the Region F Professional senators. I am currently in my 2nd year of my Senate term at a time when SWE as a whole is going through its most expansive changes and growth. What a time to be involved in SWE!
 
 
Is there a particular motion that you’re passionate about proposed to the Senate for WE17?
 
There’s been A TON of activity in the Senate, with some really major motions being passed. In January, for instance, we officially passed a motion to support moving forward with the governance overhaul as a whole. Like many of my constituents, these motions that have come out leave me with a range of feelings, excitement, concern, hope. It’s such a mixed bag, and I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us. As far as a motion I feel passionately about, it’ll have to be hands down the upcoming vote on collegiate voting rights. Motion S-1804: Collegiate Member Voting Rights will be a landmark update for collegiates, giving them the right to vote in SWE elections and giving them an official voice in our society. This is something in particular I have felt strongly about since my involvement in college. A large percentage of our SWE population are collegiates. They’re part of the leadership pipeline, both in the workforce and in SWE. While there’s a very small percentage of members that currently actively vote, my hope is that by passing this motion, we’re sending the message to collegiates that they matter, and we want them involved. In my experience with my region, it’s been some of the collegiate sections that have come up with some of the most creative ways to improve engagement in their SWE sections. We vote on this motion at the senate meeting in WE17.
 
What are you looking forward to next?
 
Well, I’m also involved in the Leadership Summit Task Force this year. Being on this task force is giving me a tactical role that is a counterbalance to the strategic work that I am doing in the Senate. It is giving me the opportunity to interface with our membership and really hear their concerns and then work on taking that information and putting towards a real life proposal for how our society is going to function moving forward. This helps with my Senator role, as it gives me an expanded view of what our constituents really care about. Both roles are fulfilling in different ways. We hope to have a proposal for the leadership summits completed by the end of FY18, so stay tuned! 

The FY18 Senate will meet face-to-face at WE17 Conference in Austin, Texas on October 28, 2017 beginning at 11:30 AM.  The proposed bylaws amendments will be discussed and voted on by the Senate during this meeting.  Please see below for the published agenda.  If you would like to review any of the motions, the agenda, or attend the Senate meeting at WE17, please contact your Senators or Olivia LeBlanc, Senate Secretary for more information. 

By Hope Toole Schwalls, FY18-19 SWE Region C Senator

I am pleased to introduce one of the two SWE FY18 Special Senators, Dianne Beever. Dianne is a dedicated SWE leader and long-time member. I have been privileged to serve with her in various capacities through the years. Of particular note, Dianne was my predecessor as Region C Governor. She took our transition very seriously and went above and beyond to position me for success. For this I am very grateful. I look forward to serving with her on the Senate in FY18. 
 
Dianne was nominated by the Speaker of the Senate and elected by members of the FY18 Senate to serve in the position of Special Senator. Per the Society Bylaws, the Speaker of the Senate may nominate up to two special Senators to serve for one fiscal year or remainder thereof. Nominees for Special Senators are voted upon by the Senate.  As Special Senator, the Senate will leverage her experience in strategic planning, strategic initiatives, change management, operations and finance.
 
Dianne is a life member of the Society. She has served in various leadership roles at the Section, Region, and Society level. Some of those positions include Society Finance Committee Chair; Region C Governor, Lt. Governor, and Treasurer; and Southwest Texas (now Austin) Section President.  She also served as interim Region C Senator during FY16.  Dianne is a member of the Leadership Coaching Committee and the WE Local advisory board. She is the 2017 recipient of the SWE Region C Distinguished Service Award.
 
In her professional life, Dianne is currently a Global Business Transformation Leader at Dell EMC. Prior to rejoining Dell, Dianne was an Independent Management Consultant specializing in strategic planning, change management, value creation, growth, and performance improvement for businesses in various industries. Previous to that, she spent 11+ years at Dell and 7+ years at Cummins, Inc.
 
Dianne earned a BS IET, an MSM (MBA) from the Purdue Krannert School of Management, and an MS in Interdisciplinary Engineering from the Purdue College of Engineering.  Dianne serves on the Krannert Student Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Engineering Education Advisory Board at Purdue University. She is also a member of the University of Texas at Austin SWE Corporate Advisory Board.
 
