2023 WE Local Awards

This year’s award recipients will be recognized at the 2023 WE Local Conferences.   

WE Local Awardees are also listed on the WE Local Awards webpage. 

The 2023 WE Local Award recipients are as follows: 

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Partner Award  

• Becton Dickinson (BD) WIN+STEM, Becton Dickinson & Company (BD) 
• Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL), The Boeing Company 
• Engineering Women’s Group, 3M 
• John Deere India Pvt Ltd, John Deere India Pvt Ltd 
• Women of Ford Stem Outreach, Ford
• Women of Wabtec, Wabtec Corporation

Engaged Advocate Award  

• Haley Antoine, Toyota Motor North America 
• Ramak Asgari, Lockheed Martin, Tau Beta Pi 
• Ashwini Balasubramanian, Harley Davidson Motor Company 
• Kristen Bridgeman, Cummins Inc. 
• Lori Kahn, Lockheed Martin 
• Andrea Kwaczala, Ph.D., Western New England University, SWE Hartford Professionals 
• Tracy Nguyen, Essential Eyecare Optometry 
• Sameera Shaikh, John Deere India Pvt Ltd 
• Matt Wedel, Spirit Aerosystems 

Guiding Star Award  

• Emma Ahlgren, University of Pittsburgh 
• Sanjana Chintalacheruvu, Oakland University 
• Nazik Citir Razavi, Ph.D., Iowa State University 
• Leah Courtney, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
• Maggie Fox, UCLA 
• Aastha Gupta, The Ohio State University 
• Yareni Lara-Rodríguez, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez 
• Ashley Purcella, The University of Alabama 
• Kelli Ross, The Ohio State University 
• Thivani Senathiraja, Iowa State University 
• Misty Tomlin, Kettering University 
• Sophia Ung, Georgia Institute of Technology 
• Sofia Vainikos, Georgia Institute of Technology 
• Rachel Varughese, The Ohio State University 

Joint Professional/Collegiate Event Award  

• Atlanta SWE and Georgia Tech SWE 
• Rocky Mountain Section and Colorado School of Mines 
• SWE Ohio State University Section and SWE Central Ohio Section 
• SWE University of Illinois Section and SWE Central Illinois Section 

Legacy Award  

• Jodi Ashmun, Raytheon Technologies 
• Carol Coppa, Eversource Energy 
• Jennifer Lynch, IBM (Retired)

Local ELiTE Award  

• Rajwant Kaur, John Deere 
• Keerthika Pandiselvan, Ford 
• Sharayu Sonwalkar, John Deere 

Local Integrator Award  

• Lisa Akers, Lockheed Martin Space 
• Wendy Cocke, Engineering Leadership Solutions LLC 
• Shailendra Jagtap, John Deere 

Local New ELiTE Award  

• Tess Davis, Boston Scientific 
• Andrea Falasco, Kimberly-Clark Corporation 
• Ashley Johnson, L3Harris Technologies 
• Kalie Miera, 3M 
• Danielle Schroeder, P.E., Gannett Fleming 
• Purva Vaidya, Project Farma 
• Bethany Van Nortwick, Lockheed Martin 
• Sadhana Vashisht, Caterpillar Engineering Solutions Private Limited 
• Swetha Vinjimoor, Abbott Laboratories 

Outstanding Outreach Event Award  

• Becton Dickinson WIN+STEM, Becton Dickinson & Company (BD) 
• Cal Poly SWE, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 
• John Deere India Lakshya SWE Team, John Deere 
• PittSWE, University of Pittsburgh 
• Society of Women Engineers at University of Michigan, University of Michigan 
• Society of Women Engineers Boston Section, Society of Women Engineers Boston Section 
• Society of Women Engineers Wichita Professional Section, Wichita Professional Section 
• SWE Illinois, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
• SWE San Diego Professional Section, SWE San Diego Professional Section 
• UT Society of Women Engineers, The University of Texas at Austin 
• Utah State University Society of Women Engineers Collegiate Section, Utah State University 
• Washington State University Society of Women Engineers, Washington State University

Outstanding Professional Development Event Award  

• Becton Dickinson (BD) WIN+STEM, Becton Dickinson & Company (BD) 
• Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers, Cal Poly 
• Early Career Professionals Affinity Group, SWE Early Career Professionals Affinity Group 
• Emerson FCEC Women’s Impact Network ERG, Emerson 
• Mines SWE, Colorado School of Mines 
• Rocky Mountain Section, Society of Women Engineers 
• Smoky Mountain SWE, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) 
• Society of Women Engineers Central Illinois, SWE CI Awards Chair 
• SWE Pittsburgh, SWE Pittsburgh 
• Women of Wabtec, Wabtec Corporation 

Rising Star Award  

• Bernice Chiaha, University of North Texas 
• Isabel Davis, University of Texas – Austin 
• Abigail Duke, University of Michigan 
• Bukola Oni, Iowa State University 
• Grace Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign 
• Chelsea Sun, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 
• Alayna Wanless, Kettering University 
• Caroline White, California Polytechnic State University 
• Diya Yunus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
• Christine Zeng, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor