Society of Women Engineers
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Committee Positions Descriptions

Outreach:
Professional Development:
Communications:
Certificate of Merit Coordinator

The Philadelphia SWE Section invites local high schools to participate in the SWE Certificates of Merit program. Each year, upon teacher or counselor recommendation, SWE recognizes up to three female students in each high school for outstanding achievement over three years in both mathematics and science. Each certificate is embossed with the student's name, date of award, and either "Highest Honor", "High Honor", or "Honor."

  1. Contact local high schools (list provided) inviting them to recognize students who have excelled in math and science
  2. Prepare certificates honoring said students
  3. In some cases, help schools find SWE members who can present the awards in person

See our Certificate of Merit page for the submission form.
Collegiate Liaison
  • Maintain contact list for collegiate sections/interest groups:
    • Collegiate sections:
      1. Drexel University
      2. University of Pennsylvania
      3. Temple University
      4. Villanova University
      5. Widener University
      6. Swarthmore College
      7. Bryn Mawr
    • Collegiate Interest Groups (CIGs)
      1. Elizabethtown College
      2. Messiah College
    • Other colleges we keep in contact with for scholarship purposes:
      1. York College of Pennsylvania
        • Engineering Deparment
      2. West Chester University
        1. Women in Computer Science group
      3. Philadelphia University
        1. In the process of becoming a section
  • Yearly update required at the beginning of school year
    • Check in and make sure we have the correct POCs
  • Send out updates about different SWE deadlines
    1. Reminders about section reports
    2. Reminders about end of fiscal year documentation
    3. Reminders about awards applications
    4. Scholarship application reminders
    5. Check if there is interest in holding a joint event with Philly SWE
 
Note: Not all of the sections are responsive.  For sections that have a Collegiate Counselor, include them on the email.
Girl Scout Chair

  1. Host STEM outreach events for Girl Scouts in the greater Philadelphia area.  We aim for 2 events per year, typically one in the fall and one in the spring, and we attempt to vary the age range we serve at each event. Past events have included exploring ocean engineering, learning to code computer games, and tours, and interactive demonstrations at labs. Attendance has varied by event type and age of the scouts, but the average is around 20 scouts.  GSEP is really excited about our involvement with local scouts, and the parents and scouts are all very excited to have STEM-related event offerings.
  2. Source funding for the events.  These events are not always covered in the outreach budget, and we have successfully applied for SWE PDG grants to fund past Girl Scout outreach events.  Advance planning is important for this position because the timing of the grant application relative to the event date is taken into consideration when funding is being awarded.
Scholarship Chair

Details on our scholarship program can be found here.  The Scholarship Chair has the following responsibilities:
  • Update the application for each year
  • Advertise the scholarship application due date to local collegiates
  • Request volunteer judges from the Philadelphia section
  • Compile application data and distribute to judges
  • Select overall winners with judges' input
  • Notify winners
  • Invite winners to end of year banquet, and present award certificates
Science Carnival Chair

The Philadelphia Science Festival is held every Spring, and Philadelphia SWE hosts a station to show off a fun STEM activity to hundreds of students.  The activity is usually quick and fun!  The Science Fair Chair coordinates the activity and volunteers from the section.
Science Fair Coordinator

Each year, Philadelphia SWE attends the Delaware Valley Science Fair.  The coordinator organizes volunteers to attend the science fair.  The group judges students who are presenting engineering related projects.  After the science fair, the coordinator sends recognition to the winners.
Collegiate Counselor

A SWE Counselor is a Professional SWE member and is elected by a Collegiate Section.  A Counselor works with the Collegiate Section in several roles, but the primary one is to ensure that the Collegiate Section remains in good standing with SWE HQ.  This may consist of a number of things including the following:
  1. The Collegiate Section holds their elections in accordance with their bylaws and SWE HQ bylaws,
  2. That the Collegiate bylaws are in accordance with SWE HQ requirements and have been approved by the bylaws committee,
  3. Section reports are submitted to SWE HQ by the dates required, etc. 

Mostly paperwork type stuff really for this part, however this paperwork is extremely important because it ensures that the Collegiate Section receives their dues rebates!

A Counselor may also serve as a connection with the world outside of the college/university environment.  The Counselor can be a role model, reference, mentor, cheerleader, or any number of other things that students often look to a professional for.   The Counselor is also a great connection to the Philadelphia section's happenings.
Awards Chair

The Awards Chair is responsible for helping to coordinate the effort of putting the awards package together and submitting it on time. She is not expected to write the entire application. It can take a while to gather all the required data from all the different officers, so it is suggested to begin the application process as soon as the award packets become available. Previous award applications can be used as reference; they are located on the Google drive. There are three types of awards: Individual Awards, the Mission Award, and External Awards. The Awards Chair may be involved with coordinating all three types of awards.
  1. Individual Awards are designed to advance and honor the contributions of women at all stages of their careers as well as recognize the successes of SWE members and individuals who enhance the engineering profession through contributions to industry, education and the community. Usually for the Individual Awards, the nominee's employer handles the application, and Philadelphia SWE is simply asked to support it by providing a letter of recommendation. The Society Awards can vary from year to year; so the Awards Chair must review the packets to see which awards are applicable for Philadelphia SWE members. For the Distinguished New Engineer Award, for example, you may email the board members and ask if they have anyone in mind. If they do, you would encourage them to have an application ready to submit before the due date. If not, you can move your focus to another award. The Individual Awards are usually due in March.
  2. For Mission Awards, SWE offers the following description: http://alltogether.swe.org/2017/04/learn-about-our-swe-mission-awards/ The Awards Chair makes sure that the Philadelphia SWE application is complete and that it gets submitted on time. This process can take a long time, so start as soon as the awards packets are available. The Mission Awards are usually due in July.
  3. The Society of Women Engineers Awards & Recognition Committee has created External Awards to showcase important national, professional society, and other award opportunities for which SWE members may be eligible. By nominating SWE candidates, you can help to enhance recognition of the unique accomplishments of our women engineers and technologists. These awards vary from year to year. The External Awards are usually posted on the SWE website in the fall.
Awards Banquet Chair

The Banquet Chair will lead the planning of our end of year celebration.  We typically look for a location that can host ~35 attendees in a private or semi-private setting.  The section officers recap the year's highlights and honor important section members.  A meal is usually served.
Corporate Liaison

The Corporate Liaison is the point of contact for local companies who wish to engage with or donate to Philadelphia SWE.  This position can also assist with coordinating partnerships for hosting meeting locations.  The section has a list of local companies that we have worked with in the past to help with this role.
Membership Chair

The membership chair oversees the general maintenance of the distribution lists.  The responsibilities may include:
  1. Updating list serve to reflect SWE roster updates.
  2. Answer emails sent to general membership email.
  3. Send reminders to members who haven't paid dues.
  4. Assist in tracking attendance at meetings.
  5. Provides names of new members to Newsletter Editors to be welcomed in monthly publication.
Social Media Chair

Publish content regularly to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram
  1. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have pictures from past events, reminders about events, articles for discussion, etc
  2. LinkedIn has professional development opportunities
Webmaster

Regularly update website content based on upcoming events, offer changes, etc. Receive input from President, VPs, and biweekly emails
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