Lisa Lazareck-Asunta, Chair of IEEE WIE Committee  2019-2020
Read her bio

IEEE WIE has the ability to bring formidable women together from across the globe; a most impressive International Leadership Conference (ILC); and the potential to make a shift change in engineering cultures worldwide.

WIE 2019 will focus more than ever on impact and deliverables.  I am using this first quarter to get organised; meet my Committee of 8 voting members, 10 Region Co-ordinators, 35 Society and Council Representatives, plus Education, IEEE-USA and other Reps; and prepare everyone for our in-person meeting in March.

Chair duties also include a lot of reporting and liasing with other IEEE bodies.  For example, the WIE Chair is expected to report to the Member and Geographic Activities Board three times throughout the year: February, June, and November.  Plus, I am already looking forward to attending our ILC on 23-24 May 2019, which focuses on providing leading-edge professional development for mid-level and senior women – and will be held for the first time in its new location: Austin, Texas, USA.

Overall, as Chair, I am most interested in developing and implementing transparent, systematic and sustainable strategies for pushing WIE’s goals throughout the IEEE and beyond.  I would also like to figure out how different genders could be brought into our WIE leadership (30% of our WIE members are men), as Women in the IEEE and Diversity & Inclusion are not women’s issues alone. I believe in the power of women, and I believe in the IEEE.  It is an honour to serve as 2019-2020 Chair of the WIE Committee.