July 2020 - June 2021 Executive Board
President: Renee Nathaniel
VP of Membership: Jennifer Dalzell
VP of Professional Development: Emily Koss
VP of Outreach: Eleonora Chakraborty
Corresponding Secretary: Rachel Tranel
Recording Secretary: Dhanu Thiyag
Treasurer: Andrea McKenna
President
Renee Nathaniel studied chemical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her involvement in the Society of Women Engineers started with the University section. Until graduation, she was involved in the University Fundraising, Social, Membership and Team Tech Committees.
This past year FY20, she served as the Vice President of Membership for the SWE Chicago Regional Section. In FY19, she was the Recording secretary. Renee is currently 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 serving as the President and guiding general membership through FY21.
Contact Renee at: swecrs.president@swe.org
This past year FY20, she served as the Vice President of Membership for the SWE Chicago Regional Section. In FY19, she was the Recording secretary. Renee is currently 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 serving as the President and guiding general membership through FY21.
Contact Renee at: swecrs.president@swe.org
Vice President of Membership
Jennifer Dalzell graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2007. After graduation, she moved to the Chicago area and started work as a Reactor Engineer for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In her current role, Jennifer serves as an inspector for spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning.
Jennifer recently served as the Secretary for the NRC's Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee and was awarded the 2020 Meritorious Service Award for EEO Excellence and 2020 Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee Women's History Month Award.
Contact Jennifer at: SWECRS.VPMembership@swe.org
Vice President of Professional Development
Emily Koss received her BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At U of I, Emily was passionate about sharing her love of engineering with future generations though her involvement with Engineering Ambassadors. Through this organization, Emily presented to classrooms from Kindergarten to High School about engineering topics, aiming to spark an interest in the field. After graduating in 2018, she began working at Hollister Incorporated, a medical device company in the suburbs of Chicago. Emily is an Engineer in Sustaining Engineering, primarily working as a project manager. Emily became involved in SWE CRS in 2018 as the Scholarship Chair, and in 2019 was the Scholarship Chair and Awards Banquet Chair.
In her free time, Emily enjoys camping, fitness, DIY projects and crafts, and spending time with friends and family. Emily is looking forward to supporting the SWE community and building connections with local companies as the Vice President of Professional Development.
Contact Emily at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
In her free time, Emily enjoys camping, fitness, DIY projects and crafts, and spending time with friends and family. Emily is looking forward to supporting the SWE community and building connections with local companies as the Vice President of Professional Development.
Contact Emily at: swecrs.vpprofdev@swe.org
Vice President of Outreach
Eleonora Chakraborty received her B.S. in biomedical engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Her involvement in the Society of Women Engineers started within the Purdue SWE collegiate section, one of the largest collegiate sections in the country. She planned several outreach events for K-12 and college students, including a multi-day E-week event that received the Co-Sponsorship of the Year Award in 2014.
Since graduating in 2015, Eleonora has been involved in Outreach with SWE Chicago Regional Section—most recently, she was the Outreach and E-week Chair. She is passionate about promoting the engineering profession to K-12 students, especially by means of an “awesome,” interactive activity demonstrating engineering concepts. She is also involved in the society-level SWE-Next Outreach committee as the New Technology Feature Columnist.
Currently, Eleonora works in global regulatory affairs as a Senior Associate at ICU Medical, located in Lake Forest, IL. She has been working in the medical industry for more than five years, supporting medical devices in traditional engineering roles as well as non-traditional, such as Regulatory and Marketing. When she is not researching new ways to build circuit boards out of playdough or buildings out of gumdrops, she loves to host get-togethers with family and friends, make flower designs, and sail in Lake Michigan. Eleonora is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering as the SWE-CRS VP of Outreach for FY20-21.
Contact Eleonora at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Since graduating in 2015, Eleonora has been involved in Outreach with SWE Chicago Regional Section—most recently, she was the Outreach and E-week Chair. She is passionate about promoting the engineering profession to K-12 students, especially by means of an “awesome,” interactive activity demonstrating engineering concepts. She is also involved in the society-level SWE-Next Outreach committee as the New Technology Feature Columnist.
Currently, Eleonora works in global regulatory affairs as a Senior Associate at ICU Medical, located in Lake Forest, IL. She has been working in the medical industry for more than five years, supporting medical devices in traditional engineering roles as well as non-traditional, such as Regulatory and Marketing. When she is not researching new ways to build circuit boards out of playdough or buildings out of gumdrops, she loves to host get-togethers with family and friends, make flower designs, and sail in Lake Michigan. Eleonora is looking forward to promoting and mentoring women in engineering as the SWE-CRS VP of Outreach for FY20-21.
Contact Eleonora at: swecrs.vpoutreach@swe.org
Corresponding Secretary
Rachel Tranel holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Rachel began her career as a Process Automation Engineer at the Dow Chemical Company. Most recently, she was Process Engineer at Tekni-Plex, formerly Amcor, a flexible packaging manufacturer in Madison, Wisconsin. She is currently in the full-time MBA program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Rachel has been involved in SWE since college, holding roles such as External Vice President and Nominating Committee Chair for the SWE UIUC section. She was also elected FY15 Region H Collegiate Communications Editor. She served as a Leadership Coach with the SWE Leadership Coaching Committee (LCC) in 2015-2020 and as LCC Content Lead in 2017-2019. Most recently, Rachel was FY20 Secretary for the SWE Wisconsin section. As Corresponding Secretary, she is excited to share SWE CRS news and events with you.
Contact Rachel at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Rachel has been involved in SWE since college, holding roles such as External Vice President and Nominating Committee Chair for the SWE UIUC section. She was also elected FY15 Region H Collegiate Communications Editor. She served as a Leadership Coach with the SWE Leadership Coaching Committee (LCC) in 2015-2020 and as LCC Content Lead in 2017-2019. Most recently, Rachel was FY20 Secretary for the SWE Wisconsin section. As Corresponding Secretary, she is excited to share SWE CRS news and events with you.
Contact Rachel at: swecrs.corrsecretary@swe.org
Recording Secretary
Dhanu Thiyag attended University of Pittsburgh for biomedical engineering. She is currently training as an Obstetrics and Gynecology physician at the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital. Her future goal is to combine medicine and engineering in a global health setting.
Dhanu has been involved with SWE since her freshman year of college. The last two years, she served as a senator, collegiate leadership engagement sub-team lead, and members at large outreach director. She is also actively involved with the awards and program development grant committee. She hopes to be involved with Chicago SWE to continue giving back to the SWE community, meet some local SWEesters and help other females feel supported!
Contact Dhanu at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
Dhanu has been involved with SWE since her freshman year of college. The last two years, she served as a senator, collegiate leadership engagement sub-team lead, and members at large outreach director. She is also actively involved with the awards and program development grant committee. She hopes to be involved with Chicago SWE to continue giving back to the SWE community, meet some local SWEesters and help other females feel supported!
Contact Dhanu at: swecrs.recsecretary@swe.org
Treasurer
Andrea McKenna has over 12 years of professional experience in the energy efficiency, forensic engineering, and software industries. As an engineer with Cascade Energy, she works with industrial facilities to reduce their energy use. Andrea earned her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, and B.A.Sc. From 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. Andrea is excited to be the Treasurer for 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. Andrea is excited to be the Treasurer for FY21!
Contact Andrea at: swecrs.treasurer@swe.org
