Night of the STEM Stars

Night of the STEM Stars Event Mission

Aspire

Local, junior/senior female students who are excelling in STEM are nominated by their teachers and honored with a ceremony and frameable certificate!

Advance

Graduating collegiate SWE groups’ members are honored with a SWE graduation stole and a special SWE star gift. SWE SNS Scholarship winners are also recognized.

Achieve

Members of the community, women and men, are recognized by their companies and friends for their leadership in STEM outreach! We also honor new SWE members joining the Sierra Nevada Section this year.

FY23 Awards Celebration Committee

Event Chair

Event Project Leader

Nominations/Invitations

Corporate Sponsors

Communications

Photographers

Raffle & Auction

Master of Ceremonies

Danielle Walkiewicz

Vessela Petrasky

Seena Drapala

Dee Frewert, Kat Wright, Karen Purcell

Liz Mancuso, Genevieve Burbano

David Block & Samantha Stone, Plan B

Debby Carlson, Genevieve Burbano, Irene Kimura Kern

Danielle Walkiewicz

About the Society of Women Engineers

For more than seven decades, SWE has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry. Our organization is centered around a passion for our members’ success and continues to evolve with the challenges and opportunities reflected in today’s exciting engineering and technology specialties. We invite you to explore the values, principles, and priorities that guide our initiatives and learn how together, WE can continue to make a lasting impact on the future.

SWE Mission and Vision

To be key to the success of women in engineering and technology. Empowering women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity, and inclusion.

FY23 SWE SNS Officers & Committee Chairs

President Dee Frewert

Vice President Kat Wright

Secretary Kat Wright

Treasurer

Kelina Wong

Communications Chair Liz Mancuso

K-12 Outreach Chair Seena Drapala

Professional Development Chair Dee Frewert

UNR Liaison Lily Raymond

Fund Development Chair Dee Frewert

Membership Seena Drapala

Social Chair

Shawnee Dunagan, Kelina Wong

Thank You to Past SWE-SNS Presidents

FY01 Natalie Little

FY02 Sheryl Leverington

FY03 Misty Capriotti

FY04 Sonia Volce

FY05, FY06

FY07, FY08

FY09, FY10

FY11- FY17

FY18, FY19

Teresa Kulesza Goodwin

Julie Randall

Julie Mosby Rinaldo

Seena Drapala

Judy Kareck

FY20 Alexes Garrett

FY21

Seena Drapala

FY22 Kat Wright

FY23 Dr. Dee Frewert

Stay Connected with SWE-SNS

We are here for you!

Post Office Box 11003 Reno, NV 89510

swe.sns@gmail.com, sns.swe.org /swe-sns

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4662530

SWE-SNS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE DR. DEE FREWERT

SWE-SNS President Senior Director, Oracle

Welcome to Night of the STEM Stars 2023. It is magical to see this historic place filled with amazing and inspiring STEM Stars, and especially the overwhelming support of their families.

I’d also like to give a special thank you to each and every one of our sponsors for helping SWE celebrate women in all stages of their STEM careers.

Seena Drapala, past president, reminded me that SWE held a chartering dinner here at the Governor’s Mansion. Today we return to this historic place to celebrate extraordinary women who through their achievements shine the light on the importance of recognition and investment in women in STEM in Nevada.

When Chris Larson wrote “to think only of the best, to work only for the best, expect only the best”, he summarized what it took to achieve what SWE has over the years. When the Sierra Nevada Section began to recognize young women in high school for STEM achievement, it involved a few schools and there was no banquet. Since 2014 we have honored 213 young women in high school, 71 college students, and 29 outstanding STEM professionals.

SWE’s mission aims to empower women to achieve their full potential and promote engineering and technology to improve the world, all the while making inroads through diversity, equity and inclusion. Thank you for believing in our mission, supporting us from outreach to professional development, and for your presence here this evening as we celebrate Night of the STEM Stars.

Welcome and Thank you,

Educator guests, family, and friends of honorees!

TONIGHT’S AGENDA

5:00 PM Check-in

5:00 PM STEM Star Networking

5:15 PM Honoree Photo (gather on Mansion steps)

5:30 PM Welcome

5:45 PM Dinner

6:00 PM Keynote Speaker

6:30 PM Awards Presentations

8:00 PM Adjourn

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

DANIELLE WALKIEWICZ

DRW Consulting Founder and Principal

Danielle Walkiewicz is a dynamic entrepreneurial leader with expertise in chemistry and wet process engineering, recently earning the Products Finishing 40 Under 40 award for her contributions to the field of metal finishing. She founded DRW Consulting 4 years ago, providing hands-on chemical engineering services and support for scale-up strategy and technology commercialization, serving manufacturers, start-ups, and research groups. Walkiewicz is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers Sierra Nevada Section and serves as Chairman of the local Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering chapter. She seeks to spark an entrepreneurial mindset in young engineers and believes innovation can be practiced by all.

