IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2023 - 5

Letter From the Chair
Shahnaz Welcomes
2023
i
I welcome you to 2023 with great courage,
aspirations, plans, and goals. I feel
proud of our enormous efforts to get
back to normal overcoming the effects
of COVID-19.
It is my honor to be the first IEEE
Women in Engineering (WIE) chairelect
elected by the global WIE membership.
This was historical for WIE as it
coincided with its 25th anniversary in
2022. I thank each one of you for your
tremendous support and express my sincere
gratitude for providing me with an
opportunity to serve as your WIE chair
for 2023-2024. I request all of you to
convey my message of welcome to your
networks to create stronger outreach
and greater bonding. I would also like
to thank and congratulate past Chair
Jenifer Castillo for leading the WIE committee
in an outstanding manner and
ensuring a smoother transition for me.
This past January, I had the amazing
opportunity to interact with our
directors and share WIE's plans and priorities
at the 2023 IEEE Board of Directors
Strategic Retreat and Meeting in
Paris. I am pleased to let you know that
the Board is supportive of WIE's focus
and direction.
With more than 22 years of experience
as an IEEE volunteer in leading
impactful technical, professional, educational,
industrial, women empowerDigital
Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2023.3251623
Date of current version: 28 April 2023
ment, humanitarian, and power- and
energy-related projects at national/international
levels, I also founded the WIE
Affinity Group of the IEEE Bangladesh
Section. So being the WIE chair
is not only a joy for me but
also a huge responsibility.
I look forward to sharing
new ideas for more volunteer
engagements and
other impactful programs
to enhance the careers of
WIE members from diversified
IEEE Regions.
My interview was published
in the award winning IEEE
WIE Magazine, June 2022 Issue
(L. Zucker, " The 2022 WIE Committee
Chair-Elect: Shahnaz working
to expand WIE's reach [WIE From
Around the World], " in IEEE Women
in Engineering Magazine, vol. 16, no.
1, pp. 40-43, June 2022, doi: 10.1109/
MWIE.2022.3155912.). I hope that you
will find some time to read and reach
out to me for guidelines, suggestions,
and cooperation.
As a team, we are putting efforts into
preparing a strategic agenda to produce
the best possible outcome by nurturing
the potential of our volunteers and
members. We want to ensure their
retention and growth as well as enhance
their experience and satisfaction so
that they can prepare themselves to be
a part of WIE's leadership and beyond in
the future.
JUNE 2023
To reach the goals, apart from supporting
ongoing initiatives, our priorities
and objectives will be geared
toward WIE Affinity Group development
and retention. During 2023-2024,
we will focus on the realization of the
WIE Pledge to promote diversity and
inclusion and engagement of WIE in
climate change assessments and sustainability
solutions. We plan to be more
involved with IEEE technical Societies,
WIE Regional and Society Coordinators,
Young Professionals, IEEE Life
Members, IEEE Eta Kappa Nu, and
standards. We foresee more collaboration
with IEEE philanthropic
opportunities,
diligently continuing to
promote women scientists'
technical contributions,
more IEEE WIE Fellowand
Senior Member-elevaCelia
Shahnaz
tion drives, nominations of
WIE members for external
awards and positions, and
stronger outreach through the StudentTeacher
and Research Engineer/Scientist
program.
Volunteer-driven programs will be
our target for capacity building of WIE
members, who are our strength and
future leaders. If you are a voting member,
please do not forget to exercise your
right this year to vote for the 2024 WIE
chair-elect.
In 2023, I am excited to promote
IEEE mission and vision around the
world with our amazing team. This journey,
supported by you and especially my
family, is priceless for me and inspires
me in my future endeavors. Let us keep
supporting and collaborating with each
other to serve the greater goals.
-Celia Shahnaz, IEEE WIE Chair
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
5
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2023

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