By: Betsy Gillard, Volunteer Coordinator for GESTEM

Imagine wandering the halls of a college campus filled with, instead of the usual college students, over 1,000 excited 7th-grade girls participating in hands-on STEM workshops. These students are encouraged to hone their problem-solving abilities through innovation and teamwork, all in an atmosphere of fun and inclusion. Volunteers from companies in all facets of STEM come to teach and talk with the girls about the many opportunities and career paths that can be theirs someday.

Every year for the past 15 years, the free GESTEM event (Girls Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) makes this image a reality. GESTEM was created because we know that even today, girls face gender biases and stereotypes that can steer them away from careers or interest in STEM fields. STEM careers can be shrouded in mystery and feel out of reach for students, especially young women, that may not have exposure to them at school or at home. GESTEM invites students from all over the Denver Metro area, with a strategic focus on schools with underfunded STEM programs and more diverse populations, to participate in a day of hands-on learning.
GESTEM relies completely on support from volunteers and corporate partners in order to make this event 100% free for those that attend. We are still in need of guides, day of-runners, and donations! You can find more information about the event and how to donate or sponsor on our website.

Register to be a guide here
As a guide, you will lead a group of 8-10 girls to three different fun and hands-on STEM workshops put on by local companies. You’ll have an opportunity to share your experience in STEM fields and talk to the students about their impressions of STEM and areas of interest.
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“To me, it’s obvious that girls should be scientists and engineers. As a GESTEM guide, I got to watch it become obvious to them. It filled my heart with warmth to watch the girls get a little nerdier. Being a guide was easy and fun, and I really enjoyed spending time with kids, which isn’t something I do in my current job”.

• Kelsey Johnson, Marketing Manager, Smith.ai

Megan Schulze – WE Local Denver Local Host Committee Chair

WE Local Denver is rapidly approaching, I hope to see you March 15-16 at the Renaissance in Stapleton. We have a great line up of keynote speakers including RMS’s own Past President Jill Tietjen. If you haven’t seen her speak yet, or can’t wait to see her again, make sure you get registered  before February 15th to take advantage of Early Bird rates!  For more description of the other Keynote speakers see below.
See you in Denver!
-Megan

​Wake Up, WE Local | Friday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.
Erica Sodos
Motivational Speaker, Creating Magical Experiences
 
Erica boasts a 25+ year career of inspiring and entertaining audiences. She is a speaker, magician, psychic entertainer and one of the few female mentalists in the world.

​Local Power Hour | Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.
Jill Tietjen, P.E.
President and CEO, Technically Speaking
 
A SWE National Past President, Fellow, life member, and Distinguished Service Award recipient, Jill Tietjen is the President and CEO of Technically Speaking, Inc. An author, speaker and electrical engineer (a senior member of IEEE), she spent 40 years in the electric utility industry where she provided planning consulting services to electric utilities and organizations comprising the electric utility industry and served as an expert witness before public utility commissions and other government agencies.

​WE Achieve Awards Ceremony | Saturday, 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Separate Admission Price)
Jen Coken
CEO, Embrace the Ridiculousness of Life
 
Jen Coken is a life coach of 20 years who helps CEOs and entrepreneurs overcome their self-made limitations and reach new levels in their business and personal lives. Jen’s first book “When I Die, Take My Panties: Turning Your Darkest Moments Into Your Greatest Gifts” chronicles the experience of coping with her mother's death from ovarian cancer, and shares Jen’s core message—everything that comes our way is meant to teach us about ourselves.

Get to know our new FY19 SWE RMS Officers!  Each of our new officers shares a bit about herself and her background below.

​Kaitlyn Bunker, President

Kaitlyn is a Manager with Rocky Mountain Institute in Boulder and has been a SWE member for 12 years. The EC is excited to welcome Kaitlyn back as President for her second year. She has B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. She enjoys frequent travel for work to the Caribbean, where her team partners with island governments and electric utility companies to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency.

​Lisa Woodward, Vice President

Lisa has served our section as Vice President for the last few years and has been a SWE member for 10 years. She studied Chemical & Environmental Engineering and Pharmacy & Pharmacogenomics at Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado Boulder. She works with the EPA in Denver, and love horses. Lisa has served as the Parent Teacher Student Association president for Bear Creek High School and she enjoys working with students. 

