Officers

Last updated 15th October, 2009

FY10 Region B Officers

Governor: Jennifer Harris

Jennifer Harris is an Industrial Engineering Transportation Manager for UPS, where she manages the engineering aspects of 15 operations for over 1500 employees. She is responsible for optimizing the consolidation, distribution, and transportation network of over 800,000 packages daily. This position requires her to lead a multi- disciplined team of engineers, operations managers, and staff functions to manage the air and ground network in and out of Southern California. Ms. Harris has worked at UPS since 2003, serving in a variety of engineering and operations positions. She holds degrees in Engineering with a specialization in Integrated Technology Management (MS) and Industrial Engineering (BS) from California Polytechnic State University- San Luis Obispo and a certificate from UCLA’s Technical Management Program.

Ms. Harris has been actively involved with the Society of Women Engineers for the last ten years in various leadership roles and is currently serving as the Sonora Region Governor where she oversees the operations and vitality of the region, sections, and collegiates.

In 2008, she was honored with a Society of Women Engineers New Faces in Engineering Award and the Los Angeles Council of Engineers and Scientist New Engineer of the Year Award.

Lt. Governor: Kerrie L. Greenfelder, P.E.

Ms. Greenfelder is a registered professional chemical engineer with Camp, Dresser and McKee Inc. (CDM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with an Environmental Emphasis.  Ms. Greenfelder has nearly ten years of experience in water/wastewater treatment, landfill design and construction, and groundwater/soil remediation at CDM.  She is known within her community for her technical expertise in the area of removal of arsenic from groundwater for municipal drinking water supplies.

Ms. Greenfelder is currently the Lieutenant Governor for the Region, a SWE Leadership Coach, and recently concluded her duties as the Chair for the 2009 Sonora Regional Conference.  Ms. Greenfelder currently lives in Albuquerque, with her husband, Matthew, and son, Carter, and she enjoys sewing and browsing cookbooks.

Treasurer: Jennifer Dugan

Secretary: Jeannette Lindemann

Jeannette has been a member of SWE since 1996, she is serving as region secretary for a second year and has also served as SWE Region B Regional Collegiate Membership Coordinator (RCMC); Society Bylaws, Program Development Grants, Membership, Outreach and Awards committee, COR Mega Issues Focus Interest Group (FIG), and Partnership Coordinate Task Force member.  She has actively involved in SWE-OC since 2001, currently she is the OC Vice President and Speaker’s Bureau Chair, she has also served  as Section Rep, Corporate Relations Chair, President, Vice President, Section Historian; California State University Fullerton Counselor, University of California at Irvine Counselor.  She has also served as SWE Region B Regional Collegiate Membership Coordinator (RCMC); National Membership, Outreach and Awards committee, COR Mega Issues Focus Interest Group (FIG), and Partnership Coordinate Task Force member. Jeannette received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from California State University Fullerton and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University. Currently she works as an engineer at DDB Engineering, Inc. in Irvine.

Representative to the National Nominating Committee: Virginia Connolly, P.E., SWE President FY09

Virginia is a Lean Sigma Master Black Belt for Medtronic, Inc., the global leader in medical technology. In her role, she works in the Office of Workplace Inclusion where she studies health care disparities and employee retention issues. A certified Black Belt and Master Black Belt, Virginia has also worked on numerous Lean Sigma projects while supporting product engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain areas at Medtronic’s Microelectronics Center (MMC) to develop continuous improvement strategy and execution. Virginia also developed a site-specific Lean Sigma team for while serving as the MMC Lean Sigma Deployment Leader.

Prior to joining Medtronic, Virginia worked for an aerospace company where she gained a broad base of experience in a variety of positions in development engineering, manufacturing, and information technology.

Virginia has been involved with SWE for more than 20 years and has held various positions in the Arizona State University (ASU) and Phoenix Sections and the Sonora Region. Her service on the National SWE Board includes Region Director, three terms as the Speaker of the Council, and Director of Education. In 1997, Virginia received the Phoenix Section’s Outstanding Member Service Award.

Virginia has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. She is an alumnus and former board member of Arizona Leadership 2000, a women’s leadership group, and is also a member of the American Society for Quality.

In her spare time, Virginia enjoys traveling, especially to warm climates to scuba dive with her husband, Rick. She also bicycles to work at least once a week and practices yoga. Virginia and her husband are helping their miniature schnauzer, Derby, raise her daughter, Sophia, to be a well behaved, loving dog, which is turning out to be quite a task.

Region B Nominating Committee Chair: Rachel Morford

Rachel Morford works as an engineer for The Aerospace Corporation focused on the technical and programmatic issues of the Delta IV launch vehicle. A SWE member for 6 years, she currently serves as the Region B Nominating Committee Chair, Vice President of the Los Angeles section of SWE, and West Coast Deputy Chair for the Collegiate Leadership Coaching Committee.

Region B Profession Senator: Deb Willems

Deborah Willems is a Supplier Quality Engineer with Raytheon Vision Systems in CA. Currently a Senator, Deb has served on numerous SWE committees and task forces including the roles of Governor, section representative, collegiate representative, and section president. She currently volunteers a member of the Raytheon Women’s Network, Counselor for the UC Santa Barbara section, and Vice Chair of the Women’s Industrial Advisory Board at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. In 2007 Deborah received the Women of Distinction Award from the Raytheon Women’s Network in Goleta, CA.

Region B Profession Senator: Penny Wirsing

Region B Senator Penny Wirsing has been very active in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for almost 25 years, holding numerous offices and committee chairs throughout the country as her work has taken her from the Mid-West to the Pacific Northwest, to South Florida, to Northern Virginia, and now to Southern California. Most recently she served as the Chair of the national Conference Program Board from 2005-2009, setting strategy and planning for the success of SWE’s future conferences. Penny was honored as a Fellow of the Society in 2007.
Penny is currently an environmental manager for ExxonMobil’s Torrance Refinery where she is responsible for ensuring the refinery’s compliance with local, state and federal regulations. She has been with ExxonMobil for over 20 years, in a number of locations and positions related to engineering and the environment. Penny earned her BS in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University, and her MBA from the University of Washington.

Region B Collegiate Senator: Amy Jo Bowdidge

Amy Jo is a senior in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering at Utah State University and has been a member of SWE for 4 years now. Last year she was the Region Collegiate Representative for Region B. Amy Jo has served as vice president of her section to 2 years, and in 2006-2007, she was also the publicity chairman at USU. She is an active member of Engineering Student Council at Utah State. Outside of school she loves just hanging out with her friends. Amy Jo loves being outside and during the summers she coaches a 10 and under girls’ softball team. It’s probably her favorite thing to do.

Region Representatives

B002 – Los Angeles: Erin Brooks, Julie Chao & Stacie Suggs
B003 – Orange County: Kim O’Rourke & Paola Chavira
B004 – San Buenaventura: TBA
B005 – San Diego: Joan Fisher & Kelly Seiler
B006 – Phoenix: Renee Defeo
B007 – Tucson: Mary Mahler
B008 – Central New Mexico: Sierra Larsen
B009 – Greater Salt Lake: Nadine Whitfield
B010 – Las Vegas Valley: Leisa Freestone
B011 – Central Coast: Deb Willems
B012 – Antelope Valley: Stephanie Loete
B049 – Members at Large: Vi Brown