A MESSAGE FROM TOM FERNANDEZ, SASE CO-FOUNDER AND

2020 is affirming the need to be elastic. SASE created the 6E model of leadership built out of GE’s 4E and P&G’s 5E models. And within SASE, Asian-heritage scientists and engineers benefit from a sixth leadership trait: Elasticity. To recap, SASE’s 6Es of Leadership are:

Envision: Define your vision of what you wish to accomplish and why it is important.

Engage: Share the vision with key customers, co-workers and partners to get feedback and improve the vision based on their input.

Energize: Excite the people or organizations responsible to deliver the vision so they allocate time as a priority to achieve the vision.

Empower: Remove barriers, develop systems and processes to achieve the vision.

Execute: Create and adjust action plans to achieve the vision efficiently.

Elastic: Ability to transition leadership style fluidly to be effective in a variety of situations in order to achieve the vision.

How any of us prepare and then respond to situations is rooted in our leadership approach. The SASE Board has demonstrated all 6Es to lead in 2020, and we keep adjusting seemingly daily—that’s what we all need to do in these unprecedented times. The 6E model has proven helpful in delivering SASE’s mission and simultaneously processing COVID-19 impacts and racial injustice.

As a board, we must lead in a way that serves the 1.3 million Asian American and Pacific Islander STEM professionals. AAPIs make up 20 percent of the U.S. STEM workforce, making us America’s largest STEM minority group. They are counting on us to lead and give a voice to help them achieve their full potential.

So, what does Elasticity look like from a SASE Board point of view? It looks like applying all 6Es and making the best informed decisions we can while giving ourselves the right to make adjustments. It looks like using your Envisioning Leadership to declare professional development as the breakthrough priority and sticking to it. It looks like being Elastic—to follow the science on COVID-19 and keep people safe by moving our conference to be 100-percent virtual. It looks like working with our partners in Pittsburgh, who were originally scheduled to be the back-to-back host for SASE National Conference 2019 and 2020, and agreeing to come back in 2025 since 2020 needs to be virtual. It also means Engaging new partners more deeply and strengthening collaborations as we announce new partnerships, including one with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

The SWE partnership is personal for me, going back to 1988. I began dating my now wife of 30 years, Laura, after a SWE dance at our alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University. Women represented only 16 percent of Carnegie Mellon engineers in her class of 1989 whereas they now represent over 50 percent of the incoming class in 2024. This kind of change happens with the coordinated efforts of so many. For example, Laura Fernandez is currently P&G’s Co-School Team Leader at Carnegie Mellon, and coordinates with SASE and SWE campus leaders to attract top candidates—but we can do even more to help each other. Women leaders excel in SASE as university chapter board members, then professionally as part of our over 100 corporate sponsors. And SASE is doubling down to Energize more women leaders. I am delighted at what the SASE and SWE partnership will bring.

This year’s virtual national conference will be a success because of the 200 Empowered SASE volunteers and SASE staff (aka SASE Squad), our corporate sponsors, speakers and more. I admire the teamwork, brainstorming, adjusting, sometimes crying (that’s always OK!) and dedication that got us here. To pivot from an in-person to virtual conference, all while delivering the SASE mission, is nothing short of extraordinary.

To get the most out of the Professional Panels and Workshops, you’ll need to Execute a plan. Some tips:

1.

2. Review the conference offerings and register early;

Ask questions in the chat so you can learn;

3.

4. Contact speakers the day of presentations;

Commit to putting 1-2 actions in place from each workshop; and

5. Review the next day’s agenda and adjust accordingly.

On behalf of the SASE Board, I welcome you to the SASE 2020 Virtual National Conference and wish you a growthful experience using the 6Es to help yourself and others. See you online!

Co-Founder and Secretary of the Board