1. society

Society of Women Engineers Elections
FY16 Candidate Information
Jessica Rannow, Central Ohio Section, Candidate for President-Elect
Jessica Rannow, senior life member, is the Director of
Professional Excellence on SWE’s FY15 Board of Directors.
Throughout her 20 years of leadership on both the professional
and collegiate level, Jessica has had exposure to many areas of
the SWE organization. Her ability to enthusiastically lead change
and collaborate across the diverse group of members has created
lasting advancement in the Society.
Since joining the BOD, she has worked to increase synergies
between the leadership coaching committees and utilized the
curriculum committee to review SWE’s training programs and
identify gaps. During her two terms as Region G governor, the
region had strong membership growth, increased section
involvement and communication, and new programs were
realized. Serving eight years on the bylaws committee, Jessica
has a strong foundation in the Society’s structure. She assisted in the formation of the Senate
by co-chairing the senate transition team. Prior to joining the Central Ohio Section, she was a
charter member and officer of the West Michigan section.
A strong advocate for collegiate members, Jessica was the collegiate interest committee chair
and a participant in the student transition team. These two strategic efforts successfully
implemented initiatives to improve the collegiate membership experience. She has a passion
for mentoring collegiate students and her reach is evident by the number of members who have
maintained membership and become SWE leaders.
Professionally Jessica is a project manager at AmerisourceBergen, a global pharmaceutical
sourcing and distribution services company, where she implements multi-million dollar supply
chain projects. Throughout her career she has had the opportunity to work at other influential
companies including JCPenney, Cardinal Health, Limited Brands, and Cummins. These
experiences have utilized her talents in maintaining budgets, resource management, process
improvement, and change management. Her success has been recognized by receiving two
SWE awards, Distinguished New Engineer and Emerging Leader in Procurement and Logistics.
In the role of President-Elect, Jessica seeks to reinforce SWE’s role as the world’s largest
advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. Fulfilling SWE’s
current strategic initiatives by expanding professional excellence opportunities, increasing
SWE’s global reach, and continuing advocacy efforts will carry on the impressive growth and
relevance SWE has seen in recent years. To increase SWE’s ability to reach members
wherever they are, she desires to strengthen and expand relationships with partner
organizations both domestically and internationally, increase resources for all members, and
grow the pre-college SWENext program.
Penny Wirsing, Los Angeles Section, Candidate for President-Elect
Helping to shape the future success of SWE is a thrilling prospect,
and Penny Wirsing is excited and honored to be nominated as
President Elect.
Since becoming a SWE member more than 25 years ago, Penny has
held various positions at the sectional, regional and national levels.
She is well known among SWE leaders as a person with a positive
attitude who can be counted upon to get things done in a timely and
efficient manner.
From increasing conference attendance while chairing the
Conference Program Board in FY05-FY09, to improving overall
financial understanding within the Society as Treasurer in FY13-14,
Penny has achieved positive and measurable results through her
strong leadership. Additionally, Penny served as an inaugural
member of the Senate in FY10 and led the Senate’s Contingency Reserve Task Force in FY10
and the Reserve Task Force in FY11-12.
SWE has also played a profound role in Penny’s personal and professional success. By utilizing
Society leadership opportunities to develop and test her skills in a non-threatening environment,
she has had a successful career at ExxonMobil for over 20 years in a variety of management
positions. She has also used these skills to become actively engaged in her community and
currently chairs the board of directors for a small local non-profit agency.
In addition, Penny has paired her skills from SWE and from industry to give back to the Society
with resounding results, including establishing the first long-range budget supporting SWE’s
strategic plan. Her efforts were recognized by SWE in 2007 when she was inducted as a SWE
Fellow.
Penny is very familiar with the challenges confronting the Society. Like many associations
today, SWE faces the issue of remaining relevant to all our various constituents. But she
strongly believes that SWE has incredible opportunities to make lasting and effective differences
for current and future women in engineering.
Penny has demonstrated she can bring together and lead diverse groups to meet a common
goal with success. By utilizing her strong communication and strategic planning skills, she has
navigated uncertain situations with strength and resilience.
SWE is poised to expand our influence across the globe and Penny will use the skills she has
developed and demonstrated through SWE and her career to guide the Society through these
upcoming changes and meet any challenges with powerful and competent solutions. She asks
for your vote.