Upcoming SWE Events

4/29/23 Sierra Journeys Grizzly Ranch STEM program

5/2/23 SWE ASME Panel Discussion at UNR

5/10/23 Monthly SWE SNS Zoom Meeting & Elections

6/14/23

6/17/23

6/24/23

Redwood Materials Tour

WOW! That’s Engineering at Carson City Airport Open House

Truckee Tahoe Airshow & Family Fun STEM Expo

TBD Summer Outreach – Robots at Silver City

9/13/23 FY24 Kick-off Event

September TBD National Nevada Test Site Tour, Las Vegas

October TBD Civil Engineering Industry Conference, UNR

NEW SWE-SNS MEMBERS

The SWE-SNS Board welcomes our newest members added to our section roster since June 30, 2022. SWE-SNS Members ship is now over 50 strong. Please stop by and say, “Hi!”

Blake Carter

Brittany Dougherty

Caroline Hanson

Catie Fox Fitzjerrells

David Riske

Dawn Detton

Dayo McIntosh

Debby Carlson

E. Marie Brierly

Karen Purcell

Kristin Steinkraus

Kyle Pierce

Mikela Dzwir

Myrriah Covarrubias

Rebecca Bernier

Rene Stivers

Stephani Cooksey

Tammy Borremans

Vessela Prevalsky

Zhuqi You

Panasonic Energy of North America Tour, January 26th, 2023

GRACE CHOU, Ph.D.

Chief Innovation & Commercialization Officer

University of Nevada, Reno

Dr. Grace Chou leads the overall advancement of the University of Nevada, Reno’s technology commercialization activities and its Innevation Center, a hub of entrepreneurship and an anchor to the regional innovation ecosystem.

Chou spent most of her career in Silicon Valley working in the technology and biosciences industries. Her roles included R&D, intellectual property management, business development, and strategic planning. She moved to the Reno-Tahoe area in part because of her love for the outdoors. She came to the University from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Chou has been a champion for growing Nevada’s innovation-driven economy. She dedicates her time to mentoring startups and connecting entrepreneurs to people and resources in our community.

While in college, she was an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and continues to support the organization today. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Looking for Scholarship Opportunities?

Tonight’s Keynote Speaker is presented by:

ACHIEVE 2023 Corporate Award Honorees

Outstanding STEM Professional

LIZ ALLISON, SCCE

Vice President of Quality

Panasonic Energy of North America

Liz Allison has over 20 years of experience in highvolume supply chain quality compliance, specializing in high-volume lithium-ion battery manufacturing for the electric vehicle market with projected sales of $4 billion dollars. She is responsible for driving, implementing and overseeing strategies and partnerships for quality, QMS management, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and financial goals. Allison is an active social media advocate for women and people of color in EV manufacturing engineering and a volunteer with the Society of Women Engineers UNR Section where she mentors students and sponsors a Capstone project with the School of Engineering. Prior to PENA, Allison served as Sr. Director of Supply Chain Quality Compliance and established the North American business with over 60 affiliates, while making significant strides in the Supply Chain Customer Experience. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University. She is a certified Corporate Compliance and Ethics Professional (SCCE) and healthcare compliance professional from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Dean Flesher’s award is presented by:

Outstanding STEM Community Leader

ANNE FLESHER

Dean of Math and Physical Science Truckee Meadows Community College

Anne Flesher has been with TMCC for over 18 years. Before becoming a dean, she was a math professor. As Dean, one of her goals was to increase the number of females in the college’s engineering program. To bring together students, academics, and industry professionals in support of this goal, Flesher coordinated the first ever Engineering Advisory Board at TMCC. Its mission is to support and enhance the engineering program at TMCC. With the encouragement of the Engineering Program Advisory Board members, and SNS SWE members, Flesher initiated the TMCC Section of the Society of Women Engineers to enable students to directly engage SWE resources and participate thoroughly in career building and educational activities.

