Sweet
Happenings
Society of Women Engineers Houston Area
Society of Women Engineers
Houston Area Section
P.O. Box 1355
Houston, Texas 77251-1355
www.swehouston.org
www.swe.org
Upcoming Events
Professional Development
Women of Excellence Awards
Reception
Saturday September 27, 2008
Aug/Sep 2008
Membership Extravaganza
Come out and meet fellow SWE
members, learn about SWE, and network
. There will be activities for everyone to
enjoy: Unlimited games (air hockey,
darts, pool, ping pong, video games, and
lots more!). Snacks and drinks.
Access to adjoining lounge
Where: Joystix Classic Games
1820 Franklin St.
Houston, Texas 77002
$15 –Members and Guest
RSVP by August 12th via PayPal
or check at the door.
(across from Minute Maid Park)
(map on website)
When: Thursday, August 14, 2008
Inside this Issue
RSVP: Poonam Raverkar
Poonam.Raverkar@mustangeng.com
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
President’s Corner
2
Recent Events
3
Professional Development Meeting
Member News
4
Topic: “Women, Money and Power”
Get Involved
4
Upcoming Events
6
Engineering News
6
National News
6
SWE Professional Series
7
When:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
6pm – 8pm
Speaker: Kris Cobb
Vice President – Investments
Certified Financial Planner
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (tm)
Certified Retirement Counselor
Wachovia Securities
Fee: TBD Check our website for updates www.swehouston.org
"Nothing can add more power to
your life than concentrating all
of your energies on a limited set
of targets."
- Nido Qubein
Newsletter Support Provided by
www.c-a-m.com
Location: Mustang Engineering (Opus Building)
Ten West Center One
17420 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX, USA 77094
SWE Houston Area
Officers List
FY 09
President’s
Corner
Amy Yip
President
Amy.Yip@chevron.com
Poonam Raverkar
Vice President Internal Affairs
Poonam.Raverkar@mustangeng.com
Carla Fair-Wright
Vice President External Affairs
carla.fair-wright@c-a-m.com
Jill Almaguer, P.E.
Vice President Career Guidance
jalmaguer@devry.edu
Abigail Koester
Secretary
jAbigail.Koester@bp.com
Janel Crosier
Treasure
janel.crosier@exxonmobil.com
Marie Laplante
Section Rep
marie.laplante@swe.org
Laura Piland
Section Rep
laura.d.piland@exxonmobil.com
Lindsay Laskowski
Section Rep
llaskowski@chevron.com
For sponsorship and advertising
information, email Newsletter
Editor
Greetings to my fellow SWE – Houston Area
Members!!
There is no time like the present to get involved in SWE. We
had an exciting kick start to the year with our Annual Planning
Meeting on Saturday, July 19. Thanks to all 22 ladies who
made time in their busy schedules to support SWE. It was so
wonderful to have so much energy and enthusiasm in one
room.
Last year was a huge success and I want to extend a special
recognition to Lindsay for all her hard work. She has also
continued to provide support as I transition back to Houston
and into this role as SWE Houston Area President. Thanks for
all your help!
My goals for this year revolve around focusing on the
membership; encouraging participation and finally preparing
for the future. You as a SWE member are the most important
part to making this a successful year. If you want to contribute
more by offering your ideas or by volunteering, please contact
me or any one of the officers and we will gladly get you
plugged in. I encourage you to checkout our website and mark
your calendars with our upcoming events. And as the SWE
Houston Area Section moves forward, we’d like to reduce our
carbon footprint and ask that you consider supporting this
effort by signing up for our e-newsletter.
I would also like to take this time to thank the FY09 officers for
their dedication and commitment. They are Carla Fair-Wright;
Poonam Raverkar; Jill Almaguer; Janel Crosier; Abigail Koester;
Marie Laplante; Laura Piland and Lindsay Laskowski. They have
already been working hard on all the fantastic events to come.
We will officially welcome all SWE members back from their
busy summers at the Membership Extravaganza in August.
Please make plans to come join us. I hope to see you soon!
Carla Fair-Wright
carla.fair-wright@c-a-m.com
or call 713-301-0206.
SWE Mission Statement . . .
“ The Society of Women Engineers stimulates women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and
leaders, expands the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in the quality of life, and
demonstrates the value of diversity. ”
Page 2
Recent SWE-HA Events
Mentoring Female Engineering Students
SWE-HA members participate as mentors for female engineering students in the
University of Houston‘s WELCOME (Women in Engineering Learning Community
for Maximizing Excellence) Program. The program has recently received the
WEPAN “Women in Engineering Initiative Award” because it has been an
outstanding program that serves as a model for other institutions. If you are
interested in mentoring, contact Allison Swenson at 713-743-4172 or
welcome@egr.uh.edu .