Elizabeth Hurley, Sierra Foothills Section, Candidate for Secretary
I am a Senior member of SWE and have been an active leader since
joining the Society over 10 years ago. I have held various leadership
roles at the section, region, and Society levels including serving as
Region A Secretary, Region A Governor, and Deputy Director of
Regions. Currently I am a Leadership Coach in Region A. I am
committed to SWE and increasing scope and growth while supporting
the vision and mission of our organization.
As our focus shifts to a global perspective, as Secretary, I will help
enable communication between our diverse membership and the
Board of Directors. My attention will be to involve our members and
supporters in a dialogue about the benefits of membership and how to
spread our influence in areas of STEM issues. By promising to
provide open, honest, and 2-way communication, I hope to increase
the transparency of the decision making process of the Board and
direction of the Society. This will lead to improved member engagement and passion for the
mission.
In my past leadership roles and now as a Leadership Coach, I interact with and encourage
members in their SWE activities and leadership roles. I facilitate open discussions about SWE
strategy and goals. Through all of my SWE roles, I have demonstrated success in executing
tactical goals and promoting the strategic vision by collaborating with members from across the
Society. I will bring this same dedication to my role on the Board.
I have worked in the technology industry for 15 years as a product quality engineer, software
test engineer, technical trainer, and instructional designer. I hold degrees from Rutgers
University in computer science, psychology, and communication, and attended a graduate
program in mass communications at Penn State University.
I care deeply about SWE and will do my best to serve the membership and the Society. I am
honored to be nominated as Secretary and look forward to being part of the team energizing
SWE’s success.
Stephanie Loete, Antelope Valley Section, Candidate for Secretary
A senior life member of SWE, Stephanie Loete is honored to be
nominated to serve as a Society officer and for the opportunity to
continue to contribute to the organization’s growth and
advancement. She is committed to SWE and brings significant
leadership experience and enthusiasm to any task she
undertakes. In her current role as Deputy Director of Regions,
Stephanie helped develop, lead and coordinate training for the
region collegiate teams, as well as led training at the Region
Governance Summit.
Stephanie was first introduced to SWE through a scholarship from
the SWE Sierra Foothills section as a high school senior. She
began her SWE career as a member of the University of Southern
California section over 18 years ago and served as collegiate
section president, region student representative and helped plan a
region conference. As a professional, Stephanie has previously been active in the Los Angeles
and Chicago Regional sections before relocating to the Antelope Valley (CA) in 2007 where she
held the offices of president and section representative. She was elected to two terms as
Region B Secretary and then served for two years as Region Governor. Currently, Stephanie
serves as the Women in Government representative on the Conference Advisory Board in
addition to her role as Deputy Director of Regions.
Stephanie is a flight test engineer for the Air Force Test Center currently conducting
developmental testing and evaluation of electro-optical systems on the F-35. Her previous flight
test experience centered on the B-2A and B-1B bombers including three years as project lead
engineer for a $5 million test program of a software upgrade for the B-1B. She spent a few
months flying on and testing navigation performance for the C-5M Super Galaxy. Previously
Stephanie was the Assistant Director of Engineering Career Services for the University of
Southern California and worked in Information Services for the U-46 School District.
As Secretary, Stephanie will continue to work to advance SWE by facilitating a collaborative
working environment. She appreciates SWE’s grass roots origins and values open
communication with the many passionate and committed members.
Anca Eisele, Germany: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar Affiliate, Candidate for
Director
I love SWE! For almost a decade I have being inspired by the
Society’s unique platform to network, its public policy engagement,
and the opportunities to develop professionally as an engineer and as
a leader.
For FY15 I am appointed as special director on the SWE BOD, to
establish strategic partnerships, contribute my knowledge and skills
to help the organization move forward with its globalization efforts to
serve women engineers wherever they are, Mannheim Germany,
Bangalore India or West Plains Missouri.
As a professional member of the Society, I served in leadership
capacities as international member representative on the Society’s
Council of Representatives, and I was elected repeatedly as an
international senator since the creation of the Senate. During my
international work assignment in the US, I supported chartering the Cedar Valley section and
most recently I lead the efforts to establish the Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar Affiliates in
Germany. I have been serving in the Society’s Strategic Planning Committee since 2011 to
create, built on the Society’s core values, our vision for the future.
