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:
- Connecting women in engineering across various stages of their careers
- Building a community of engineers, professionals, and industry partners that support the success of women in engineering
- Supporting the retention of women in engineering through outreach, events, and personal development
To read more on how our governance accomplishes our mission, please find our bylaws here.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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.
JANELLE SOMERVILLE
PRESIDENT
Elizabeth is very passionate about connecting and empowering women in engineering and STEM fields and relishes being able to help do this through her volunteer work with SWE Toronto. Over the past two and a half years, Elizabeth has been a dedicated SWE volunteer, working her way through the roles of programs volunteer, coordinator, and, during the past year, programs director. During this time she has been instrumental in helping the SWE Toronto programs offerings adapt and evolve to provide members with highly valued events and offerings. She has also been able to collaborate effectively with the other SWE Toronto teams to help ensure a synergistic environment between teams allows for effective operation of SWE Toronto as a whole. Elizabeth hopes to use her experience and passion for working with SWE Toronto in the role of president-elect in the upcoming year to help ensure SWE Toronto continues to effectively connect, support, and empower women in engineering and STEM
ELIZABETH MAGGS
PRESIDENT-ELECT
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.
MAY MAREFAT
PAST-PRESIDENT
Yoland is a biomedical EIT with interests in medical sensor development, additive manufacturing, and inclusive design. Outside of her engineering work, she is passionate about bringing fellow engineers together and creating a community of like-minded individuals. She has been a member of SWE Toronto since September 2022, serving as a Programs volunteer. As part of SWE, she has helped organize and execute several events including Coffee Club and SWE x NEM at the Rotman School of Management. As a Programs Director, she is eager to bring her event planning and collaborative skills to the table to lead future events!
YOLAND EL-HAJJ
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Linda is a dedicated and driven Petroleum Engineering EIT currently employed by a prominent natural gas distribution company in Ontario. In her role, she plays a pivotal part in the development of integrity plans for gas facility assets throughout Ontario, while also assuming the leadership of the integrity plan program. With a keen focus on delivering natural gas safely to customers, Linda approaches her work with passion and unwavering diligence.
Linda actively engages in initiatives aimed at supporting and empowering women in engineering and STEM fields. Furthermore, Linda holds the esteemed position of Vice Chair of the Events Committee within her company’s Leadership Development Network (LDN) Employee Resource Group. In this role, she actively contributes to the planning and execution of various events aimed at fostering leadership skills and professional growth among employees. Linda is also a valuable volunteer at the Project Management Community of Practice (PMCoP) Employee Resource Group where she takes charge of organizing events that aim to develop and support project management skills among employees.
Linda’s commitment to empowering women extends beyond her workplace. For the past six months, she has been an enthusiastic and devoted volunteer within SWE programs. Her dedication and passion have earned her the opportunity to serve as one of the Programs Directors for the upcoming 2023-2024 term. In this role, Linda is eagerly looking forward to implementing a diverse range of engaging events and impactful programs tailored to support and empower women within the SWE Toronto community.
LINDA KURUVILA
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
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 ZHENG
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
Alex is an entrepreneur and loves to keep busy working closely with her network in the tech space. 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. 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 a Communications and Marketing Director, Alex led the graphics and communications while integrating new processes to streamline SWE Toronto. This ongoing integration promotes opportunity for SWE to evolve with the technologies and analytics available. She continues to lead and support new ideas for program initiatives.
ALEX MATYAS
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Ayat is a professional engineer with more than 12 years of broad experience in engineering and advanced technology and works as a building intelligence engineer applying PropTech in thebuilt environment, also an active member of the CSA Group – Building Intelligence Code technical subcommittee(s). Ayat has served SWE Toronto as a volunteer since 2019 and co-led the SWE Toronto communication and marketing committee for the 2022-2023 board year, She strongly believes that the best way to give back and improve our community is through volunteering and hopes to continue to contribute to SWE Toronto mission and serve as a communication and marketing director in the upcoming year.
