May 2020 Newsletter
Congratulations!
Congratulations Lora Leigh Chrystal for taking the next step in your career! Lora Leigh recently accepted a position with the Iowa State University Foundation as a Director of Development.  

After twenty years with the Program for Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE), Lora Leigh is excited to move into a role that will help provide access to higher education and high-impact experiences like WiSE for faculty, staff and students. 

In order to focus on her new role, she has resigned as President-Elect of WEPAN. Her talent will be missed however we are excited for what is next for Lora Leigh. She will also remain on as a WEPAN member and continue to volunteer with WEPAN.

We are pleased to announce the Board has elected Dr. Sheila Ross to serve as President-Elect for the remainder of FY20 and President for FY21.

Dr. Ross is the Program Director for Electrical Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. She has served WEPAN in a variety of roles, including Conference Chair for the 2017 Change Leader Forum, and Professional Development Chair on the WEPAN Board of Directors. 

Dr. Ross is excited to bring her experience leading volunteer teams, organizing events, and creating professional development opportunities to this new role. She plans to work with all WEPAN members and partners to build an organization that brings value to members, supports them through an engaged community of support, and enables them to become catalysts of change as we work towards 50/50 by 2050.  

Thank you both Lora Leigh and Shelia for your commitment to WEPAN.
President's Message
Last month we would have been together at CoNECD. While it was disappointing to miss this opportunity, CoNECD 2020 will be held January 24 - 27, 2021. Please save the date as we will all need time to connect as we ease back into life after quarantine over the next few months.

Our focus continues to be around providing resources virtually while not overloading our members. This is a difficult balance to manage but we are doing best and welcome feedback. If there are specific topics you want to hear about please let us know!

Of late, my Amphora Consulting team has been focused on supporting our customers to look to what is next; specifically doing the strategic work now that will be required for success in the coming months. Hope is not a strategy; we can’t assume that things will soon be just like they were before and we can all breathe easier. Military planners call this trap ‘preparing to fight the last war.’  I thought you might enjoy this blog: Are You Ready to Come out on Offense? to help with your planning over the next few months.

Lee Ann Cochran,
President and Interim Director, WEPAN
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Looking to connect with WEPAN members about what's going right, what's going, well going, or have an opportunity to share? We've got an app for that!

WEPAN is launching a Slack channel to drive engagement and communication across our membership .

While the WEPAN listserv has a long history, searching it is another matter. Slack makes it easy to participate and view conversations.

Please join us to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection.

Opportunity to Drive Change
Executive Director Search

The WEPAN Executive Director is responsible for providing leadership, setting direction and proving guidance for WEPAN’s activities, members, and member organizations. 

Our board has established an Executive Director Search Committee to bring on an Executive Director to lead us into our next 20 years!

The Executive Director acts as a thought leader, works collaboratively, thinks strategically, and is fiscally responsible to ensure long-term success of the organization.

Learn more about the role and search here .
2020 - 2022 Board Recruitment

WEPAN's Board of Directors actively seeks nominations for positions of Director for fiscal year 2020-2022.

The ideal board member will have significant career experience as a practicing engineer, an engineering educator, or will have career experience in an engineering company or at an institution of higher education with an engineering, engineering technology, and/or computer science curriculum or an expert in a field required for WEPAN organizational needs. S/he will have leadership skills to drive change and advance WEPAN’s vision of 50% women in engineering by 2050.

Learn more about the role and search here .
Thank you Dr. Leonard Bohmann!

WEPAN would also like to thank Leonard Bohmann of Michigan Tech for stepping in as the Interim Treasurer for much of the 2019-2020 year. During his time as Treasurer, Leonard improved the budgeting process and lead the organization to continued financial stability.


Upcoming Webinars

Navigating Academia in the Midst of a Pandemic: Key Insights
from Kristina Dooley, CEP

May 29, 2020
12 - 1:00 PM EDT


Kristina L. Dooley is a Certified Educational Planner (CEP) and founder of Estrela Consulting, an Ohio-based independent educational consulting firm. Kristina has nearly 20 years of experience working with students navigating the complex college search process.

Get Connected on WEPAN's Slack Channel

June 16, 2020
12 - 1:00 PM EDT


Join President Lee Ann Cochran and President-Elect Shelia Ross for Slack 101.

Join Slack today and get your feet wet by by sharing with us how you have been spending your quarantine. Pictures are welcome.
Women in Engineering Proactive Network [ wepan.org ]

We empower people and organizations who are catalysts of change
To ensure the success of women in engineering professions
Through networks, research, practice and resources