On July 1, 2023, Dr. Alexis McKittrick assumes the role of President of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), concluding Dayna Johnson’s one-year term as SWE President. The president role is a one-year role on the Board of Directors, served after having been president elect for a year.
In this episode, Dayna sits down with Alexis to pass the torch, offer words of advice, and share her favorite moments and achievements from her time as SWE President.
Alexis discusses her top three areas of focus for SWE, as well as her career journey to this point and why she chose “Live Without Limits” as her theme for the upcoming year.
Listen to the episode on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Speaker: Alexis McKittrick, FY24 SWE President
Alexis McKittrick, Ph.D., a Society of Women Engineers 20-plus year and life member, has served as a volunteer leader in the organization for more than 15 years, holding roles that span all facets of the Society. Prior to being elected president, Dr. McKittrick served as president-elect and spent two terms on SWE’s board of directors, including serving as secretary and leading the senate as speaker. Highlights from her other SWE leadership roles include chairing two committees; serving on two governance task forces; and serving as governor of the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Dr. McKittrick is currently a program manager in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office. She serves on the SWE board of directors in her personal capacity. Prior to joining the DOE, Dr. McKittrick served as a senior researcher at the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., where she conducted nonpartisan research and analysis for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and various federal agencies. She also worked in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Division, focusing on greenhouse gas analysis and policy for the oil and gas, chemicals, and semiconductor sectors.
Dr. McKittrick holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar.
In 2014, she was presented with the D.C. Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies’ Young Engineer of the Year Award and received SWE’s Emerging Leader Award in 2019.
Speaker: Dayna Johnson, FY23 SWE President
Dayna Johnson, P.E., is the Emerging Technology Programs and Operations Leader at GE Gas Power. She joined GE in 2012 as a commercial manager, leading large teams through the bidding process to develop proposals for high-voltage electrical substations. Her performance in that role earned her a position in GE’s Accelerated Leadership Program. Prior to joining GE, she worked as a civil engineer, designing water and wastewater projects for rapidly growing communities in the Chicago suburbs.
She holds a B.S. in civil engineering and a Master of Engineering Management from Valparaiso University, and she is a licensed professional engineer, and LEED accredited professional.
Johnson has been an active member of SWE since joining as a collegiate member in 2000. She has served as Chicago Regional Section president and section representative and as Region H lieutenant governor and treasurer. She was previously the awards and recognition committee chair and WE11 local host committee co-chair. She was also engaged as a governance task force member and a senator before joining the Board of Directors. She received the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award in 2011 and the Emerging Leader Award in 2018.
Diverse is a podcast by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). SWE gives women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering community. On Diverse, we highlight incredible thought leaders and personalities in our community and discover who they are at home, at work and in between.
You can subscribe to this engineering podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.