I serve as the Co-chair on the SWE John Deere internal employee network and represent John
Deere in the Corporate Partnership Council (CPC).
As a member of the Verein der Deutsche Ingenieure (Association of German Engineers) I
advocate leveraging the personal and professional contribution of women in engineering.
Through this position, I participated in the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’
Colloquium “Empowering Women in Engineering and Technology” to create the standing
committee on Gender and Engineering issues, which grows national and international
memberships and supports the infrastructure in engineering education and economic
development.
Currently I am John Deere’s Global Commodity Quality Manager. My past experience includes
assignments including Product and Customer Support manager, Project management and
Design Engineering. I hold an Engineering degree from Heilbronn University, an MBA from the
Institute of International Management Consulting and I am certified by the American Society of
Quality as Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.
Being committed to the Society’s mission, I am honored to have the great opportunity to give
something back, amplifying the advancement of women in engineering and the value of
diversity, to create a perpetual motion of inspiring girls to become engineers and expand the
engineering profession’s ability to improve the quality of life for billions of people worldwide.
Michele O'Shaughnessy, Central Savannah River Section, Candidate for Director
Michele O’Shaughnessy is a senior life member and has been
actively involved with SWE for over 21 years, holding numerous
positions at the section, region and Society levels. Michele started
her SWE career as Treasurer of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
section. After graduation, she became an active professional
member and held committee and officer positions in the Baltimore
Washington and Central Savannah River Area Sections. Michele
has been instrumental in the development and execution of several
different initiatives and programs. Under her leadership, the SWE
CSRA Scholarship Program was established and has provided
support for 10 females. At the Region level, Michele has served as
Secretary, Lt. Governor and Governor. She increased the number of
Region D Facebook page followers by 172%, and encouraged the
professional and collegiate sections to hold joint events which
resulted in the conducting of 40 joint events. As Governor, Michele held six different joint
networking events to increase the interaction between the professional and collegiate members.
Since FY06, she has participated in Society committees. Michele served for six years on the
Conference Advisory Board as the Government Representative. In this capacity, she conducted
a target market segment survey of the government members and aided HQ in development of
the government track at Society conference. She has also served on the Society scholarship,
awards and membership committees. She is currently co-chair of the Outstanding Collegiate
Section Award and the Society Bylaws Committee Chair. As the Bylaws Chair, Michele has
increased the number of representatives on the committee and conducted training sessions for
the new committee members.
Professionally, she has been employed by the federal government for over 19 years. Michele is
employed as a project manager for the Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site. She
supports multi-appropriation programs, projects, and activities, as well as, the effective
integration of site planning and budget development. Michele is also a team leader on the DOE
Region 3 Radiological Assistance Program, the first DOE responder for assessing the
emergency situation and deciding what steps should be taken to minimize the hazards of a
radiological emergency. She graduated from WPI with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and from
Clemson University with a M.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering.
Michele is excited and honored to be nominated as a Society officer, committed to the goals and
mission of the Society, and looks forward to helping to shape the future success of.
Mary Perkinson, Hampton Roads Section, Candidate for Director
Mary Perkinson is a Senior Life Member of the Society of Women
Engineers (SWE), who joined as a collegiate member in 1999. She is
currently serving on the Board of Directors as the Society's first
Director of Advocacy. Mary led the Advocacy Advisory Board in
identifying the top ten advocacy gaps within SWE and developing the
strategic actions to close the gaps. As the Director of Advocacy, Mary
leads the Outreach, Women in Academia, and the Government
Relations and Public Policy Committees in their missions to advocate
for the inclusion and success of women, present and prospective, in
engineering and technology. Under her leadership, the Outreach
Assessment Tool, Assessment Made Easy Tool Kit, the Advocacy
module “Raising SWE Awareness in Your Community" and the
SWENext affiliate program for girls under 18 have been developed and
implemented.
In the role of Director, Mary will continue to fulfill and mature the strategic goals of professional
excellence, globalization and advocacy. Mary believes it is important to support our members,
educators and the community with tools to advocate for themselves and others as we expand
our influence globally. She will raise the awareness of the programs and services that are
available to develop and support women engineers. This will be accomplished by enhancing
the user friendly aspects of existing resources and targeted marketing to female engineers at all
stages of their careers wherever they are located.
