Welcome Keynote: The State of SWE Address

Description: What’s new and what is hot in SWE! Our Society President, Virginia Connolly, will discuss the programs and services being implemented to align the Society with our strategic plan and meet our goals. You will learn how to use SWE to connect, build and grow yourself and your career. SWE can help you reach New Frontiers in your life and Virginia will describe those opportunities.

Speaker:

Virginia Connolly, P.E. is the FY09 SWE National President.

Virginia is a Lean Sigma Master Black Belt for Medtronic, Inc., the global leader in medical technology. In her role, she works in the Office of Workplace Inclusion where she studies health care disparities and employee retention issues. A certified Black Belt and Master Black Belt, Virginia has also worked on numerous Lean Sigma projects while supporting product engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain areas at Medtronic’s Microelectronics Center (MMC) to develop continuous improvement strategy and execution. Virginia also developed a site-specific Lean Sigma team for while serving as the MMC Lean Sigma Deployment Leader.

Prior to joining Medtronic, Virginia worked for an aerospace company where she gained a broad base of experience in a variety of positions in development engineering, manufacturing, and information technology.

Virginia has been involved with SWE for more than 20 years and has held various positions in the Arizona State University (ASU) and Phoenix Sections and the Sonora Region. Her service on the National SWE Board includes Region Director, three terms as the Speaker of the Council, and Director of Education. In 1997, Virginia received the Phoenix Section’s Outstanding Member Service Award.

Virginia has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. She is an alumnus and former board member of Arizona Leadership 2000, a women's leadership group, and is also a member of the American Society for Quality.

In her spare time, Virginia enjoys traveling, especially to warm climates to scuba dive with her husband, Rick. She also bicycles to work at least once a week and practices yoga. Virginia and her husband are trying to raise their miniature schnauzers, Derby and Sophia, to be well behaved, loving dogs, which is turning out to be quite a task.

Our 2009 Corporate Sponsors

Trail Blazer:

Raytheon

Pioneer:

US Navy

CIA

Explorer:

Rohm and Haas

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