If you follow the Society of Women Engineers on social media, the All Together blog, or in SWE Magazine, you may have read about some activities going on at headquarters concerning changes to the Society’s governance structure. SWE got a lot of questions about these activities at WE15 in Nashville and have since created a website targeted at informing you, a paid SWE member, about these changes.
We wanted to make you aware of the new Governance Update website because as members of SWE, you have some skin in this game! Read through the FAQs there and watch the videos that have been posted on the SWE YouTube channel: if you have questions about what you see, email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com or SWE HQ at governance@swe.org. Visit this page often in the coming months to see updates as SWE continues the process of determining what changes need to be made to preserve the vitality and effectiveness of our organization and transition to having a more international presence.
What will these changes mean to you as a SWE member? Well, we don’t have a lot of specifics to report at this time but if you are interested in gaining leadership experience through SWE (which we recommend to all our members!), most of the opportunities that currently exist in Region C (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) will be eliminated in the next 3-5 years. SWE is likely to replace some of them with different leadership positions in the new Society structure, but if you are interested in serving at the Region level, you need to sign up to do it while you still can! Visit the Region C Nomination Process website for instructions on how to submit your nomination.
At the Dallas section level, we are not aware of any changes as of yet that will affect our current Bylaws and leadership structure. We will continue to provide the same great monthly meetings, outreach programs, scholarships, and networking opportunities you enjoy now! However, getting leadership experience at the local level is a stepping stone to many leadership positions higher up in the organization, so if you see yourself heading that direction in the coming years, there’s no time like the present to volunteer for one of our committees or as one of our officers. The more folks we have on the ballot, the better! We are forming our Nominating Committee now so email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com to nominate yourself for one of our Officer or Committee Chair positions.
As always, if you have thoughts or suggestions about how we can serve you better, please don’t hesitate to email us and let us know.