Wendy Cocke, founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions, shares actionable advice on how to run your engineering career like a small business, embrace flexibility, and navigate the future of work in this episode of Diverse.
In conversation with FY24 SWE President Alexis McKittrick, Cocke also reflects on the impact SWE has had on her career, including a story of how several SWE members helped refine her WE Local Baltimore keynote address.
Listen to the episode on SWE’s website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Speaker: Wendy Cocke, Founder, Engineering Leadership Solutions
Wendy Cocke grew up being told she could be anything and learned first-hand that through hard work and perseverance a small business can become the lifeblood that fuels a family.
After college, she spent over 20 years leading technical teams in Fortune 500 companies before totally changing the trajectory of her career in her forties to open her own business and join the faculty at her alma mater.
She believes that with her experience and her engineering mindset, she can help people find their place at work and thrive once they get there. She works with people who want to think about work differently by speaking to employee audiences and providing consulting to corporate leaders looking to drive retention and productivity.
Wendy Cocke is the founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions and the author of two bestselling books: Making Flex Work and Reimagine Your Work.
Host: 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.
Diverse: a SWE podcast has been recognized as a top women in STEM podcast and a top engineering podcast!