AYAT HAMA SALEH
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Matthew is currently working as a Structural Designer in a Toronto Firm. He is an active advocate of women in the engineering field and uses every opportunity he has to help women in engineer. He is starting the HeForSWE Toronto chapter and is also currently leading it. He is looking forward to advancing this affiliate in order to recruit more male volunteers to help support and advance women in engineering. He is interested in becoming the Administrative Officer of the Toronto chapter to assist the Board of Directors in the management of SWE Toronto and create a safe and supportive community for women in engineering. Being both the leader of the HeForSWE Toronto and the Administrative Officer he is hoping to create a unity between the affiliate and the SWE Toronto.
MATTHEW MONTESANO
ADMIN OFFICER
Tasneem is pursuing graduate studies at York University; her research is in computer vision. She completed her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Kentucky. She was involved in the University of Kentucky’s SWE chapter and served as the Co-conference Chair for one year. Prior to starting graduate studies, she interned at the Stop TB Partnership in Geneva, Switzerland and worked on projects exploring global healthcare technology. SWE Toronto is a growing network of women in STEM, and Tasneem would like to contribute to its growth by connecting engineering professionals, students and others looking to step into the field of engineering. She has been volunteering with SWE Toronto since 2020, first as Website Director (2020-22) and then as Finance Officer (2022-23), and is a SWE Global Ambassador.
TASNEEM NAHEYAN
FINANCIAL OFFICER
Mikaela is a Structural Designer for Arup Canada in Toronto. She studied Civil Engineering from Toronto Metropolitan University (formally Ryerson University) and worked with the university as a Research Assistant under respected members of the Civil Engineering department on advanced structural design projects. Mikaela used the connections she made through SWE to help her transition into her career.
Mikaela is aware of the turbulent transition into the field as a woman, from her previous employment as the first and only female employee, and the importance of a community to ensure success in the workplace as she found in Arup and SWE. Aiding women in transitioning from university to the workplace and working towards PEO’s task force of 30 by 30 is Mikaela’s priority as University Outreach Director. As an immigrant, a mother, and a minority Mikaela understands how anxious and stressful it is to be a woman in engineering, balancing home life and searching for work after graduating while ensuring the final year is a success.
As University Outreach Director, Mikaela connects and supports women engineers and graduates to help them succeed. She understands that it is essential to proof herself to her peers since women are constantly underrepresented and underappreciated in engineering. Mikaela’s goal is to share her experience as a new graduate and help women make meaningful connections between students and engineers to utilize as they move forward into meaningful careers.
MIKAELA COELLO MENA
UNIVERSITY OUTREACH DIRECTOR
Mimi has 10+ years of experience as a B2B marketing strategist in the AEC Industry. Throughout her experience she has worked with various stakeholders including Engineering firms, Architecture/Design firms, suppliers, associations, sponsors/partners, and media publications/outlets. This gives her a deep understanding of how to communicate with each group and what they would consider valuable in a partnership.
She is results-driven, hyper-organized, and always seeking new and tangible ideas to achieve the best outcomes. What truly sets her apart is her genuine love for bringing people together and supporting those around her. She believes that collaboration is the key to success in today’s interconnected world.
As a Director, Mimi plans to leverage her existing networks and relations to build a strong and vibrant community to grow with SWE Toronto. She believes that we have a huge opportunity to work together with other organizations, community groups, businesses, and media to create mutually beneficial partnerships.
In addition, she is passionate about empowering young SWE volunteers and members and believes that everyone has unique strengths and contributions to offer. She will ensure that they feel valued and part of the collective effort by creating an inclusive and supportive environment.
Together, let’s build a community that thrives on collaboration, and drive SWE Toronto to new heights and create a lasting impact.
MIMI SHAO
INDUSTRY OUTREACH DIRECTOR
My name is Afsaneh Keshtkar graduated from Mechanical engineering with 4 years experience in engineering industry. My personal goals for my experience with SWE Toronto revolve around expanding my professional network, enhancing my leadership and communication skills, acquiring industry insights, contributing to SWE’s mission, and finding personal and professional fulfillment.
AFSANEH KESHTKAR
INDUSTRY OUTREACH DIRECTOR