Prior to her service on the Board of Directors, Mary held the positions of Chair of the Program
Development Grant Committee, Chair of the Partnership Coordination Taskforce and Chair
Elect of the Outreach Committee. Mary has served the Hampton Roads Section as President,
Vice President, Section Representative and Treasurer. She has received the 2015 STEP
Award for Women in Manufacturing, the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award in 2009 and
the Top Forty Under 40, Hampton Roads Business Journal, Inside Business 2007.
Mary is an Engineering Manager in Crane Engineering at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division
of Huntington Ingalls Industries. She supervises a multidiscipline engineering team responsible
for new crane installations and overhaul projects at the Newport News Shipbuilding facilities.
She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Mary is an active member of her technical community and has provided support to a number of
engineering organizations, including several Virginia Commonwealth University Boards. She
has also served as a technical mentor for FIRST robotics teams.
Cathy Pieronek, Chicago Regional Section, Candidate for Director
SWE is moving into an exciting future. Having served as chair for
two years on both the then-new Government Relations and Public
Policy Committee (FY09 & FY10) and the Strategic Planning
Committee (FY12 & FY13), I have had the wonderful opportunity
to help chart SWE’s direction as a leading advocate for the voice
of women engineers world-wide. We have a clear vision and
purpose, not only to serve our members as they develop
personally and professionally, but also to serve our profession by
educating the public, educators and employers about the value –
and necessity -- of a diverse engineering workforce. SWE has
been a tremendous resource for thousands of women over its 65year history, and as we move into the future, has the potential to
become an even more powerful force for professional
development, global awareness of the gifts women bring to the
profession, and advocacy for the full and wholehearted inclusion of girls and women into
engineering.
When I look at our strategic goal of advocacy, I see in it the way in which all of us can be a
voice for our profession. Whether working with young girls to expose them to the joys and
wonders of engineering, or with college students to help them navigate a challenging academic
path, or with our professional members to become their best selves, or with leaders in our
profession or our country, SWE has a place for all of our gifts. As a Director, I hope to inspire all
of our members to contribute in ways that give personal meaning to their involvement in SWE.
Having served as Chicago Regional Section president, Region H Senator, and in various other
capacities at the local and regional level, I believe that I bring to the role of Director a
perspective that allows me to keep focus on the needs of all of our members. Being a newly
elected member of the College of Fellows ties me to our rich history. As Associate Dean in the
College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, my connections with our students give
me a glimpse into the future of SWE and our profession. I am excited to have the opportunity to
be considered for the role of Director, so that I can continue to advocate passionately for SWE,
its members and our profession.
Ashley Pietz, Santa Clara Valley Section, Candidate for Deputy Director of
Regions
My SWE leadership career began at San Jose State University
where I held numerous positions and strengthened the relationship
between my section and the Dean of the School of Engineering.
This resulted in the section securing funding to attend Annual
Conference for three officers for the first time. I also served as
Region Collegiate Representative for Region A, giving me my first
exposure to region and society level operations. After graduating
with a BS in Materials Engineering, I joined the Santa Clara Valley
Section and served in a variety of leadership roles including
section Treasurer where I worked with the BOT to fund our third
endowed scholarship. Region A activities are my passion and I’ve
held a position on the Region Council almost continuously since
2006. As Lt. Governor I led a strong and active Region Collegiate
Team (RCT) which initiated the first joint Collegiate/Professional
Region Event outside of Region Conference in 2013. Today the RCT hosts 3-4 events a year,
which unite the region. This past year, I started to publicly celebrate the professional and SWE
accomplishments of our members using social media and the region blog. Outside of SWE I am
a Materials Engineer for Lockheed Martin specializing in requirements compliance and
customer relations where I hone my collaboration, communication and technical skills.
