FY11 Senate Update Sonora Region Council May 22, 2011

1. FY11 Senate Update Sonora Region CouncilMay 22, 2011 Deb Willems Penny Wirsing Christine Koloveas

2. Senate Highlights Jan - Jun • Participated in the Annual Strategic Planning Review • voting to adopt Annual Strategic Plan will close in May • Participating in monthly conference calls to provide input to the BOD in order to influence the strategic direction of the Society • Is on track to close 3 of the 6 Mega Issues that were assigned to the Senate • Has formed a nominating committee and is working with the SWE parliamentarian to fill the BOD vacancy • Working to complete this process in time for all FY12 BOD members to attend BOD transition Meeting June 25 in Providence, RI.

3. BOD Vacancy • Per the Society bylaws (IV.8.C), it is the responsibility of the Senate to fill the BOD vacancy.   • A call for nominations May 21 • Nominations Due Wednesday May 25 • Senate Meeting (virtual) May 27 to review process • Voting June • Working to complete this process in time for all FY12 BOD members to attend BOD transition Meeting June 25 in Providence, RI. Nominations can be made by Senate members (includes BOD) Submit the Candidate Nomination Form, Candidate Consent & Eligibility Form to the Senate Nominating Committee Chair, Christine Cabrera at christine.cabrera@gmail.com

4. BOD Vacancy The Senate nominating committee is responsible for insuring that qualified candidates are placed on the ballot; however, identifying SWE's future leaders is everyone's responsibility.  Our Society has many competent members who are interested in leading us forward.  It is the responsibility of all of us to see that they are considered for the Society's elected offices.  We look forward to receiving your recommendations. Nominating Committee: • Christine Cabrera, Chair, Region H • Deb Willems, Region B • Leann Bush, Region C

5. Senate MI Review • Each year Mega Issues are assigned to teams across the Society and published in the Annual Strategic Plan • FY 11 Senate was assigned 6 MI and 3 were chosen to work on. • Process- • Data gathering • Conduct Dialogue • Identify actions – generate recommendations • Create white paper • Review with Senate & Present to BOD

6. Recommendations Summary In addition to utilizing this scoring matrix, the Senate leadership team is working to develop an effective way to package the MI recommendations for efficient and successful implementation of the recommendations

7. MI 106 Topic How can we empower women engineers to be successful on their own terms?

8. MI 106 Recommendations Summary

9. MI 112 Description How can SWE provide assistance to unemployed members? • Unemployment is a situation that may affect a significant portion of SWE’s members and potential members for the next few years, and as such, we need to evaluate how SWE can retain and provide services to its unemployed members.

10. MI 112 Recommendations • Increase percentage of webinars/workshops to annual conference that are geared towards unemployment and preparing for job loss - require yearly assessment • 5 pts • Better communications of current career services offerings and guidelines for a consistent experience for finding job postings at the regional and section level • 7 pts • Best Practice/Guidebook for regions and sections on conferences/events geared towards unemployed • 7 pts • Distribute email/packet targeting unemployed - information on SWE website, how to connect with other unemployed SWE members, resources, etc • 15 pts

11. MI 114 To what extent and in what areas should SWE venture beyond STEM to issues relevant to SWE's mission in the area of public policy?** GRPP owns this MI and completed the work with the help of the Senate

12. Recommendations for GRPP Committee • GRPP should explore different ways to get the information out to the membership about our current public policy efforts (6 points*) • Webinar, social media are options • Be more specific by what we mean by public policy • Work on education and collaboration with other societies • GRPP - Continue its focus of STEM education, academic policies and pay equity and expand in these areas. (3/4 points*) *points do not include sustainable impact

13. New areas worthy of further exploration • These items merit further investigation but may or may not fit under the GRPP Committee umbrella • Encouraging / Educating SWE members to be on school boards to influence education (11 points*) • This would be a way to influence STEM at the local level • Would need to provide policy with recommended STEM standards • First step would be a position paper. • Webinars on how to run and what are the recommended standards • High effort, but could potentially start off small and expand as funding available Senate recommend a New Mega Issue regarding Corporate policies (i.e. support for women on boards) ranked fairly high • Investigation into what area of corporate policies would have the biggest impact to SWE members and how can SWE engage these issues • Does it really fall in GRPP or another committee? (Effort – medium to look further into this) • *points do not include sustainable impact

14. The white papers will be posted at the end of the fiscal year • For more information please contact Senate MI Chair Deb Willems deb.willems@swe.org

15. FY 12 Senators • Penny Wirsing, P.E. • Amy Jo Bowdidge • Kimberly Otteson Alternate: Stacie D. Suggs Congratulations!!