Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE)

The Structural Engineers Association of Illinois’ statement of purpose is: To advance and advocate excellence in structural engineering and to aid in safeguarding the public. Connecting professionals in a mutual learning environment is one of the vehicles SEAOI uses to advance excellence in the field of engineering. SEAOI's Women in Structural Engineering (WiSE) supports that mission by providing a forum for networking in the context of educating our members.

We focus on the unquantifiable aspect of networking for women in the structural engineering community. SEAOI’s WiSE Committee began with a comment made by a fellow female SEAOI member: “There are so few women in our corner of the industry. Why don’t we know all of them?” From that conversation, we devised a mission to provide a setting for women to get to know one another, create a network, and form mentorship relationships. With the increasing success of our events, we are turning our focus to hosting speakers with different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise in skills we all need to improve upon while still providing a forum for networking.

Interested in what other WiSE groups are doing? Click here for the central WiSE website linking groups around the country!

Check out some of our awesome members talking about WiSE in the video above!

Do you have questions about WiSE or want more information, contact staff@seaoi.org.

WiSE Events and Initiatives

Committee Meetings
We host monthly meetings to meet, share common experiences, and develop professional and personal relationships. Committee members are also invited to champion one of the many WiSE events and initiatives, and the monthly meetings serve as an opportunity to share updates and get support from the rest of the committee. The WiSE meetings are currently being held virtually on the third Wednesday of the month. 

Women Build 

Girls Build! Day

Book Club

November 2021 - Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

March 2021 - Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know, by Malcolm Gladwell

December 2020 - 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say: Surprising Things We Say That Widen the Diversity Gap by Maura Cullen

June 2020 - The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

January 2020 - The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

August 2019 - She Engineers: Outsmart Bias, Unlock your Potential, and Create the Engineering Career of your Dreams by Stephanie Slocum

May 2019 - It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

January 2019 -  Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek

September 2018 - Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier

June 2018 - Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott

March 2018 - Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett

December 2017 - First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

Committee Leadership

Yasmin Chaudhry
Co-Chair
Associate III
​Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc
Email
LinkedIn

Kristi Sattler, SE, PE, PhD
Co-Chair
Senior Engineer - University Relations
American Institute of Steel Construction
Email
LinkedIn

Past Co-Chairs

Christine Freisinger
Jennifer Traut-Todaro

Other Resources

SE3
Read.Watch.Listen
Stephanie Slocum
Mentorship Resources

Members

Demetria Boatwright 
Yasmin Chaudry 
Karina Cisneros
Stephanie Crain
Kremena Dokliev
Gloria Frank
Christine Freisinger
Madeleine Grimmer 
Cathleen Jacinto
Rachel Jackson 
Rose McClure 
Dana McKane
Jennifer Pazdon
Kristi Sattler 
Charlotte Sauer 
Katarzyna (Kathy) Sitko
Ines Torra-Bilal 
Helen Torres 
Jennie Traut-Todaro