SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 16)

FY09 Society of Women Engineers Board of Directors tomer service, staff development, safety, quality, compliance, and efficiency. Her team applies proven tools (e.g., Lean/DMAIC) to achieve planned, predictable process performance and deliver breakthrough results. Before joining Genentech, Demir worked for Bechtel Corporation as manager of corporate services Six Sigma. During her 11 years with Bechtel, Demir gained a broad range of experience with positions in engineering, procurement, contracts, estimating, and corporate services. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Houston and a master’s in civil engineering from Purdue University. Demir joined the collegiate section of SWE at the University of Houston in 1990 and served as president. She also has been Region A governor; coordinator of two national-level awards; Golden Gate Section representative; Houston Area Section president, vice president, and treasurer; and the national convention publicity chair in 1998. She has been recognized as the SWE Emerging Leader in Quality, SWE Distinguished New Engineer, UH Outstanding Young Alumna, and the Houston Young Engineer of the Year. An avid reader, Demir enjoys exchanging books with her friends. She and her husband, Emre Velipasaoglu, Ph.D., enjoy traveling and dancing. Bernice E. Brody, Director of Professional Development This is Bernice E. Brody’s third year serving as the director of professional development. Brody previously was chair of the public policy/government relations task force and director of Region F. A SWE member since 1990, she has held section positions, including president, treasurer, and section representative for the Mid-Hudson Section. Currently an executive project manager with IBM Global Services, centrally supporting worldwide Web hosting programs and services for all of the IBM divisions, Brody has more than 28 years of experience in manufacturing and development engineering, in engineering management, and in IT project management. As a PMI- and IBM-certified executive project manager, she provides leadership in Web hosting program management, Web on demand transformation services strategy for IBM divisions, complex financial investment and planning, and works with the chief information offices to expand current services for the various divisions at competitive costs. Brody holds a B.S. in chemistry from St. Joseph’s University. Alyse Stofer, Director of Regions Alyse Stofer has served at the local, regional, and national levels of SWE, most recently as the Heartland Region governor and collegiate upgrade coordinator on the membership committee for fiscal years 2007 and 2008. She has also served as the Region H lieutenant governor and Region H secretary. Stofer has held a variety of positions for the Minnesota Section, including section president, vice president, secretary, and representative. In 2003 she was SWE’s New Face of Engineering, and in 2006 she received the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award. Also in 2006, she was the recipient of the Minnesota Federation of Engineering, Science, and Technology Societies (MFESTS) Young Engineer of the Year Award. Stofer has worked for Transoma Medical, a leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing implantable wireless diagnostic systems, for the last 10 years. For much of her career, Stofer has worked on technical design teams and, as a result, is a coinventor on several pending patents. Currently, she is a principal project engineer leading the product improvement engineering team for Transoma’s Patient Management Device division. She received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa and her master’s degree in biomaterials from the University of Minnesota. She and her husband, Kevin, have a young son and daughter. Stofer enjoys spending time outside with her children, as well as reading and baking. Additionally, she has been involved with the welcome ministry at her church for the past several years. Melissa Tata, Director of External Affairs Melissa Tata is a senior life member of SWE and most recently served as speaker of the council of representatives for FY07-08. She also has served as Gulf Coast region governor and deputy director, and vice-president and president of the Southwest Texas Section and corporate partnership council representative for Dell Inc. Tata received the Distinguished New Engineer Award in 2006. She particularly enjoys developing leaders and enhancing communication in SWE. Tata joined Dell Inc. in 1999 and is currently a senior project strategy manager. She manages the consumer in-home value-added services business and generates substantial revenue by defining new processes and retail warranty partnerships. While leading a cross-functional program team, Tata is responsible for developing proposals, creating business cases, and initiating operating procedures. She has managed multiple site teams from eight to 82, led numerous Six Sigma Black Belt cost-saving projects, and published three papers. Tata was instrumental in driving the Dell engineering rotation program and currently is a co-lead for the Women in Search of Excellence (WISE) program. She has also worked for Monsanto Plastics. She received a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tata is the president of the RPI Austin alumni section and vice-president of communication for the MIT Austin alumni section. She enjoys swimming, biking, rollerblading, reading, and dancing. Karolyn Tiefenbach, Special Director of Strategic Initiatives As an automotive executive, Karolyn Tiefenbach began her career as a union designer while attend- 16 SWE FALL 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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