Last night, our friend and colleague Dee Frewert was honored at the 2014 Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada dinner as a Triumphant Honoree in the field of S.T.E.M. (Science Technology Engineering and Math).  The event, held at the Atlantis Hotel in Reno, NV, was attended by over 400 fellow women leaders, community leaders, supporters, family members, girl scouts, scout leaders and sponsors.  Dee got a wonderful introduction from a local Scout who interviewed her for the program article and for her introduction speech.

Over the course of our regular meetings in 2014 and 2015, the Sierra Nevada Section of SWE will be reading a selection from our leadership bookshelf called Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler.

Crucial Conversations is invaluable in training you to convert unproductive, contentious conversations into productive ones, both at work and in your life in general.  The SWE SNS book group will be reading several chapters at a time, making time at each regular meeting for group discussion, to make sure we can thoroughly discuss and understand the book's intent and gain the most out of the experience of reading the book by sharing experiences and relating to one another.

Click here to go to our Book Club page and see the detailed discussion schedule and reading guide!

SWE-SNS participates in 2015 MathCounts Planning. Hollis, this year’s section treasurer, has volunteered to be on the planning committee for the upcoming N. Nevada MathCounts tentataively scheduled for Saturday, Feb 21, 2015. As of the kickoff meeting we already had 18 schools signed up and are stretching the capacity of the UNR Davidson Math and Science Center. The committee is still looking for a number of volunteers, including about 20 people to do the scoring, proctors and “general kid herders.” For more see mathcounts.org. To volunteer or learn more email Hollis at hollis@rubiconrecluse.com

Members of SWE-SNS supported University of Nevada, Reno's Engineering Summer Camp by hosting and participating in a panel discussion for young women interested in studying engineering.  Panelists varied in experience and careers and each reviewed their backgrounds, discussed the challenges they faced and their tips for success in engineering.

The panel was followed by an outstanding presentation by Karen Purcell, P.E. based on her book Unlocking your Brilliance. Karen showed the assembled young women campers diverse examples of women in engineering leadership positions, highlighted success factors and gave heartfelt mentorship advice grounded in her own experiences founding and leading an engineering company.

A yummy dinner at the Twisted Fork for our June SWE-SNS social and new member event.  We reviewed the scholarship, outreach and partnership statistics from last year, reviewed goals and success, and set new goals for FY2015.

Today we celebrated our friend and honoree Karen Purcell, P.E., owner and founder of PK Electrical, Inc. and author of Unlocking your Brilliance, at the Salute Women of Achievement luncheon held by the Nevada Women's Fund.

http://nevadawomensfund.org/events/luncheon/