awards & recognition

Visit the National SWE Awards site for information on all the national awards

2008 SWE Region A Awards Banquet

The members of the Fresno State student section hosted a wonderful Awards Banquet on May 3, 2008! The event was held at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA, which was a beautiful location. The banquet included a keynote speaker, amazing BBQ luncheon, and tour of the local Japanese Gardens. Kudos to the members of the Fresno section for such an amazing job and obvious enthusiasm for SWE!

Our 2008 winners include:
Region A Service Award, Dr. Indira Chatterjee
Region A Service Award, Dr. Louise Stark
Region A Sustaining Benefactor Award, Intel Corporation

About the Region Awards

Region A Service Award
Region A wishes to recognize and reward members who have shown their enthusiasm and dedication to SWE's Mission through sustained and significant service. The Golden West Region Service Award recognizes SWE members who have made a valuable contribution to SWE. The commitment of service and leadership to SWE by region members has enabled the Society to successfully fulfill its mission, and those contributions have become part of the framework upon which SWE has been built over the years. Download the Region Service Award Nomination Packet [.doc 62kb] for more information.

Sustaining Benefactor Award
Region A acknowledges those who have provided continuous and significant support to Region A activities and members through our Sustaining Benefactor Award. Download the Sustaining Benefactor Award Nomination Packet [.doc 50kb] for more information.

Past Award Winners

Elizabeth Hurley (2007 Region A Service Award Winner)
2007 Region A Service Awards SWE members enjoyed a fantastic 2007 Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 12th at Chico. Many thanks to the entire Chico team led by the banquet chair Lindsey Schurig and event liaison Teresa Kulesza for organizing an amazing banquet for all to remember! The venue (the beautiful garden at the President’s Mansion!) and all the details about the event, including the program book, decorations, food, chocolate fountain, just to name a few, were amazing! Celebration was in the air!

Each year, we recognize and reward members who have shown their enthusiasm and dedication to SWE's Mission through sustained and significant service. This year, the Region A Service Award was given to Elizabeth Hurley! Elizabeth has been a member of the Sierra Foothills Section since 2002 and has held leadership positions at the section, regional, and national levels. In addition to SWE, Elizabeth is an active member of the Girl Scouts.

Girls Scout Bridging Ceremony This photo was taken in the Presidio in San Francisco at the same time that Elizabeth was receiving her well-deserved award in Chico. At this bridging ceremony of the Girl Scouts going from Junior Girl Scout to Cadette Girl Scouts, about 5000 Girl Scouts ceremoniously walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. Elizabeth not only works with the troop in this picture, but she is also a member. Since she could not be there, the girl scouts made posters and took photos to show Elizabeth that they were thinking about her. What a sense of pride and joy one feels from this picture, which sums up SWE’s tag line of Aspire, Advance and Achieve! Congratulations to Elizabeth, the girl scouts, all winners, SWE leaders and volunteers! You are all amazing!

At the banquet, we also recognized our collegiate and professional sections and celebrated their amazing achievements! Download the Region A Awards Presentation [275kb pdf] to find out more about our 2007 award winners!

Nancy Wheeler-Nelson (National SWE Distinguished Service Award)
Nancy Wheeler-Nelson has been selected for the SWE Distinguished Service Award. Nancy has been active in SWE for thirty years at the local, region and national levels. She helped found and is a past president of the San Jose State University student section. She served in many roles in the Santa Clara Valley and San Joaquin Valley Sections, including past president of SCV. She has served on many national committees. Nancy is a former Region A Director and a great contributor to the vibrancy and strength of Region A.

Nancy's great passion is student outreach. She founded and led the SCV section GetSET (Get Science, Engineering and Technology, www.getset.org) program that recruits high school girls from ethnic groups underrepresented in engineering to attend a one week summer camp of engineering exploration. Now in its 14th year, GetSET has touched the lives of more than 250 young women who are now attending college at a rate much higher than their peer group.

Nancy is an amazing woman who has given so much to SWE while raising her children and pursuing a highly successful career at Hewlett Packard and Trimble. Her commitment and tireless energy in support of SWE’s mission and goals have been unwavering and continue to be an inspiration to SWE members. Region A is so proud that Nancy has been chosen for this prestigious national award. She will receive her award at the national conference in October 12-14, 2006 in Kansas City, MO.

Patricia A. Simonson (2006 Region A Service Award Winner)
Through her leadership of Santa Clara Valley’s GetSET outreach program, Pat Simonson has developed the leadership skills of the women engineers who volunteer and has inspired numerous young women in high school to pursue education and careers in science and technology.

Lynne Powell (2004 Region A Service Award Winner)
Lynne Powell is recognized for 13 years of dedicated service to the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Women Engineers. She has demonstrated her leadership abilities through numerous officer and committee chair positions and her devotion through continuous high level of participation in local, regional, and national activities.

Kay Adkins (2003 Region A Service Award Winner)
Kay exemplifies the member that is the backbone of SWE, always doing something at the section level, always to be counted on and always there when needed for a special assignment.

Virginia Squire (2003 Region A Service Award Winner)
For outstanding and dedicated service to Sacramento Valley Section and the Golden West Region of the Society of Women Engineers as Past Region A Director, Past Region A Nominating Committee Chairperson, Past Section President, and volunteer activities too numerous to mention, presented in this inaugural year of the Region A Service Award.

Vicki Tsang (2003 Region A Service Award Winner)
For outstanding and dedicated service to Sierra Foothills Section and the Golden West Region of the Society of Women Engineers as Past Region A Secretary-Treasurer, Past Section President, and numerous terms as SFS Engineering Awareness Program Chairperson, presented in this inaugural year of the Region A Service Award.

Robin Spencer - Citation (2003 Region A Service Award Winner)
Robin Spencer is recognized for 18 years of dedicated service to the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Women Engineers. She has demonstrated her leadership abilities through numerous officer and committee chair positions and her devotion through continuous high level of participation in section activities.

Jennifer Kootstra (2003 Region A Service Award Winner)
For outstanding and dedicated service to Sierra Foothills Section and the Golden West Region of the Society of Women Engineers as Past Region A Conference Treasurer, Past and Present Section Treasurer, and volunteer activities too numerous to mention, presented in this inaugural year of the Region A Service Award.