The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) holds multiple WE Local conferences across the globe each year to bring together women in engineering and technology.
Each WE Local offers a career fair, networking opportunities, professional development sessions, memorable speakers, and a collegiate poster competition. You can find the winners of the 2024 WE Local Collegiate Competitions in this blog post.
In 2024, SWE held three WE Local conferences in the U.S: one in Baltimore, one in Wichita, Kans., and one in Las Vegas. You can read our recaps of WE Local Bengaluru here and WE Local Munich here.
This year, SWE incorporated a “Live Without Limits” panel breakfast at each WE Local event. These unique discussions, moderated by FY24 SWE President Dr. Alexis McKittrick, highlighted SWE’s annual theme and exposed attendees to numerous inspiring stories of women who are paving the way to a more inclusive STEM landscape.
2024 WE Local Las Vegas Recap
From Feb. 23-24, more than 520 attendees gathered at the M Resort Spa Casino for the first WE Local conference of the year.
While the largest proportion of attendees came from California (34%), the event had a vast reach from over 34 U.S. states, including a sizable presence from Ohio (9.3%) and Colorado (8.1%).
The majority of conference-goers were students (61%), followed by individual contributors (7%), mid-level managers (5%), and technical specialists (4%). Mechanical engineering (20.9%) was the top-represented discipline, followed by computer science (13.5%) and civil engineering (9%).
Most WE Local registrants had two years or less of experience (50.1%), with a smaller percentage having three to five years of experience (13.9%).
Notably, WE Local Las Vegas had the largest SWE Boutique of all three U.S. locations where SWE sections sold their trendy branded merchandise.
“I really enjoyed the interactive breakout sessions and keynote breakfasts. The keynotes were a great way to wake up and get in the right mentality to approach the rest of the conference.” — WE Local Las Vegas attendee
This conference included 51 speakers who shared on a variety of topics in engineering, leadership, and career development, along with 14 partner organizations and a career fair.
In addition to the Live Without Limits panel, Doa J. Ross, deputy general manager of engineering at the Las Vegas Valley Water District & Southern Nevada Water Authority, kicked off the event with her opening keynote “Breaking the Mold of a Traditional Engineer.”
Kristina Kennedy, engineering associate professor and senior faculty director at The Ohio State University, gave a talk titled “Lift While You Lead” to close out the conference.
You can see more photos from WE Local Las Vegas in our Flickr album.
2024 WE Local Baltimore Recap
On March 1-2, over 840 attendees gathered at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott for the WE Local Baltimore Conference.
Of the U.S. conferences, WE Local Baltimore brought us the largest overall reach with over 39 U.S. states represented. Though the largest proportion were local from Maryland (17.3%), a decent amount of attendees came from Pennsylvania (12%) and New York (10.4%)
This conference saw a larger variety of engineering disciplines. The highest segment identified as mechanical engineers (17.7%), followed by biomedical engineers (11.4%). A smaller group represented computer science (9.2%), followed by electrical engineers (7.7%) and chemical engineers (6.7%).
Following the trend of WE Locals, the majority of conference goers were students (54.2%). A smaller group represented individual contributors (13.4%), followed by mid-level managers (4.9%) and technical specialists (3.7%).
Similarly to Las Vegas, most registrants had two years or less of experience (47.4%), with the next largest group having three to five years of experience (15%).
Partnerships for this conference were especially popular and sold out once 39 partners were secured.
“I’ve been attending WE Locals since they started, and this was the best one yet!” — WE Local Baltimore attendee
Keynote speakers at WE Local Baltimore included Wendy Anderson Cocke, founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions, who shared how engineers can embrace flexibility and run their careers like a small business. She dives into these insights on episode 256 of Diverse: a SWE podcast.
The “Live Without Limits” breakfast panel inspired the audience, and Christal LaVecchia, vice president and chief engineer, C6ISR at Lockheed Martin, embraced SWE’s annual theme in her closing keynote address “Understanding the WHY to Live Without Limits.”
The conference featured 10 poster presentations, 77 speakers, and 30 sessions that enhanced the development of students and professionals in STEM.
To relive the action, explore our WE Local Baltimore photo album on Flickr.
2024 WE Local Wichita Recap
From March 15-16, more than 370 attendees came together at the Hyatt Regency Wichita for WE Local Wichita.
While the majority of attendees came from Kansas (41.4%), individuals from over 31 U.S. states participated in the action including Missouri (9%) and Michigan (7.4%).
Consistent with Las Vegas and Baltimore, students comprised the largest category of attendees (37.3%), while individual contributors represented the second-largest group (20.8%). Smaller groups included senior/mid-level managers and first-line supervisors.
Following Las Vegas and Baltimore, most attendees had two years or less experience (41%), with a smaller percentage having three to five years of experience (17.7%).
Mechanical engineering continued to lead with the highest representation among engineering disciplines (16%). The next two most common sectors represented were aerospace engineering (13.1%) and biomedical engineering (8.5%).
Uniquely, a member of the SWE Wichita professional section led a group run/walk each morning to the Keeper of the Plains, Wichita’s most famous landmark.
“I had never been to a SWE conference before, so here I learned that there really is a huge support system for each other. The closing keynote really left me feeling empowered; like I can do anything I want in my career and have the few hundred women who attended the conference behind me.” — WE Local Wichita attendee
Like all other WE Local conferences this year, the Live Without Limits panel breakfast provided an opportunity to hear from women STEM leaders who have defied boundaries in their fields.
Heather Meyer, vice president of quality at Spirit AeroSystems, inspired the crowd with her opening keynote “Trailblazers Forge Their Own Paths.” To close the event, Carrie Shapiro, vice president of sourcing execution at Georgia Pacific, encouraged the attendees to “Lead Without Limits” in her keynote.
This conference included 17 partner organizations and 32 sessions on a variety of topics to support learning and professional development for women in engineering.
You can see more photos from WE Local Wichita in our Flickr album.
Want to join SWE at our next WE Local conference? Wondering if we will hold a WE Local in your area? Visit the WE Local website to find updates on future WE Local conferences, including the dates and locations for 2025!
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SWE Blog provides up-to-date information and news about the Society and how our members are making a difference every day. You’ll find stories about SWE members, engineering, technology, and other STEM-related topics.
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