Region Collegiate Team
The Region Collegiate Team is comprised of four collegiate and four professional members that work on the regional level to make sure your voices are heard.
The team brings together representatives from:
- The Sections
- The Senate
- The Region Council
- The Collegiate Leadership Coaching Committee
- The Collegiate Interests Committee, and
- The Membership Committee.
They meet monthly to discuss how students in our region are doing and how they can help.
To learn more about getting involved on a regional level, read about the team’s roles below!
FY13 Region H Collegiate Team
Region Collegiate Representative (RCR)
Your Region Collegiate Representatives (RCR) are two collegiates elected by you—the region membership—to represent our region on a national level.
The RCRs make sure that your section is the best it can be. They keep the Region Governor and Board of Directors up to date on the needs of collegiates in our area. They also run meetings at the Annual Conference and Regional Conference, attend a summer leadership training conference, and network with SWE leaders from across the country!
Your RCRs are your best resource for questions about anything SWE-related. They can find you help with membership issues, financial problems, or report deadlines. If your section needs help, email them at rcr-h@swe.org
Alicia Walby
Alicia Walby is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University with a minor in German Language. She has been involved with the Michigan Tech SWE section since her freshman year. She has held positions as Publicity Chair and Communications Director for her collegiate section as well as the RCCE for FY11. She is also involved in Michigan Tech’s SAE Aero Design Team. During college she has worked at GE Aviation as a co-op student.
Elizabeth Buchanan
Elizabeth Buchanan is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been involved in the UIUC SWE section since her freshman year, including being the Social and Entertainment Director for the 2010 Region H Conference, Membership Enrichment Director in FY11, and President in FY12. She is also involved in Engineering Open House (a large science fair held on campus with over 20,000 attendees), her sorority, and Vitality, a dance team on campus. For engineering internships, she has worked at Procter and Gamble in Green Bay, WI, Cincinnati, OH, and Albany, GA.
Region Collegiate Communications Editor (RCCE)
Your Collegiate Communications Editor is a collegiate elected to improve communication between sections within our region. Primarily, she manages this blog!
The RCCE helps share best practices within our region and also helps the RCRs with their role, such as running the collegiate meetings at National and Regional conferences. She is your best resource for mass-distributing information, such as events or deadlines. If your section has an event you want publicized regionally, or a great idea (or event, social, workshop…) they’d like to share with the rest of the region, email the RCCE at rcce-h@swe.org
Erin Syverson
Erin Syverson is a senior studying Biomedical Engineering and Physiology at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Within her collegiate SWE section she has held positions of Outreach Director, Secretary, and Conference Bid Committee Co-Chair. Erin will also be acting as her section President for FY13. This past summer she completed an internship as a systems integration intern for Accenture out of the Minneapolis, MN office.
Region Collegiate Senator
According to the Article V, Section 2 of the SWE bylaws:
The senate shall be responsible for charting the strategic direction of SWE by developing and adopting the long-range goals for the Society. The senate shall also be responsible for developing statements of external policy on issues or positions that have broad implications for the professional environment and the Society as an organization. To these ends, the senate shall conduct essential dialogue on long-term trends and issues of common interest, and may appoint subordinate units to assist in the creation of these strategic directions or policies. The senate shall communicate the outcome of such dialogue to the board of directors.
Rachel Seidner
Rachel Seidner is a senior in Chemical Engineering at the University of illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In previous years, she was External Vice President and Social Director for her SWE section. Rachel worked at Eastman Renewable Materials, LLC this summer and is continuing part time doing research through the school year. She is also very involved with AIChE and is the Social Director for Engineering Counicil this year.
Alina Alam
Alina Alam is a senior at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and is studying Material Science and Engineering. She was the Professional Development Officer and Industry Director in her SWE Section. She is doing a co-op with Fisher Barton this semester and then returning back to school.
Region Governor
Your Region Governor is a professional member. She runs and represents our region. She also advises region leaders, keeps us updated on SWE issues, reports on our needs, and ensures the health of your section and the region as a whole.
Jenny Morikawa
Jennifer (Jenny) is a Life member and a part of the SWE-Detroit Section, where she served as the FY05 & FY06 Section President, Vice President of Outreach, Section Representative, Secretary, and Fund Development Chair. On the National level, she has served on the Awards & Recognition Committee since 2006 including Chair in FY12, Student Activities Committee from FY04-FY05, and the Program Development Grants Committee from FY09-FY11. Jenny has been active in Region H as Secretary, Region Council, Lt. Governor and currently the FY13 Governor. She received the honor of SWE Distinguished New Engineer in 2008.
Jenny has an MS degree in Intedisciplinary Engineering with a minor in Engineering Quality, Reliability, Durability from Purdue University and a BSE in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She has worked for General Motors for over 10 years and is currently on assignment in Detroit, MI as a Group Leader for the Detroit Hamtramck Paint Shop.
Jenny lives in Livonia, MI (Metro Detroit) with her husband Robert and 2 year old, Jason. She enjoys scrapbooking and photography.
Region Lieutenant Governor
The Lt. Governor is the organizer of the Region Collegiate Team. She facilitates information-sharing between us. She also serves as Region Governor if the Governor is temporarily unable to serve.
Dayna Johnson
Dayna is a member of SWE-Chicago Regional Section, where she served as the FY11 Section President. She has also served as the Vice President of Membership, Section Representative, and the chair of numerous committees. She has also served as the Celebrate SWE chair for Region H. Last year, Dayna was the co-chair of the Local Host Committee for the Annual Conference, WE11, in Chicago, and she is currently the Awards Chair-Elect at the National Level.
Dayna has a BSCE from Valparaiso University and will finish her Master of Engineering Management in October of 2012, also from Valparaiso. She is currently a Commercial Manager for GE Energy.
Dayna lives in Bolingbrook, IL with her husband Chris and their pit bull, Rallie. In her free time, she enjoys travelling and hiking.
Collegiate Leadership Coach (CLC)
The CLC works with collegiate sections to help them improve. Specific section issues (money, membership, recruiting, etc.) can be coached individually. A CLC can travel to visit your section! If your section needs help, ask!
Heather Wiest
Heather Wiest is a graduate student at Purdue University, and she is studying Aerospace Engineering, focusing in Propulsion. Heather graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2011 with a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. While being an active member in SWE at Rose-Hulman, she served as Section Treasurer her senior year. Heather has continued her involvement in SWE by joining the Region H Collegiate Leadership Coaching Committee in 2011, and she now serves as Team Lead for this committee.
