Meet our Volunteers!
The Houston Area section is led by local voting members that have been elected by the local section to serve one fiscal year from July 1st to June 30th to represent the Executive Council (EC). The EC is assisted by several committees. Additionally, SWE-HA has a Board of Trustees (BOT) that consists of 4 senior SWE-HA members that each serve a 3 year term also elected by the local section.
Executive Council (EC) FY20 Bios
Amy Gelsinger - President
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Amy has a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a Senior Consultant at Trinity Consultants specializing in mobile source emissions. She spent the past year as Vice President - Internal with SWE Houston, working to provide compelling Professional Development events. A Life-Member, Amy is passionate about supporting women in STEM and is excited to lead a great team to continue to build engagement in the Houston section. In her spare time, Amy enjoys dance, hiking and travel. |
Amanda Golembieski - VP External
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Amanda Golembieski has been involved with SWE since college and strives to empower and encourage women to pursue an education and profession in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 2008, she graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and started working in the aerospace industry supporting the space shuttle program. In 2010, her career shifted to a new field where she spent the next five years as an account and project manager in the area of commercial HVAC and building automation systems. In 2015, she was offered an opportunity to enter back into the aerospace industry, and continues to work as a systems engineer for satellite operations for both NASA and NOAA programs.
Amanda lives in Houston with her husband Steve, their two cats, and adorable puppy. She also volunteers with the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, Autism Speaks, and the Houston Junior League. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys hiking, gardening, bonsai, reading, and travel. |
Stephanie Roohi - VP Internal
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Stephanie is a Modeling & Simulation Chemical Engineer at HX5, LLC for Jacobs JSC Engineering, Technology, and Science (JETS) and assists in leading the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Analysis and Design team. Stephanie earned her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Houston in May 2017 and has been working in the aerospace industry and delivering quality products to the NASA customer for almost two years. She has been involved in the SWE collegiate chapter by coordinating and executing events in the Outreach committee. Stephanie eagerly took on the SWE-HA Professional Development role while launching her career and is excited to proceed as Vice President- Internal for FY20. |
Leteshia Lowe - VP Career Guidance
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Leteshia A. Lowe graduated from Tennessee State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with concentrations in Computers, immediately joining IBM Tucson; working first as a development engineer and later as a test engineer. During her time in Tucson, Leteshia participated in several groups, including the local Diversity Council (IBM), the African Heritage Network Group (IBM), and the National Society of Black Engineers. In addition, Leteshia went back to school to get her Master of Education (M.Ed.), in Secondary Education from the University of Arizona. Making sure she did her part in the community, she volunteered with multiple STEM-related programs. In June of 2014, Leteshia moved to Houston, TX to work for the IBM FlashSystem & Technology Team. In her current role as a Quality Assurance and Test Engineer, she is responsible for leading test efforts for new releases of the IBM FlashSystem product line. Leteshia is a past president of the Houston Black Business Resource Group at IBM and serves as a role model and mentor to individuals both inside and outside of IBM. She continues to dedicate herself to the community by volunteering with various local organizations. Leteshia hopes to help bridge the gap and foster an environment that increases the number of females interested in and pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
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Madison Baldwin - Secretary
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Madison Baldwin graduated from NC State in 2018 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. After graduating, she moved to Houston to work at ExxonMobil as a process contact engineer at the Baytown Chemical Plant. She became involved with SWE in college serving as a public relations officer and vice president of external relationships. Madison was able to serve on the internal relations committee this past year and is excited to becoming more involved with the chapter by serving as the Secretary.
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Bujana Nallbani-Sefa - Treasurer
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Bujana Nallbani-Sefa (‘Ana’) has served in SWE Houston Area for over last four years. She served on the role of Secretary for the FY19, where she helped streamline the Executive Committee meetings and also created a new website for the section. She is currently employed as a Project Control Specialist with WSP. Prior to this role, Ana was self-employed as a Testing Engineer. Her projects involved testing new mobile- and web-based applications, finding and analyzing errors and providing solutions to program development teams.
Ana’s holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Prishtina, Kosovo, and a MS in Software Engineering and Telecommunications from the University of Sheffield, UK. She is a Certified Production and Inventory Management professional and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Project Leader. Ana is a world traveler and a global employee. She has worked with various start-up companies in Kosovo and the USA, ranging from healthcare, process automation to pharmaceutical marketing. She also mentors and teaches math and science to young girls. Ana also volunteers with Kids Unlimited Foundation, an organization that helps children stricken by cancer. Ana enjoys learning about new cultures and her hobbies are reading, fitness, skiing and tennis. |
Marie P. Laplante - Section Representative
Marie Laplante earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has been very active in the Society of Women Engineers and has served at the local, regional and national levels for more than 20 years. In addition to being the longtime section representative/advisor, Marie is active with SWEs national outreach committee and has been a judge with For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (F.I.R.S.T.) robotics for 20 years at regional and championship competitions. She enjoys working with young women who aspire to enter the science and engineering professions. She recently served as SWE’s national ethics committee chair, CFO for Global Institute for Technology and Engineering (GIFTE), on the Education Foundation of Harris County, and with Mentornet. She has been recognized for contributions as an engineer, as a leader in the community, and mentor to younger engineers with awards from her university and SWE. Marie works for KBR as Training Manager in the Commissioning and Start-up Services group.
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