ACHIEVE 2023 Corporate Award Honorees

Outstanding STEM Community Leader (Posthumous)

Accepting tonight on Ms. Alderman’s behalf is Haley Marquez

WENDY L. ALDERMAN

Women in STEM Advocate Entrepreneur, Mechanical Engineer

Wendy earned her mechanical engineer degree when women in engineering were few and far between. She was proud when her daughter graduated as a mechanical engineer with over 40% female students in her class. Wendy’s career began in medical equipment design before transitioning to nationwide blood bank process improvements. After working in the family business Wendy left to conduct early solar voltaic systems design. Along with the career change, Wendy also dedicated her time to educational programs and competitions including running invention-based summer camps and mentoring for competitions such as Future Cities Nevada.

Ms. Alderman’s award is presented by:

In recent years, Wendy was very active in the Northern Nevada Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship community. In 2019, Wendy was named Venture Catalyst of the Year by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN). Wendy was also involved in Next Wave Impact, a group of women investors focused on bringing early stage investment to companies with diverse founding teams. Wendy and her husband, Al, provided a grant to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Truckee Meadows to create a STEM Bus to bring STEM education to many of the remote sites the Boys and Girls Clubs have around Northern Nevada. Wendy had a love of engineering that remained with her throughout her life. It brought her great joy to inspire and support other women as they progressed along their education and career paths.

College shopping?

Be sure the program is ABET accredited.

ABET accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree levels. With ABET accreditation, students, employers, and the society we serve can be confident that a program meets the quality standards that produce graduates prepared to enter a global workforce.

https://www.abet.org

ACHIEVE 2023 Corporate Award Honorees

Outstanding STEM Educator Award

AUTUMN LAIDLAW AMANTIA

STEM Coordinator

Galena High School

Autumn Laidlaw Amantia has single-handedly saved Galena’s STEM program this year when we had all of our STEM teachers abruptly leave during the summer. Laidlaw Amantia stepped up in teaching the junior class of students and helped recruit new teachers for the program, including a retired engineer/project manager, and two former engineers. Her dedication throughout this year has helped ensure students remained on track to complete the STEM program, and she believes the program is stronger now than it was before. She has worked tirelessly in recruitment for the upcoming year, and in organizing the training for possible educators that can teach more subjects. On top of all of this, she has led students in her Environmental Sustainability Engineering course, teaching students to solve environmental problems with realistic solutions. Laidlaw Amantia has taught this course for many years, and many of her former students are currently practicing or studying environmental engineering. She is the perfect definition of a great STEM teacher helping create future engineers each day.

Outstanding STEM Educator Award

CARA TIRADO

Science Curriculum Coordinator Carson City School District

Cara Tirado works tirelessly to assist district teachers to be the best they can be. She has been a champion of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and has created tools and provided access to resources to help teachers implement NGSS which creates a much more robust science curriculum across the District. NGSS is more focused on meaning-making and problem-solving than many traditional curricula that are more focused on memorization and the use of formulas. Tirado has fought an uphill battle to get teachers to change the way they have been teaching, particularly if they have been at it for a long time, but she has maintained a positive attitude and persevered. It is starting to show real results in the District.

Ms. Tirado’s award is presented by:

SPECIAL HONORS

2023 SWE-SNS Outstanding STEM Educator Award

KIMBERLY TUCKER Coordinator, Northern Nevada FIRST Lego League (FLL), Eagle Valley Middle School

Kim Tucker is a coach of three FLL teams, teaches STEM classes, and hosted the NNV state championship. She has served as a resource for EDAWN in its pursuit of robotics in every school.

Tucker is a 6-8th grade STEM teacher at Eagle Valley Middle School. She has B.S. in Ecohydrology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Nevada, Reno. Kim worked for Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) in the Conservation Department. She enjoyed the teaching aspect of her position at TMWA and it inspired her to become a science teacher. She taught 6-12th grade science Turning Point Middle/High, a 100% special education school, then received her Master’s of Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University. In 2019, she joined Eagle Valley Middle School as a STEM teacher. She found that her class sizes were very small and that she had just one female student across all of her classes. Tucker made it her mission to bring STEM and Sustainability instruction to as many students at Eagle Valley Middle School as possible. She co-created two courses, in partnership with Envirolution (Project ReCharge), Building Engineers I and II. She delights in seeing more girls enrolled for these courses year over year, and girls are now more equally represented. Tucker has continued to partner with Envirolution as a Master Teacher, where she supports curriculum development and teacher training.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Tucker started a FIRST LEGO League Robotics Team with 8 students. That school year was still impacted by COVID, but the team made great progress throughout the year. At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, Tucker had over 40 students interested in joining the team. With help from her co-coaches, Tucker was able to coach three robotics teams including the first all girls team at EVMS. The EVMS teams brought home the Robot Performance Award and the Breakthrough Award. The all-girls team moved forward to the championships!