Olga Beishir (mentee) enjoys the homecoming
tailgate with Cynthia Oliver Coleman (mentor).
“Participating as a mentor in the ’s WELCOME Program enables me to give the
help and encouragement I wish I had received when I was a young engineering
student.”
- Cynthia Oliver Coleman
The Career Guidance Group
works to schedule this year’s
events.
Thanks to all these dedicated members for their time
and support!
All set and ready to plan!
SWE Annual Planning Meeting
Carla Fair-Wright, VP External
(right), lead a great group.
On Saturday, July 19, Twenty-two members of SWE Houston Area
Section met at Ziggy’s Healthy Grill for the Annual Planning
Meeting.
What a fabulous group of ladies who gathered enthusiastically to
brainstorm and generate many creative ideas for this year. It was
a great time to reconnect with old friends and meet new members.
Our new members took advantage of some awesome opportunties
to get involved.
If you missed the planning meeting and are still interested to get
involved, please take the time to contact any one of the officers.
SWE Houston Area Past Presidents,
Laura Piland, Irene Chang and
Lindsay Laskowski, contribute to the
planning group lead by VP Internal,
Poonam Raverkar.
Welcome to our newest members of SWE Leadership:
Chimmie Agunwah
Mayra R Cochran
Maurissa Douglas-Rogers
Kristiann Rushton
Marisol Sarabia
Raushanah Shahid
Xuan VandeBerg Harris
Page 3
Upcoming SWE-HA Events
Women of Excellence Awards Gala - Sep 27th
The Federation of Houston Professional Women and the FHPW Educational
Foundation holds this annual event to honor outstanding business women
from our member organizations and to raise funds to support scholarships
for women in our community.
Congratulations to Society of Women Engineers
(SWE-HA)
FHPW Woman of Excellence
Elizabeth Bush Ivie
Saturday, Sep 27th, 2008
5:30 - Reception/Silent Auction
6:30 Dinner
Hyatt Regency
Houston, TX
FHPW,
founded
in 1981,
is a
powerful force in
the city and is
presently the fifth
largest professional
organization in
Houston.
Girl Scout Badge Day – Rice University
This workshop is intended to inspire interest in engineering careers and
confirm a “can-do-math-and-science” attitude among elementary-age girls.
Besides just being a lot of fun for everybody.
Place:
Rice Campus (locations TBD)
Time:
Saturday November 15, 9:30 – 2:30
Contact: Ann Hightower, 713-529-5337, annhightower@comcast.net
Thank you to our event sponsors:
Rice University Society of Women Engineers
Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
Volunteers
are needed!!
Spread the word and buy your
coupon!
For $5 purchase your special
shopping coupon to Macy’s
while supporting SWE-HA. All
proceeds go to SWE-HA and
the events planned for the
year.
Volunteers will also be needed
Sep 20, 2008.
Contact Carla Fair-Wright carla.fairwright@c-a-m.com to reserve your
ticket or to volunteer.
Women engineers and
technologists present interactive
activities to middle and high
school girls and the girls
experience the creativity and
innovation that goes on in the
field of engineering.
Houston is hosting the event
planned for October 6th – check
the website for more details and
volunteer opportunities!
For more details contact
Jill Almaguer jalmaguer@devry.edu
Member News
Congratulations to Meghan Freeman and
family on the birth of her daughter
Lily Ann Freeman
Born:
Time:
Height:
Weight:
Sydney Anne Shield
arrived Monday, July
28. She was 18.5"
long and weighed 7
lbs and 4
oz. Mother, Danielle
Forget Shield, dad
and big brother are
doing great.
Page 4
July 4, 2008
10:42 am
19 3/4" long
7lbs 6 oz
If you find the balance between
work and family life is often hard
to find, hard to maintain, and even
harder to define. SWE-HA’s Dr.
Celesta White was written a
article you may want to read,
“What Work/Life Balance Means
to Me (and SWE)” . You’ll find
Celesta’s article in the SWE
Magazine Spring 2008
SWE-Houston Area Section would like to offer our
condolences to the family of Karen Morrison, SWE
Member who passed away recently.
On July 31, 2008. Carla Fair-Wright appeared
for SWE-HA on the Fox Morning News with
Sibila Vargas. Carla supported Dr. Janet Hyde’s
recent research showing that school age males
and females math scores are equal and that
the perceived gender bias in education is
primarily cultural and not innate.
Get Involved
Let us know how you want to get involved, call Lindsay at 713-927-0954
Get the Most of Your SWE‐FHPW Membership
SWE Archive
Share Your Memories
Did you know that, as a member of SWE Houston, you
are automatically a member of the Federation of
Houston Professional Women? The Federation is an
umbrella group including virtually every women’s
organization in the greater Houston area.
The SWE Houston section goal to archive past
documents into one central file system and location
for availability and use by future officers and chairs.
