The Society of Women Engineers’ (SWE) Annual Conference is the world’s largest conference and career fair for women in engineering and technology. Held in Austin, Texas this year with the theme “Always Connecting, Always Engineering,” WE17 provided attendees with inspiration, connection, professional development, and career building.
The conference kicked off on Thursday, October 26 with an Opening Keynote from Lorraine Bolsinger, Vice President, GE Corporate Leadership Acceleration Program. She encouraged everyone with her with her talk, “Be Big. Be Bold. Be an Engineer,” which empowered listeners to take on new challenges and risks to grow and gain confidence, benefiting both the individual and their team.Even if you were unable to attend this event, you can still hear from Lorraine through a Podcast from SWE’s Podcast, Diverse. On Thursday afternoon, more than 50 people joined the our SWE-MN Professional Section Networking Happy Hour and lived the “Always Connecting” conference theme.
There was a plethora of sessions offered over the three days of conference across a dozen tracks, including Career Management & Life Transitions, Inclusion & Cultural Awareness, and Strategic Leadership. The State of Women in Engineering was one session offered. This special event was the second comprehensive presentation on current research and trends on the state of women in engineering. You can watch the replay on SWE’s YouTube page, and you'll hear from the SWE Literature Review authors as they frame the discussion and point to the current research landscape regarding he basic data on women in engineering, gender bias, workplace culture, and more.
Saturday, October 28 was the final day of the conference, and it wrapped up with Celebrate SWE! Individuals and groups that further the mission of SWE were recognized. Our SWE-MN Professional Section was honored with 2 Mission Awards at this event. We received a Gold Level Professional Award and a Best Practice Award for Mentoring. Mary Petryszyn, Sector Vice President and GM, Northrop Grumman Corporation was the WE17 Closing Keynote Speaker at Celebrate SWE! She inspired the group with her talk and live music on the three L’s – life, love and leadership – and how they are all part of the equation for success in both our personal and professional lives. You can hear more from Mary in this video. The conference officially wrapped up with The Mrs, an All-Female Rock Band playing at the Celebrate SWE! Concert. The Mrs band not only writes and performs music, they also pursue their mission to change the way other women see themselves, inspiring each woman to know that she is enough. FY18 SWE President Jonna Gerken interviewed Andra Liemandt, The Mrs founder and drummer, and you can hear that conversation in SWE’s Diverse Podcast.
For those who attended WE17, we’d love to hear from you. What was your favorite experience at WE17?
As we look forward to next year’s Annual Conference, our section does not have to travel far. WE18 is in Minneapolis on October 18-20, 2018, so mark your calendars. We hope to see many SWE-MN members at WE18!
-Kim Miller ([email protected]) SWE-MN FY18 Section President
The conference kicked off on Thursday, October 26 with an Opening Keynote from Lorraine Bolsinger, Vice President, GE Corporate Leadership Acceleration Program. She encouraged everyone with her with her talk, “Be Big. Be Bold. Be an Engineer,” which empowered listeners to take on new challenges and risks to grow and gain confidence, benefiting both the individual and their team.Even if you were unable to attend this event, you can still hear from Lorraine through a Podcast from SWE’s Podcast, Diverse. On Thursday afternoon, more than 50 people joined the our SWE-MN Professional Section Networking Happy Hour and lived the “Always Connecting” conference theme.
There was a plethora of sessions offered over the three days of conference across a dozen tracks, including Career Management & Life Transitions, Inclusion & Cultural Awareness, and Strategic Leadership. The State of Women in Engineering was one session offered. This special event was the second comprehensive presentation on current research and trends on the state of women in engineering. You can watch the replay on SWE’s YouTube page, and you'll hear from the SWE Literature Review authors as they frame the discussion and point to the current research landscape regarding he basic data on women in engineering, gender bias, workplace culture, and more.
Saturday, October 28 was the final day of the conference, and it wrapped up with Celebrate SWE! Individuals and groups that further the mission of SWE were recognized. Our SWE-MN Professional Section was honored with 2 Mission Awards at this event. We received a Gold Level Professional Award and a Best Practice Award for Mentoring. Mary Petryszyn, Sector Vice President and GM, Northrop Grumman Corporation was the WE17 Closing Keynote Speaker at Celebrate SWE! She inspired the group with her talk and live music on the three L’s – life, love and leadership – and how they are all part of the equation for success in both our personal and professional lives. You can hear more from Mary in this video. The conference officially wrapped up with The Mrs, an All-Female Rock Band playing at the Celebrate SWE! Concert. The Mrs band not only writes and performs music, they also pursue their mission to change the way other women see themselves, inspiring each woman to know that she is enough. FY18 SWE President Jonna Gerken interviewed Andra Liemandt, The Mrs founder and drummer, and you can hear that conversation in SWE’s Diverse Podcast.
For those who attended WE17, we’d love to hear from you. What was your favorite experience at WE17?
As we look forward to next year’s Annual Conference, our section does not have to travel far. WE18 is in Minneapolis on October 18-20, 2018, so mark your calendars. We hope to see many SWE-MN members at WE18!
-Kim Miller ([email protected]) SWE-MN FY18 Section President
