SWE - Fall 2007 - (Page 8) A Conversation with SWE President Michelle F. Tortolani When did you join SWE? What prompted you to join? I joined SWE as an engineering student at Boston University to network with other female engineering students, learn more about the career opportunities in my chosen discipline — electrical engineering — and as a resource to find summer and permanent employment. As a SWE student member, I attended the national conferences and took advantage of the networking, professional development, and career planning opportunities offered. My first job out of college — at Hughes Aircraft Company in Fullerton, Calif. — was the result of a contact that I made at a SWE national conference. Along the way, I also gained the opportunity to develop leadership skills as a student leader in the Boston University SWE Student Section and as the Society’s alternate student region representative. These opportunities provided invaluable leadership and management skills as a student and prepared me for life as a practicing engineer. Since my college days, I have been a member of five SWE professional sections: Los Angeles, Orange County (charter member), Boston, Houston, and BaltimoreWashington. My involvement in SWE continued to grow at the section level, but really took off at the region and national level after chairing the 2000 SWE National Conference. My desire to help drive and shape the future directions of the Society is the result of these experiences. Tell us what SWE has done for you professionally and personally. Professionally, SWE has had three 8 SWE FALL 2007 key roles — career guidance, professional development, and giving back. As a student, SWE opened my eyes to career opportunities in electrical engineering and the many different industries that I could work in. SWE also opened the door to my first job out of college. Both as a student and a practicing engineer, SWE provided me with leadership training and experience, professional development and diversity training, management tools, and invaluable networking to grow and develop as a seasoned engineer, leader, and manager in my chosen field. These experiences afforded me the opportunity to serve on the board of directors for six years, leading initiatives to strengthen our membership, professional development, and public policy programs. In those roles and now as president, I have been able to give back to both the Society and profession. On a personal level, I have made many friends with a variety of people I may not have otherwise known. These friendships began with a common interest in SWE and developed over time into long-lasting relationships that have enriched my life and contributed to my growth. What strengths do you bring to the position? Above all, I am committed to drive and shape the future of the Society. I am able to see the big picture, understand and address what makes strategic sense for the Society, and understand and address the impacts and consequences of making difficult decisions. I will lead the Society to successfully achieve our goals and objectives through teamwork, thorough research, listening to the opinions and ideas of our customers, addressing their concerns, and clearly communicating our plans and results. Where has SWE made the greatest progress in the past five years? SWE has made the most significant progress in the areas of professional development and public policy. Three years ago our members voiced the need for a national professional development program to address the different stages and paths in a woman engineer’s career, as well as issues members were encountering in the work force. Through focus groups, we engaged members from various industries and at different points in their careers to help us develop a more meaningful, valuable program. We responded with our first Web seminar in March 2004. This seminar reached nearly1,000 members and acquired 55 new members through word-of-mouth and promotion by SWE members. Today, SWE offers nine to 12 Web seminars a year on topics from collegiate interests to work-place challenges, to leadership and management tools for success. The Society reaches thousands of women engineers in this way. One of the Society’s objectives is to be a center of information on women in engineering. A natural extension of this role is to advocate for women in engineering and: L Promote and improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — otherwise known as STEM — education L Increase the visibility and importance of STEM education and work L Promote the success of women in completing academic programs and advancing in academia Four years ago SWE initiated
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