July 2018 - June 2019 Executive Board
President: Katie Byczek
VP of Membership: Alyssa Macuk
VP of Professional Development: Carissa Kloncz
Vice President of Outreach: Elva Carusiello
Treasurer: Abbey Schmoll
Recording Secretary: Renee Nathaniel
Corresponding Secretary: Andrea McKenna
President
Katie Byczek is a mechanical engineer at Navistar in Lisle. She received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2010, While at Navistar, Katie has had a variety of roles in design & validation, and most recently, program management.
In addition to her day job at Navistar, Katie also was President of the employee led affinity group, The Navistar Young Professionals (NYP) from 2014 to 2016. The NYP group had a member base of 300 employees, and sought to provide leadership and networking opportunities to grow energized, high performing talent at the company.
Katie has also served on the Society of Women Engineers Chicago Regional Section Executive Council since 2013. Her roles on the board have included Section Representative, Corresponding Secretary, Vice President of Professional Development, and most recently, President. Katie is excited to continue her being the SWE CRS President for FY19 and looks forward to a successful year!
Contact Katie at: swecrs.president@swe.org
In addition to her day job at Navistar, Katie also was President of the employee led affinity group, The Navistar Young Professionals (NYP) from 2014 to 2016. The NYP group had a member base of 300 employees, and sought to provide leadership and networking opportunities to grow energized, high performing talent at the company.
Katie has also served on the Society of Women Engineers Chicago Regional Section Executive Council since 2013. Her roles on the board have included Section Representative, Corresponding Secretary, Vice President of Professional Development, and most recently, President. Katie is excited to continue her being the SWE CRS President for FY19 and looks forward to a successful year!
Contact Katie at: swecrs.president@swe.org
Vice President of Membership
Alyssa (Macuk) Kueffner is a Senior MEMS Engineer at Knowles Electronics where she works to develop microphones for consumer electronics. She is a 2012 and 2014 graduate of Bradley University with a bachelor and masters degrees in mechanical engineering. Alyssa's research passion and thesis topic was and is in the study of tribology of MEMS, or microelectromechanical systems. She has previously interned at Navistar and Knowles. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys reading the classics and spending time with family and friends. She lives in Bull Valley, Il with her husband and their two adorable cats. Alyssa has been a member of SWE since 2008, and was actively involved with the Bradley University SWE Chapter. She is currently serving as the vice president of membership for the Chicago Regional Section and has enjoyed the opportunity to support the SWE community.
Contact Alyssa at: SWECRS.VPMembership@swe.org
Contact Alyssa at: SWECRS.VPMembership@swe.org
Vice President of Professional Development
Carissa received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2016. Throughout college she interned at the Natural Resources Research Institute where she focused on developing solid biofuels and the product development/recycling of waste materials for local companies. She joined SWE in 2012 when her collegiate section received it's charter. While there, she served as secretary, treasurer, and president, building their outreach, fundraising, recruitment, and succession planning programs. Carissa has been involved in SWE CRS since July 2016 and looks forward to serving as your VP of Professional Development! Carissa is also on the SWE Leadership Coaching Committee as a collegiate-focused coach, a role she finds very fulfilling. On her free time, she loves running, trying new restaurants, and playing with her new puppy--a maltese/shih tzu/poodle mix named Leo.
Contact Carissa at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
Contact Carissa at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
Vice President of Outreach
Elva Carusiello has B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL. Elva has over 20 years of professional work experience as a Process Engineer, Project Manager, and Environmental, Health and Safety Manager in the petrochemical, refining, and oil and gas industries.
Process engineering experience includes process design of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facilities and process optimization and quality improvement projects in petrochemical facilities. As the Lead Process Engineer for large scale LNG and LPG contracts, Elva was responsible for all process deliverables including P&ID‘s, PFD’s, Heat and Material Balances, and project philosophy documents for facility design incorporating best practices and applicable industry standards.
Elva has been involved with SWE Chicago Regional Section since 2009. She is currently the SWE Chicago Regional Section Vice President of Outreach. She was the 2018 South/Southwest Suburbs Circle Coordinator. Elva is a member of AICHE and also volunteers on an Environmental Commission in her hometown.