As Governor of Region A, I’ve improved communications and fostered an open and inclusive
environment. As Deputy Director I will apply what I’ve learned as a facilitator and leader to work
effectively with the Director of Regions and Governors, turning strategy into tactics
implementable at the section level. I am a strong moderator and collaborator with a positive and
optimistic personality. My experience leading groups with different experiences and passions
requires that I be able to direct conversations and keep the momentum going. The DDR needs
to initiate the dialogue but not let discussions devolve or drift too far off topic. I strive to ensure
opinions are acknowledged and discussions are civil and inclusive. By actively listening and
trying to understand the differing positions I can guide the group to a collaborative solution by
reframing the issue based on commonalities. As DDR, my goals will revolve around improving
the quality and clarity of information the Governor’s pass to their members, and ensuring that
the strategic vision of the Society is clearly explained and discussed in the meetings I lead.
Lisa Rimpf, Northeastern Ohio Section, Candidate for Deputy Director of Regions
First introduced to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as an
undergraduate at The University of Toledo, Lisa Rimpf has been
passionate about the mission of SWE ever since. She invested her
first company bonus to become a Lifetime Member and has
continued to support SWE with increasing devotion and
participation.
Through both professional and collegiate SWE
experiences, Lisa has become acquainted with the spectrum of
members’ needs. She motivates others to become more active,
instills confidence in others, and actively supports the recognition of
member achievements.
Lisa was elected to various offices over the last decade and
currently leads the Ohio Valley Region G as Governor. She leads
not for authority or prestige, Lisa is empowered to make a
difference. She is eager to take the next step as Deputy Director of
Regions to further engage with the Region Governance team and the Director of Regions, and
to support the goals of our evolving Society during the transformative opportunities that lie
ahead.
Lisa freely challenges the status quo in order to better understand and address the needs of
SWE. She willingly asks questions with the intent of reframing the conversation to focus on the
Society’s mission. Throughout every dialogue, Lisa is consciously respectful of all parties in the
conversation. She believes that by hearing diverse perspectives and opinions, the end result
surpasses what any one individual could achieve. Employing a strategy of open communication
and collaboration, Lisa engages stakeholders to build consensus and make continuous forward
progress.
Tackling challenges with enthusiasm, dedication and creativity, Lisa is a committed team player.
She readily shares best practices and values feedback to strive for continuous improvement.
Her strategic vision, thorough and detailed consideration of both short and long term goals,
aligned with an understanding of SWE, affords her invaluable insight and a strong voice. Lisa
shows a genuine appreciation for SWE's rich history and legacy as she embraces new ideas.
Lisa is the Environmental Technology Research Team Leader at Babcock & Wilcox Power
Generation Group, Inc., an operating group of The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) in
Barberton, OH. At the forefront of technology innovation and development of clean energy
solutions, Lisa executes programs at laboratory and pilot-scale to deliver innovative and
customer-relevant solutions.
An experienced, knowledgeable and poised leader, Lisa is excited to be the FY16 Deputy
Director of Regions.
Angela Nickels, International Members, Candidate for Trustee
Sandra Lee Postel, Pacific Northwest Section, Candidate for Trustee
Sandy Postel retired from the Boeing Company in 2009 as an
executive. She led numerous Boeing organizations to meet fiscal
business plans, create and manage strategy and engage
employees to contribute ideas and skills. She has extensive
experience in running businesses and managing financial
performance. Her assignment as VP/GM of Propulsion Systems
Division involved running a business valued at $1.7 Billion.
Sandy is a strategic thinker and has demonstrated this in SWE as
one of the original co-chairs of the Corporate Partner Council. She
has served as chair of the Multicultural Committee, leading the
initiation of a SWE Multicultural Resource Center and a charter for
the formation of Affinity Groups. She also served on the Leadership
Election Task Force. She is an active member of SWE,
participating on panels the past six Society Conferences. She has
volunteered to speak at Pacific NW SWE events, as well as served on a panel for a University
of Arizona SWE event. She recently challenged Region J to create a SWE endowed
scholarship by personally matching their contributions.
Sandy is currently completing her first 3 year term on the SWE Board of Trustees. She has
been an active contributor to the organization and strategic direction of the Board of Trustees
since becoming a member. She assisted the Board of Trustees Treasurer in creating monthly
fund performance reports for 7 months. She assisted and then took over as our BOT
Scholarship Liaison, effectively working with the SWE and HQ Scholarship Coordinators to
approve new scholarships, provide approved stipend information and document our joint
processes.
As a past winner of the SWE Upward Mobility Award and a SWE Fellow, she cares deeply
about the SWE mission and positioning the organization to move forward to allow future growth
and development.