INSPIRATION

Commander Becky Calder

A 1998 Naval Academy graduate, Cmdr. Becky Calder served as an F/A-18 pilot and was the first woman pilot to graduate from the Navy’s Strike Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). During her 15 years as a pilot she supported Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. At the Naval Academy, she played varsity basketball and was the first woman to have her varsity number retired.

GET INVOLVED WITH SWE

USE EVENT CODE: SIERRANEVADASWE

SWENext gives students the opportunity to attend engineering events, receive scholarships, and more. Learn more about SWENext, a free program for students up to the age of 18.

OPPORTUNITIES TO JOIN SWE Membership Options for Educators

A special SWE membership rate of $20/year is available to K-12 educators. SWE membership includes valuable K-12 outreach tools & support for educators including:

• Access to outreach resources and activities locally, nationally, and internationally

• SWE’s monthly e-newsletter, All Together, and their award-winning SWE Magazine

• Reduced registration fees for SWE’s Annual Conference including K-12 Outreach Track, K-12 Outreach Expo, and Career Fair

• Support SWE’s mission and get access to SWE’s outreach community, K-12 webinars

• Discounted K-12 outreach merchandise via the SWE Store

• Networking opportunities with SWE collegiate, professional & corporate members

Join SWE with a K-12 Educator Membership

1. Visit swe.org/join to create a new customer account & log in.

2. Select Professional Membership and on the next page, K-12 Educator Membership.

3. Pay $20. Questions? Email membership@swe.org

ASPIRE

2023 Young Women in STEM Honorees

Student High School

Hong Ngoc Nguyen Carson High School

Laura Bennett Carson High School

Analee Reyna Churchill County High School

Camille Winder Churchill County High School

Lydia Bergman Churchill County High School

Emmy Bonser Davidson Academy

Lily Yuan Davidson Academy

Sophia Burbano Davidson Academy, UNR, FIRST Nevada

Elizabeth Gleason Douglas High School

Haley Wilkinson Douglas High School

Kalie Mayotte Douglas High School

Cielo Coudriet Galena High School

Ella Ryan Galena High School

Katherine Muff Galena High School

Genevieve Burbano iSchool, TMCC, FIRST Nevada

Kylie Reeth iSchool, FIRST Nevada

Pricila Perez Palmerin Pioneer High School

Madeline Bell Grimm Reno High School

Mikaela Christenson Sierra Lutheran High School

Samantha Steyn Sierra Lutheran High School

Chantal Gabrielle Ebonia Wooster High School

Monserrath Ramirez Wooster High School

ADVANCE

December 2022 / May 2023 Graduates

Name Institution Degree

Kathleen Wright University of Southern California

Masters Business Administration

Jennifer Rose Clayton University of Nevada, Reno BS, Mechanical Engineering

Alexandra Teng Ayu Gaiser University of Nevada, Reno

BS, Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Renewable Energy

Luz Morales University of Nevada, Reno BS, Civil Engineering

Shannon Keegan University of Nevada, Reno

BS, Mechanical Engineering, Minors in Unmanned Autonomous Systems, Manufacturing Quality, Mathematics

Sunshine Rodriguez University of Nevada, Reno BS, Mechanical Engineering

Jessica Velez University of Nevada, Reno

Anna Zueva Truckee Meadows Community College

Heather Cordell Western Nevada College

Valerie Leuchtmann Western Nevada College

Vicky Vickye Western Nevada College

SWE-SNS Is Here for You!

BS in Computer Engineering, Minor in Cybersecurity

AS Mathematics

AAS Tech - Computer Information Technology

AAS Tech - Computer Information Technology

AAS Tech - Computer Information Technology

You are invited! Join our second Wednesday meetings, attend our professional events, find yourself a mentor (or two or three!), volunteer for outreach events, organize and/or participate in our next social activities with other women engineers. If you’d like to help out or take on a leadership role, positions are open. Come to a monthly Zoom meeting starting at 6 pm. Watch for our MailChimp email with Zoom link and What’s Happening. Join SWE https://swe.org/ membership/

2023 SWE SNS Scholarship Winners

Since 2001 SWE SNS has awarded over $25,000 to 29 individuals. This year, we are proud to include Truckee Meadows Community College and Western Nevada College SWE students in our scholarship program. Last year, SWE SNS endowed a STEM Scholarship with the Nevada Women’s Fund. We are well on our way to endowing a STEM scholarship for Nevada with the Society of Women Engineers headquarters. Thanks for your support of this event and for helping us reach this goal!