Elva is passionate about promoting the engineering profession and women in engineering. She developed and coordinated a Middle School Outreach program to promote "Engineering Careers” that reached out to over 600 middle school students annually for the past six years. Elva is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering as coordinator of SWE CRS Outreach Events.
Contact Elva at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Process engineering experience includes process design of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facilities and process optimization and quality improvement projects in petrochemical facilities. As the Lead Process Engineer for large scale LNG and LPG contracts, Elva was responsible for all process deliverables including P&ID‘s, PFD’s, Heat and Material Balances, and project philosophy documents for facility design incorporating best practices and applicable industry standards.
Elva has been involved with SWE Chicago Regional Section since 2009. She is currently the SWE Chicago Regional Section Vice President of Outreach. She was the 2018 South/Southwest Suburbs Circle Coordinator. Elva is a member of AICHE and also volunteers on an Environmental Commission in her hometown.
Elva is passionate about promoting the engineering profession and women in engineering. She developed and coordinated a Middle School Outreach program to promote "Engineering Careers” that reached out to over 600 middle school students annually for the past six years. Elva is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering as coordinator of SWE CRS Outreach Events.
Contact Elva at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Treasurer
Abigail (Abbey) Schmoll has worked as a mechanical engineer in Specialty Chemical Manufacturing for over 12 years. She joined Solvay’s rotational engineering program after graduating from Iowa State University and rotated from South Carolina to Louisiana to Ohio. Abbey moved to the Chicago land area in 2015 to become a Production Superintendent for Solvay Inc.
Abbey’s experience in SWE started at Iowa State University where she stayed active with chair positions and meeting many successful women engineering students. She continued to stay involved and active as she relocated from state to state and she took on multiple officer roles in the Baton Rouge section. After filling the Recording Secretary position for CRS in FY17, Abbey took on the CRS Treasurer position for FY18. She will continue to fulfill the Treasurer role from a far, since she has relocated to France on a brief Marketing & Strategy assignment within Solvay.
Contact Abbey at: swecrs.treasurer@swe.org
Abbey’s experience in SWE started at Iowa State University where she stayed active with chair positions and meeting many successful women engineering students. She continued to stay involved and active as she relocated from state to state and she took on multiple officer roles in the Baton Rouge section. After filling the Recording Secretary position for CRS in FY17, Abbey took on the CRS Treasurer position for FY18. She will continue to fulfill the Treasurer role from a far, since she has relocated to France on a brief Marketing & Strategy assignment within Solvay.
Contact Abbey at: swecrs.treasurer@swe.org
Corresponding Secretary
Andrea McKenna completed her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University, and B.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto. Andrea has previously volunteered with Let's Talk Science, an organization that brings fun and educational science activities to elementary-school aged boys and girls, as well as the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), an organization that promotes and empowers women and girls in STEM in British Columbia.
Andrea became involved with SWE when she moved to Boston in 2012 and served as a Section Representative and Communications Chair for SWE Boston. In FY17, Andrea was a Section Representative for the Chicago Regional Section and for FY18/19 is the corresponding secretary.
Andrea is currently a Project Consultant at Envista Forensics in Deerfield, performing damage assessments and failure analyses of mechanical/electrical systems and motor vehicle accidents. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, and traveling.
Contact Andrea at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Andrea became involved with SWE when she moved to Boston in 2012 and served as a Section Representative and Communications Chair for SWE Boston. In FY17, Andrea was a Section Representative for the Chicago Regional Section and for FY18/19 is the corresponding secretary.
Andrea is currently a Project Consultant at Envista Forensics in Deerfield, performing damage assessments and failure analyses of mechanical/electrical systems and motor vehicle accidents. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, and traveling.
Contact Andrea at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Recording Secretary
Renee Nathaniel is a material development engineer at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Streamwood, IL. She studied chemical engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Her involvement in the Society of Women Engineers started with the University chapter. Until graduation, she was involved in the University Fundraising, Social, Membership and Team Tech Committees. This past year FY18, she served as the North/Northwest Suburbs Membership Circle leader for the SWE Chicago Regional Section. She was presented with the Newcomer Award in recognition for outstanding service to the Section.
Renee is looking forward to serve as the Recording Secretary and collaborating with fellow SWE members for FY19.
Contact Renee at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
Renee is looking forward to serve as the Recording Secretary and collaborating with fellow SWE members for FY19.
Contact Renee at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
