July 2019 - June 2020 Executive Board
President: Alyssa Kueffner
VP of Professional Development: Carissa Kloncz
VP of Outreach: Elva Carusiello
VP of Membership: Renee Nathaniel
Corresponding Secretary: Elizabeth Mattson
Recording Secretary: Tracey Lassiter-Levy
Treasurer: Andrea McKenna
Finance Chair: Abbey Schmoll
President
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 president for the Chicago Regional Section and has enjoyed the opportunity to support the SWE community.
Contact Alyssa at: swecrs.president@swe.org
Contact Alyssa at: swecrs.president@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 its 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! At the society level, Carissa is on the Leadership Coaching Committee as a collegiate-focused coach, a role she finds very fulfilling. On her free time she loves trying new steakhouses, visiting museums, and walking her fluffy dog Leo.
Contact Carissa at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
Contact Carissa at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
Vice President of Outreach
Elva Carusiello has a 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. She managed the process design of large scale Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) facilities and process optimization and quality improvement projects in petrochemical facilities.
Elva is passionate about promoting the engineering profession and women in engineering. She initiated and developed a Middle School Outreach program to promote "Engineering Careers” that reaches out to over 600 middle school students annually. Elva has been involved with SWE Chicago Regional Section since 2009. She was the 2018 South/Southwest Suburbs Circle Coordinator. This is her second year as the SWE Chicago Regional Section Vice President of Outreach. Elva is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering in her role as SWE CRS VP of Outreach.
Contact Elva at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Elva is passionate about promoting the engineering profession and women in engineering. She initiated and developed a Middle School Outreach program to promote "Engineering Careers” that reaches out to over 600 middle school students annually. Elva has been involved with SWE Chicago Regional Section since 2009. She was the 2018 South/Southwest Suburbs Circle Coordinator. This is her second year as the SWE Chicago Regional Section Vice President of Outreach. Elva is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering in her role as SWE CRS VP of Outreach.
Contact Elva at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Vice President of Membership
Renee Nathaniel 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 FY19, she served as the Recording Secretary for the SWE Chicago Regional Section. Renee is a material development engineer at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Streamwood, IL. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, food, and traveling. Renee is looking forward to serve as the Vice President of Membership and collaborating with fellow SWE members for FY20.
Contact Renee at: SWECRS.VPMembership@swe.org
This past year FY19, she served as the Recording Secretary for the SWE Chicago Regional Section. Renee is a material development engineer at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Streamwood, IL. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, food, and traveling. Renee is looking forward to serve as the Vice President of Membership and collaborating with fellow SWE members for FY20.
Contact Renee at: SWECRS.VPMembership@swe.org
Corresponding Secretary
Liz Mattson is a Chicagoland area native. She graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2011. Since graduation, she has worked within Sargent & Lundy’s Nuclear Power Group. She also has her Professional Engineering license in Illinois and Masters of Business Administration with concentrations in International Business and Project Management from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Liz also serves as co-lead of Sargent & Lundy’s Women’s Professional Network, is the Chair of the American Nuclear Society Local Chicago Section and is a member of the Plant System Design ASME Committee. Liz currently lives in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago.
Contact Liz at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Contact Liz at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Recording Secretary
Tracey Lassiter-Levy earned her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Southern University and A&M College, her M.S in Telecommunications from DePaul University, and completed her Executive Education at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Tracey has almost 20 years of professional experience, starting her career as an Enterprise Infrastructure Architect with IBM and later as an entrepreneur. In 2009, she co-founded DMEtek, a technology firm which named one of the world’s top managed service providers in 2012 and one of the top-performing SMB channel partners by the world’s largest technology distributor in 2013. Her first company was acquired in 2013. Today, she is Partner & SVP of Bid Management and Program Compliance at LevCo Technologies, where her team is responsible for the timely development and delivery of high-quality responses to cybersecurity and managed IT business opportunities in the commercial and government sectors.
Tracey first joined SWE at the collegiate level at Southern University in Baton Rouge. In addition to serving as the Chicago region’s Recording Secretary for FY20, she has been a scholarship judge since 2016 and is currently the Teller-elect at the Society level. Tracey is a 20-year member of IEEE and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers. She is also actively involved in non-technical organizations including the Junior League of Chicago and serving on the PTO board at her daughter’s junior high school. In her free time, she enjoys running, skydiving and spending time with her daughter, son, and two cats.
Contact Tracey at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
Tracey first joined SWE at the collegiate level at Southern University in Baton Rouge. In addition to serving as the Chicago region’s Recording Secretary for FY20, she has been a scholarship judge since 2016 and is currently the Teller-elect at the Society level. Tracey is a 20-year member of IEEE and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers. She is also actively involved in non-technical organizations including the Junior League of Chicago and serving on the PTO board at her daughter’s junior high school. In her free time, she enjoys running, skydiving and spending time with her daughter, son, and two cats.
Contact Tracey at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
Treasurer
Andrea McKenna has over 12 years of professional experience in the forensic engineering, product design, and software industries. She completed her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University, and B.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto. Andrea previously volunteered with Let's Talk Science and the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), two STEM-focused Canadian organizations.
Andrea became involved with SWE when she moved to Boston in 2012 and served on the Executive Boards for both Boston and the Chicago Regional Sections as Section Representative and as Corresponding Secretary. Andrea is excited to be the Treasurer for FY20 and FY21!
Contact Andrea at: swecrs.treasurer@swe.org
Andrea became involved with SWE when she moved to Boston in 2012 and served on the Executive Boards for both Boston and the Chicago Regional Sections as Section Representative and as Corresponding Secretary. Andrea is excited to be the Treasurer for FY20 and FY21!
Contact Andrea at: swecrs.treasurer@swe.org
Finance Chair
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
