OUR STORY
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Toronto connects and supports women engineers and engineering graduates in Toronto, Canada, enabling them to rise together as a community. We encourage meaningful and engaging conversations through a series of meet-ups, speaker series and workshops.
Globally, The Society of Women Engineers has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry for more than six decades. In January 2017, SWE Toronto became an official international affiliate. SWE Toronto envisions a world where women engineers and engineering graduates are successful and thriving by getting the support they need to become leaders in solving tough problems for our world. |
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to contribute to the continual professional growth of women in engineering by:
To read more on how our governance accomplishes our mission, please find our bylaws here. |
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAY MAREFATPRESIDENT |
Holding a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering, May Marefat is currently working in the Integrity Management team at Enbridge. May has 10+ years of volunteer experience through executive and leadership positions, such as Vice President and Board member at Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Toronto; Chair, Toronto Chapter at YEIP – Young Energy Infrastructure Professionals; Co-Chair at YPI – Young Pipeliners International; and Co-Chair at Engineering & STO-Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce Team at Enbridge. Through these roles May has contributed to the organizations’ success and has shown a track record of planning and leading successful programs and events attended by 100+ each and 1000+ collectively local and international professionals. These diverse experiences have given her a strong insight into non-for-profit organizational structure as well as a robust understanding of the team’s dynamic and workflows.
After two very exciting years as Programs Director and VP at SWE Toronto, May looks forward to contributing further to the SWE Toronto mission through a new leadership role as President this year. May will be leading the board to ensure organizational success. May’s focus this year will be on Volunteer Engagement and Retention, SWE Toronto Branding in national and international spaces, and SWE Toronto Succession Planning. |
Janelle is a Project Manager with a control system engineering background. She has worked in airport automation and automotive manufacturing. In her role she combines her interests in problem solving and connecting people. She is passionate about women succeeding in engineering, science and leadership roles, which motivates her to try and reshape the field through work with a variety of age groups. As a student, she never felt there was a space for her within engineering, driving her to try and show that the title of engineer can be held by a variety of people. She volunteers as a mentor for university students at multiple institutions in Canada and works with the Microsoft TEALs program, operating as a teaching assistant in local high school computer science classrooms. Through her work with SWE she aims to support women in her field and help them to feel successful in their careers. https://ca.linkedin.com/in/janelle-somerville |
JANELLE SOMERVILLEPRESIDENT-ELECT |
ELAINE SAMUELPAST - PRESIDENT
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Elaine works as an environmental engineering consultant at GM BluePlan Engineering where she combines engineering planning, asset management and her love of data to solve how cities will continue to grow and adapt with aging infrastructure and climate change pressures. She is a passionate advocate for women in engineering. In 2018, she co-founded EngGirlProblems, a website dedicated to starting difficult conversations about challenges women in engineering may face throughout their careers. Working to improve the workplace for women in engineering has obvious parallels to the SWE Toronto mission. While continuing the presence of EGP online, Elaine joined SWE Toronto to connect and grow with her local community of engineers in Toronto. |
ELIZABETH MAGGSDIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS |
Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Applied science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto. Currently, she works as an environmental consultant, specializing in air quality and sustainability. Aside from being passionate about all things surrounding environmental preservation and sustainable development, Elizabeth is passionate about empowering women in engineering and STEM fields. She feels it is extremely important to foster inclusive environments and help provide women in these fields with the tools and resources to help them feel supported. For the past two years, Elizabeth has been a dedicated volunteer within programs. Now she is looking forward to being one of the Programs Directors for 2022-2023 and implementing exciting events and programs aimed at supporting and empowering women in the SWE Toronto community. |
AMANDA ROCHONDIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS |
Amanda is a Civil EIT working in the consulting industry. Her background is in roadway design, having worked on many road construction projects throughout Ontario.
Amanda is a firm believer that engineering is a team sport and that she would not be in her position today, without the many amazing friends, mentors and allies who supported her during her degree and early career development. Since joining the workforce, Amanda has strived to emulate those who had supported her by fostering positive connections, support networks, and developing mentor-mentee relationships to help other women navigate the engineering world. When joining SWE Toronto, Amanda was excited to continue this journey and to give back to the community that has given so much to her. As one of the Programs Directors for 2022-2023, Amanda is excited to put on events aimed at connecting and supporting women in the industry, especially those newly joining the workforce and those interested in exploring new opportunities in their career. |
Winnie is a Civil EIT working in the consulting industry. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Civil engineering from the University of Toronto and currently works in Land Development, where she works on roads, servicing and stormwater management design. She is passionate about environmental engineering, including low impact development and building sustainable communities.
Through SWE Toronto, Winnie aims to be involved in connecting and providing support for other women in Engineering or STEM fields and help them navigate through their careers. As Membership Director for 2022-2023, she is excited to help recruit and contribute to a collaborative team of volunteers as SWE’s volunteers are fundamental to the organization’s success. |
Winnie ZhengMEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR |
ALEX MATYASDIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS |
Alex is a global entrepreneur and works closely with her network to create solutions for everyday living. As a Mechatronic Systems Engineering Graduate, she utilizes multiple platforms to engage her passions of Travel, Sport, Technology and Engineering. These industries connect her to new opportunities and promote innovation and international collaboration. Alex founded a start-up company and designed a wearable technology that was launched globally. Within the Engineering community, it is important to stay connected and grow your network as well as take advantage of opportunities. As a SWE Toronto volunteer on the Communications Team, Alex has successfully led marketing campaigns to engage the Engineering Community on top of recurring events and long-term initiatives. She is an advocate for her community and plans on working closely with the volunteers to engage with women in the STEM field and create a fun environment to connect, grow and support each other. As Communications and Marketing Director, Alex will continue to lead and support new ideas for program initiatives while streamlining the communications process to take SWE Toronto to the next level as Communications Director. |
Karma Sadhwani
INDUSTRY OUTREACH DIRECTOR