Executive Council

The purple blocks in the board organization chart above represent the Executive Council positions. SWE-LA’s Executive Council consists of the President, Vice President of Professional Development, Vice President of Outreach, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Each year in May, these positions open for election. The Nominating Committee reviews each nomination then contacts and vets the nominee, per the process outlined in Part III of the Section Managment Manual. A final list of vetted nominees, along with their corresponding candidate statements, are presented to dues-paying members for voting. Executive Council voting closes in June, with the new board being inaugurated in July each year.

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Represent the section before the public;
  • Preside at meetings of the section and its executive council;
  • Appoint the chairs of all committees, with the approval of the executive council, except the chair of the nominating committee;
  • Approve the appointment of all committee members, except of the nominating committee;
  • Oversees the nominating committee;
  • Authorize the disbursement of section funds within the approved budget;
  • Be an authorized signatory on all section accounts and approve year-end financial report;
  • Coordinate activities and execute the business and policies of the section between meetings;
  • Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned, and
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of president or as may be assigned by the executive council or the governance documents.
Email the SWE-LA President

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Assume the duties of the president if the president is temporarily unable to serve;
  • Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
  • Perform other duties as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.
Email the SWE-LA Professional Development Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
  • Perform other duties as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.
Email the SWE-LA Outreach Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Maintain records of the section;
  • Compose and send bi-weekly section newsletters;
  • Maintain section website;
  • Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of secretary or as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.
Email the SWE-LA Secretary

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Oversees the finance committee;
  • Be responsible for the collection, distribution, and safekeeping of section funds;
  • Prepare, maintain, and report as directed on the financial position of the section in relation to the approved budget;
  • Submit a financial report to the Society in accordance with established procedures;
  • Provide oversight and guidance to the committee chairs as assigned; and
  • Perform other duties normally associated with the office of treasurer or as may be assigned by the president, the executive council, or the governance documents.
Email the SWE-LA Treasurer

Committees & Chairs

The yellow blocks in the board organization chart above represent the appointed chair positions. These consist of the Professional Development Conference (PDC) Chair, Tours Chair, Professional Development Liaison, Mentorship Chair, K-12 Outreach Chair, Collegiate Outreach Chair, Graduate/Academia Chair, Marketing Chair, and Member Engagement Chair.

Each year in May, during the Executive Council nomination period, members may express their interest in joining a committee or holding a chair position. Upon inauguration of the new Executive Council in July, executive board members will appoint the new chair holders. Chair positions are not voted on by the general membership but are instead directly elected by the incoming executive board.

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Overseen by the Vice President of Professional Development.
  • Professional Development at SWE has a focused approach to empower women to succeed and advance in their engineering studies and careers.
  • Plans programs to support the retention, recruitment and advancement of women in engineering and technology through career services, professional development programs and networking opportunities.
Email the SWE-LA Professional Development Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Overseen by the Professional Development Conference (PDC) Chair(s).
  • Falls under the professional development branch.
  • Responsible for the planning and execution of SWE-LA’s annual professional development conference in the Spring.
  • PDC includes one day of speakers, networking, breakfast and lunch.
Email the SWE-LA Professional Development Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Overseen by the Vice President of Outreach.
  • Provide guidance for the various outreach sub-committees.
  • Provide scholarship support to women pursuing engineering degrees at our partnering SWE-LA colleges and universities.
Email the SWE-LA Outreach Committee
Email the SWE-LA Scholarship Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Overseen by the K-12 Outreach Chair.
  • Falls under the outreach branch.
  • Introduce girls, and their parents and educators, to engineering through fun activities.
  • Provide girls with opportunities to interact with professional women engineers who can act as role models for aspiring STEM minds.
Email the SWE-LA Outreach Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Includes both the Undergraduate Collegiate Chair and the Graduate Academia Chair.
  • Falls under the outreach branch.
  • The Undergraduate Outreach Committee is responsible for promoting and overseeing SWE-LA’s annual collegiate scholarship program and events partnering with undergraduate students at the universities in our SWE-LA umbrella.
    • The schools overseen by SWE-LA are USC, UCLA, Caltech, Cal State LA, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly Pomona, Harvey Mudd, and Loyola Marymount.
  • The Graduate Outreach Committee provides resources, information, and supportive networks for members to successfully navigate graduate school and career paths in academia together.
Email the SWE-LA Outreach Committee

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Overseen by the Member Engagement Chair.
  • Focuses on finding activities to engage SWE members within the SWE-LA section.
  • Plans and hosts events that will bring SWE members together and connect with one another.