Wendy L. Alderman Memorial Scholarship Society of Women Engineers, Sierra Nevada Section Haley Marquez, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, and Engineering - Expected graduation May 2025

Nevada Women’s Fund - 2022 SWE SNS 1st Endowed Scholarship Winner Kaycee Smith, Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering

HELEN ZEISLOFT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Helen was a Charter member of the Sierra Nevada Section of the Society of Women Engineers. She is remembered for her “genuinely kind heart and iron will.” Helen grew up in an impoverished Ohio steel mill town. She earned her BS in Metallurgical Engineering from Youngstown State University and was the first woman professional to work at Weirton Steel in West Virginia.

She moved west in 1983 and received her master’s degree in Engineering Management from Washington State University in 1989. She was Production Manager at Bently Nevada, in Minden, NV, from 1994 to 2005. The last twenty-seven years of her life were spent in the Carson City area where she held a number of technical management roles. Helen loved hosting meetings and parties at her home and participating in yearly kickoff meetings. She is missed by all who knew her. SWE SNS thanks Helen’s family for their generous contribution to Helen’s memory.

SWE-SNS NWF SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT

December 2022 - April 2023 Donors

In Memory of Wendy Alderman

• Al Alderman Family Trust

• Beth Silverman and Barry Kann

• Richard and Linda Ely Charitable Trust

• Kathy A. Kev Rauen

• William K Watkins, Jr & Ruth M. Watkins

In Memory of Helen Zeisloft

• Bob Zeisloft 2022-2023

General Endowment Fund Donors

• Drapala Family Trust

• Dee & Rick Frewert

• SWE Sierra Nevada Professional Section

• 2023 NOTSS Sponsors

• Ashleigh Snover

We are making a bigger impact. SWE is proud to have an endowed scholarship through Nevada Women’s Fund. Our next milestone is to create the SWE International Scholarship for a Nevada Women studying engineering. Proceeds from tonight’s event will contribute to this fund, leaving us just shy of $10,000 to reach our FY23 goals. If you are interested in helping us Pay it Forward, talk with Dr. Dee Frewert at tonight’s event, 775-450-2615.

Interested in donating? Talk with Dee Frewert at tonight’s event or call her at (775) 450-2615.

THANK YOU!

2023 Night of the STEM Stars Sponsors

SPECIAL AWARD SPONSORS

Community

Education

Keynote

New SWE Section

Ashley Snover, Charter Member

Aspire

Advance

Achieve

Dee & Rick Frewert

SPECIAL AWARD SPONSORS

Stars

Spark

Drapala Family Trust

Senator Cortez Masto

Governor Lombardo

Merrilyn & Norm Noble

In-Kind Donors

• Amber Shore Pictures

• Art Obsession Gallery at Rancharrah

• Debby Carlson

• Dee & Rick Frewert

• Dennis Fertal, CFI

• DRW Consulting

• Erin Lehman

• Flavors of India

• Gold Hill Hotel & Restaurant

• Lash Lounge & Mrs. Petite Nevada

Thank you

to the organizations and agencies who have supported SWE-SNS initiatives throughout 2022 and 2023

• Lisa Frisch - Program Design

• Misubi Japanese Restaurant

• Nevada Newsmakers - Sam

Shad

• Partners for Community

• Public Market, Reno

• Rhonda Digarmo, Artist

• Shari Brueggemann

• Sixteen Studio

• Swanson Lane Photography

• Vessela Petrasky

• Vital at Any Age

Professional Development

Bellagio Hotel

Fox Factory

Intel Corporation

Tech Alley

US State Department

University of Nevada Reno

Community & Program Partners MATHCOUNTS Sponsors

Digigirlz by Microsoft

First NEVADA

Girls on the Run

Sierra Nevada Journeys

Carson City Airport

Truckee Airport

School Districts: Carson, Douglas, Lyon, Storey, Washoe

Wood Rodgers

ASME Comstock Section

Plenium Builders

NV Energy

AGC

SWE SNS

A production of the Sierra Nevada Section of the Society of Women Engineers with generous help from our wonderful sponsors!