​Madalene Fetsch, Treasurer

Madalene works at Polycom in Westminster, and has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Colorado and an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a SWE member for over 20 years and has served our section as Treasurer and in various other roles. She runs a Maker Space in her free time, where artists and craftspeople share space and figure out things together while growing their own businesses and artistic pursuits. Her Maker Space, Phoenix Asylum, even hosted our first Lightning Talk series! Madalene is riding her bike across Iowa this summer, in an event called RAGBRAI that has 15,000 cyclists participate

​Sarah Green, Secretary

​Sarah has been a SWE member for 11 years. Sarah has a B.S. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering focused on Food Processing from Purdue University. She is Regional Technical Support Manager for Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Sarah served as Co-Chair for the FY18 Spring Summit, and she is now welcomed to the EC as Secretary. Sarah home brews beers with her husband, where she leads the planning, sanitizing, and brewing. Her most recent brews were a Belgian-Wit and Belgian-Wit with Pomegranate. She is also a cross-country skier, learning from her parents while growing up in MN. 

​Ashley Kreuder, Vice President of Outreach

Ashley is a Senior Consultant with Ramboll Environ in Denver. She studied Industrial Engineering at Florida State University, and has a Masters degree in Sustainable Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. Ashley is excited to be the Vice President of Outreach after serving as the Secretary last year. Ashley loves being outdoors for hiking and skiing. Ashley joined SWE RMS as a member of the GESTEM committee when she moved to Denver over 5 years ago. Through her work on the GESTEM committee, she’s discovered her passion for outreach - sounds like a perfect fit for VP of Outreach!

Alya Elhawary, Vice President of Professional Development
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Alya joins the EC as Vice President of Professional Development and has been a SWE member for 8 years. Alya is a Battery Design Engineer at Lockheed Martin. She has her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from San Jose State University. RMS is exited to see the Women in “Industry” events expand. Alya loves exploring the Unites States, especially visiting the national parks, and hopes to visit all 58 one day! Recently, she was able to visit 5 national parks in 4 days, including Yosemite, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.

​Christi Wisleder, Vice President of Professional Enrichment

Christi joins the EC as Vice President of Professional Enrichment after serving as co-chair of various committees in RMS. Christi has her M.S. from Oklahoma State University and currently works at Merrick & Company as a Civil Project Engineer leading major drainage design projects. Christi is left-eye dominant and right-hand dominant - this cross-dominance is common in women but adds additional challenge to shooting sports. Christi recently took up sporting clays and is introducing others to the sport while continuing to improve her game.

​Heather Munoz, Vice President of Membership

Heather has been a SWE member for 7 years and has her B.S. and M.S. in Civil and Structural Engineering from the University of Michigan. She is Vice President of Engineering for i1 Energy working in solar energy. Heather’s looking forward to bringing the RMS more membership events this year as Vice President of Membership. Last year, Heather coordinated the first Lightening Tech Talk, the member appreciation brunch and the holiday cookie exchange (cookies may be one of Heather’s weaknesses). One of her hobbies is riding her motorcycle through the mountains (with Kaitlyn!).

SWE RMS FY16 & FY17 President Megan Schulze (Project Manager for Dewberry) has been announced as the WE Local Denver Local Host Committee Chair. WE Local is a SWE national and global program that brings together participants in all stages of their collegiate and professional journey. The program hosts conferences around the globe so engineers can connect through professional development workshops, inspirational speakers, networking opportunities and outreach activities.  About her appointment, Megan shares “I am very excited to host WE Local in Denver and lead the Local Host Committee. Since 1954, SWE RMS in collaboration with our strong collegiate sections has brought the SWE mission alive to the front range of Colorado and Wyoming. As the Society grows and evolves, WE Local is continuing the close community network within our membership and allows members to focus on leadership and professional development. I cannot wait to share our beautiful city and state this spring with our greater membership while we meet locally, and learn socially”
WE Local Denver will be held March 15-16, 2019 at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton.
 
Call for speakers at all 2019 WE Locals is open until August 11, 2018.
https://welocal.swe.org/