Dianne lives in the Austin area with her husband, Phong, and their two Golden Retrievers.  When not working or serving SWE, Dianne enjoys watching and attending college football and basketball games – especially Purdue. She likes to spend her free time mentoring, reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
 
Please join me in welcoming Dianne Beever to the FY18 Senate. 

Pictured: Hope Toole Schwalls and Dianne Beever at the 2017 Region C Conference in College Station, TX

By Gail Dyer, Region E Professional Senator

The FY18 Senate is proud to announce that Stephanie DeCotiis, P.E. has been elected as one of the two Special Senators for this fiscal year. I have had the privilege of working with Stephanie for the last few years though our various roles within the Region E council and 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 two 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.  As the Senate now has responsibility for the Strategic Plan for the Society and the other activities from the Strategic Planning Committee and Strategic Initiatives Committee, the Senate leadership thought it important to elect Special Senators that have experience and knowledge in those areas to assist with that transition.
 
Stephanie was a great choice for a Special Senator as she has had experience in multiple areas of focus this year.  She has previously been a member of the Strategic Initiatives Committee for 3 years and last year served as the final Chair-Elect of the SIC before it was sunset and transitioned to the Senate.  Stephanie has also previously served on the Senate and during her previous stint she was part of the governance working group which evaluated the structure recommendations for the upcoming governance change.  After serving her term on the Senate, she continued on as a member of the Governance Task Force and was active in helping to develop the governance transition plan.
 
One of the reasons Stephanie wanted to return to the Senate to serve as a Special Senator was to continue to help see the governance transition through to completion since she was so involved in the governance change process over the last few years.  Additionally, she wanted to be able to continue the transition of knowledge for the SIC as all the responsibilities roll into the Senate moving forward.  Having Stephanie on the Senate will be a great asset to ensure a smooth transition for integrating the SIC into a more strategic Senate body.
 
Stephanie is currently a Senior Project Manager at H2M architects + engineers with their Water Division and received her professional engineers license in 2013.  She has been an active member of SWE since 2004.  Outside of work and SWE, she mentors underclassmen at her alma mater and works with the Central Jersey Blood Center to organize blood drives and raise awareness on the importance of donating blood.

Stephanie’s election was one of the first two motions in front of the FY18 Senate as S-1802.

By Olivia LeBlanc, Senate Secretary, FY18

What is the brand of SWE?  A few years ago, SWE asked this to its members and many non-members to determine if our logo accurately represented the SWE Mission, and then reviewed what our logo was saying about our identity as a Society around the globe.  As a result, SWE along with the help of the David James Group re-worked the branding material to ensure that the logo and other materials accurately represented what SWE truly is. 

In FY15, the Senate voted to approve the new SWE Logo and Branding material.  This was the first time in SWE’s history that the original gear logo was changed significantly, and many Senators along other SWE leaders worked very hard to develop and implement the new logo and branding materials to ensure that the new materials properly represented the mission, vision, and goals of SWE.  The changes were strategically planned to unify all of SWE under one logo that can be globally recognized and represents all of the core values of SWE. 

As a part of our roles, all members of the Senate act as SWE leaders and brand ambassadors.  As brand ambassadors, it is important that we always use the brand and logo properly and encourage others to do so as well.  There are several resources available to help us with this located at brand.swe.org.  Here you can find a recording from our SWE President, CEO, and the David James Group consultants discussing the Brand Identity System.  You can also find many helpful guiding documents, letterhead templates, PowerPoint templates, and the logos for every region, section, and SWE group has been prepared by SWE HQ. 

At WE17, there will be a session specifically planned to review the SWE Master Brand and the Brand Identity System.  All members and groups are encouraged to attend this session to learn more about the SWE brand and logo and have any questions answered about how to use the brand best to promote and represent SWE. 

If you would like more information about the SWE Master Brand or Logo, please visit brand.swe.org or email marketing@swe.org.