We want to build on YOUR past successes.
By visiting http://fhpw.org/ you can sign up for a list
serve to receive notice of other organizations’
meetings. You will be amazed at the variety of groups
and interesting programs.
Please dig through your boxes, drawers, and closets for any
documents that need to be passed down to future SWE
generations. Then contact Carla Fair-Wright at 281.809-1581,
Carla Fair-Wright@c-a-m.com. Eventually the files will be
housed at the University of Houston Women’s Archives.
Open Council Leadership Positions
Committees and task forces reporting to the COR Speaker are additional opportunities for any Society member, not just
COR representatives, to be involved in discussions relating to the Council. The following positions are currently open for
FY09. Full details on the positions are available in the COR Procedures.
Communications Committee : The communications committee ensures that key information is posted on the website and
COR Community. Members also assist with ensuring a successful COR meeting. The communications committee is
looking for members as well as a chair-elect. If you are interested in joining the Communications Committee, please contact
Mary Steblein , Chair Communications Committee.
Governance FIG: The Governance FIG is continuing to look for members to participate. If you are interested in joining the
Governance FIG, please contact Helen Patricia Chair, Governance FIG.
COR Mega Issues Task Force: The first mega issue topic to be discussed by the COR this year is: How do we match the
skills, interests, and capacities of our volunteers with the needs of SWE to create a satisfying partnership that will last
throughout their lifecycle?" If you are interested in working on this issue, please contact Islin Moy , Chair, Mega Issues Task
Force.
If you have specific questions or feedback, please contact Diana Joch, FY09 COR Speaker
SWE-HA Volunteer Opportunities
Newsletter Editor - Coordinates with members to obtain all information for the newsletter and creates the eNews
newsletter and seasonal mails out to our SWE members.
There are more opportunities available on our website: www.swehouston.org
Networking Hosts: Host a networking lunch or happy hour in your area. Let Amy ()know and we will post the information
on the website and upcoming newsletter.
Networking Luncheons
This is your opportunity to meet fellow professional women in your area in a casual/social setting. Contact the
host nearest you or volunteer to host in your area by contacting Lindsay at llaskowski@chevron.com
Area
City Central
Medical Center
Galleria
Westchase
North Houston
West Houston
Host
Jennifer Bell
Open
Liz Bush-Ivie
Christin Williams
Open
Carla Fair- Wright
Email
llebj@yahoo.com
Telephone
832-465-1702
esbushivie@att.net
christin_williams@urscorp.com
281-379-6713
carla.fair-wright@c-a-m.com
713-301-0206
Page 5
Upcoming Events
The National Conference for Women Engineers
http://www.we08.org
Nov 6-8, 2008
Baltimore Convention Center.
Baltimore, Maryland
Women Leading a Technical Revolution!
Please send inquiries or comments to SWE’s
Conference Manager at conferencemanager@swe.org
or 1-800-892-2858.
November 18th – SWE Monthly Meeting
SHOP at Ten Thousand Villages
Join us on Tuesday, November 18,
from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, for a
Shopping Night to benefit the
Society of Women Engineers. The
Shopping Night will be held at Ten
Thousand Villages, located at
2424A Rice Boulevard (in Rice Village). 15% of net
sales during the Shopping Night will be donated to
Society of Women Engineers.
The Texas Conference for Women is coming to Houston Thursday,
October 16th, 2008.
The Federation is a supporting organization for the conference. If you are
interested, you can pre-register now at www.TXConferenceforWomen.org.
Engineering NEWS
Women Engineer Magazine asked readers to list the top 50 companies and top 20
government agencies where they would most like to work, or that they believe would
provide the best working environment for women. Here, in ranked order, are the results
of the 2008 survey:
1. Boeing
2. Lockheed Martin
3. Johnson & Johnson
4. Microsoft
5. General Electric
6. Northrop Grumman
7. The Aerospace Corporation
8. AT&T
9. Google
10. Dupont
11. Medtronic
12. Bechtel
13. Hewlett-Packard
14. Texas Instruments
15. ExxonMobil
16. AstraZeneca
17. Lucent Technologies
18. The Coca-Cola Company
19. Toyota
20. 3M
21. Raytheon
22. Procter & Gamble
23. Mitre
24. CH2M Hill
25. BP
26. eBay
27. IBM
28. Xerox
29. Motorola
30. Ford Motor Compnay
31. Ericsson
32. Southern Company
33. Honda
34. Agilent Technologies
35. General Motors
36. Nissan
37. Merck
38. National Semiconductor
39. Applied Materials
40. Hess Corporation
41. Electric Boat
42. Diebold
43. Sprint
44. B/E Aerospace
45. Metcalf & Eddy
46. Fluor Corporation
47. PSEG
48. Ball Corporation
49. SanDisk
50. Corning
Source: Women Engineer Magazine http://www.eop.com/wetop50.html
Lynn
Laverty
Elsenhans
Meet Sunoco Inc.'s
first elected woman
CEO and president.
The appointment
will be official on
Aug. 8, when John
G. Drosdick,
current CEO and
president, retires.
Elsenhans will
receive $1.24
million and a
onetime grant of
restricted share
units equal in value
to $5 million.
National Events & News
Looking ahead at 2008 Calendar of Upcoming Events:
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Management Growth Training
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Executive Leadership Institute
Society of Women Engineers
National Conference
Page 6
Aug 05 – 09, 2008
Dallas, TX
Aug 12– 16, 2008
Dallas, TX
Nov 6-9, 2008
Baltimore, MD
SWE PROFESSIONAL SERIES
Revenge of the Nerdettes
As geeks become chic in all levels of society, an unlikely subset is starting to roar.
By Jessica Bennett and Jennie Yabroff
The Nerd Girls may not look like your stereotypical pocket-protector-loving misfits—their adviser, Karen
Panetta, has a thing for pink heels—but they're part of a growing breed of young women who are
claiming the nerd label for themselves. In doing so, they're challenging the notion of what a geek should
look like, either by intentionally sexing up their tech personas, or by simply finding no disconnect
between their geeky pursuits and more traditionally girly interests such as fashion, makeup and high
heels. In fact, calling them "nerd" is no insult at all—the Nerd Girls have T shirts emblazoned with the
slogan.
The crew includes Cristina Sanchez, a master's student in biomedical engineering (and a former
cheerleader) who can talk for hours about aerodynamics. Caitrin Eaton, a freshman, asked her
boyfriend for a soldering iron last Christmas. Juniors Courtney Mario and Perry Ross giggle when
they talk about what fascinated them most about "No Country for Old Men": how did the assassin's
air gun work?
These girl geeks aren't social misfits; their identities
don't hinge on outsider status. They may love all things
“"I used to carry around a
sci-tech, but first and foremost they are girls—and
copy of my computer-science
they've made that part of their appeal. They've modeled
degree in my purse"
themselves after icons such as Tina Fey, whose
character on "30 Rock" is a "Star Wars"-loving, tech
obsessed, glasses-wearing geek, but who's garnered
mainstream appeal and a few fashion-magazine covers.
Or on actress Danica McKellar, who coauthored a math theorem, wrote a book for girls called "Math
Doesn't Suck" and posed in a bikini for Stuff magazine. Or even Ellen Spertus, a Mills College professor
and research scientist at Google—and the 2001 winner of the Silicon Valley "Sexiest Geek Alive"
pageant. They tune in to shows like "GeekBrief.TV," a daily Web series hosted by 26-year-old Cali Lewis,
and meet friends at Girl Geek Dinners, the first of which drew more than 600 women.
From http://www.newsweek.com/id/140457
Related Stories
Nerd Girls
http://www.nerdgirls.com/page/about-the-nerd-girls
Danica McKellar
www.danicamckellar.com
GeekBrief.TV is a tech podcast that explains new gadgets, websites,
and toys. It was created by self-proclaimed geeks Luria Petrucci
http://geekbrief.tv
The first Nerd Girls Club was started by Dr.
Karen Panetta, a professor at Tufts University,
to empower her female engineering students
and challenge the stereotypes and myths about
women in engineering.
Sexiest Geek Alive 2001,
Ellen Spertus is a
associate professor of
computer science at Mills
College and a part-time
software engineer at
Google
SWE-Houston FY09 Calendar of Events
August 2008
Aug 07 Executive Board Meeting
Aug 14 Membership Extravaganza
September 2008
Sep 04 Executive Board Meeting
Sep 14 Membership Extravaganza
Sep 15 Newsletter Article Submission Deadline
Sep 16 Professional Development Meeting: TBD
Sep 20 Macy’s Shop For a Cause
Sep 27 Woman of Excellence Banquet
October 2008
Oct 02 Executive Board Meeting
Oct 04 WOW! That’s Engineering
Oct 12 Career Guidance Mailing
Oct 21 Professional Development Meeting: TBD
November 2008
Nov 06 SWE National Conference
Nov 10 Deadline for December Newsletter
Nov 13 Executive Board Meeting
Nov 15 Girl Scout Badge Day
Nov 18 Ten Thousand Villages
Nov 21 Professional Development Meeting: TBD
December 2008
Dec 04 Executive Board Meeting
Dec 06 December Social
Check our website for
more events!
www.swehouston.org
Next Newsletter: October 2008
Deadline for submissions – September 29, 2008
Society of Women Engineers – Houston Area
Po box 1355, Houston, TX 77251
PO Box 3461
Houston, TX 77253
Address Service Requested
Houston Area Section
SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Houston, TX
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