Meet Our Leadership Team
The Houston Area section is led by local 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. The Executive Council is assisted by several committees. Additionally, SWE-HA has a Board of Trustees that consists of four senior SWE-HA members who serve a 3-year term.
If you are interested in getting into SWE leadership, we are always looking for volunteers! Perhaps the best way to enter is to become a member of one of our committees. We have a group of awesome leaders – let us know where your passions lie and we’ll make sure we get you to the right group.
Executive Council FY25 Bios
July 2024 – June 2025
Katherine Hoerner grew up in Buffalo, NY and relocated to the Houston area after graduating from the University at Buffalo in 2014 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Over the last 10 years she has worked in the Chemicals industry holding various roles in project engineering. She is currently a Mechanical Asset Engineer for Covestro and is responsible for ensuring equipment reliability through preventative maintenance plans at their Baytown plant. Katherine has a passion for volunteering and has been involved with planning multiple events to introduce students to engineering. Most recently she served on SWE-HA’s EC as the VP-Outreach for FY2023 and FY2024. She enjoys sharing her passion for engineering with students and introducing them to the many opportunities which careers in STEM offer. In her free time Katherine enjoys a good Netflix binge, but can also be found hiking around the country with her husband Brandon and fur baby Cinnamon. She also enjoys trying out the diverse food scenes which Houston has to offer.
Personal Statement
Since joining SWE-HA in 2020 I have been involved in various outreach leadership roles most recently serving as the VP Outreach for FY2023 and FY2024. My passion for outreach emanates from my own introduction to engineering as a student participating in STEM events. Having witnessed the impact these events have, it is important to me to help provide the same opportunities to others. I am interested in expanding my role with SWE-HA to involve other areas of our mission. My professional experiences have allowed me to developed strong leadership, organization, and communication skills which I feel are important qualities for SWE-HA’s president to possess. I have successfully led multiple events with my company and SWE-HA, so I know I can continue to support the other committee members throughout the year with our numerous activities. My time on the executive committee has allowed me to gain exposure to our budgeting and the work that goes into securing funding in order for SWE-HA to continue to host such quality events. I look forward to the potential opportunity to build upon the hard work of previous presidents and work closely with the executive committee to ensure a successful FY2025 for SWE-HA.
I have been in working in the software industry for 20+ years. I have worked in various roles starting my career as a software developer, a program manager, an engineering manager and recently have taken on Director of engineering. I started my career in a purely technical role and slowly evolved into roles that required effective collaboration, negotiation, prioritization, risk management, engaging and empowering teams to execute and deliver software in the most efficient manner. In the past two years I have been a global lead for women’s employee group in my company in addition to my engineering manager role. This additional role gave me a new perspective on the importance of diversity and inclusion. In this role, I have focused on promoting and empowering women in my organization, encouraging more participation in SWE conferences across the different regions and championing initiatives to increase diversity in different levels in the company. In my personal time, I have managed a team of junior high students competing in FIRST Robotics and led them successfully through district, state and international level and a team of elementary students competing in Destination Imagination competition that promotes STEM and Fine Arts in kids.
Personal Statement
My experience as an engineer, a people manager, a mother, as a champion for women and for SWE in my organization makes me equipped with a unique set of skills for the VP External position. I will focus on strategies to enhance visibility of SWE-HA to the Houston professional women emphasizing mutual benefit for SWE-HA and women professionals. As a lead for the women’s employee group in my company I have heard testimonials from colleagues on the positive impact SWE has had on them. The impact of women role models on women professionals at different points in their career is hard to measure but is vital to the continued success of women in STEM. The connection women feel by networking with other women professionals and empathizing with challenges they feel is empowering. As VP External, I will focus on working with corporate partners, strategize on improving visibility and impact of SWE-HA and the various events held through the year to increase engagement.
Erin Smith grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020 as a Chemical Engineer. She started her career in various manufacturing roles, including ice cream! A fun fact is she got to help design some of the Ben & Jerry’s “Topped” flavors. Erin moved to Texas in 2022 and currently works in supply chain as a Production Planner at ExxonMobil. SWE is Erin’s favorite organization to be a part of, but she also enjoys playing soccer, walking around parks, and volunteering.
Personal Statement
I first learned about engineering through a SWE outreach event as a high school student and since then I have been so passionate about this organization and its mission. SWE truly changed the trajectory of my life. In Pitt SWE, I served as our Mentorship Chair and on Exec as the Secretary. Since joining SWE-HA, I served as the Collegiate Coordinator, Networking Chair, and Co-Membership Chair, as well as on the WE22 Committee and International Women’s Day Committee. What I have loved most about these experiences has been watching new people form connections and get plugged in to SWE-HA. These positions also gave me lots of experience in event planning (one of my favorite hobbies!) which has prepared me to lead the chair positions overseen by the VP Internal, as they plan some of SWE-HA’s largest events. A goal of mine as VP Internal would be to ensure our members experience impactful engagement and a welcoming atmosphere at all our events. I never want someone to walk into a SWE-HA event and feel unseen. I have found such strong community and support here that I would love the opportunity to give back to SWE-HA through leadership on the EC.
Kalie is an Industrial engineer with a strong background in manufacturing of electronics and optics. She is a proud University of Central Florida Alumni (Go Knights!) and has worked in manufacturing since graduating in 2016. She is currently an Operations Supervisor at Honeywell for their Rebellion Gas Cloud Imaging Camera System. Prior to joining Honeywell, Kalie took on various roles at an Augmented Reality Startup, Magic Leap, most recently serving as the Manufacturing Engineering Manager. She joined the Houston SWE chapter last year after moving to Houston from Fort Lauderdale. In her first year of with the chapter, she served as a co-chair for Introduce a Girl to Engineering day. In 2024 she hopes to increase her involvement by taking on a leadership position in the chapter.
Personal Statement
I was fortunate enough to grow up in Orlando, close to UCF and their collegiate SWE Chapter. In high school I attended their “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” day, and ultimately that’s how i ended up deciding to major in engineering. Because I was lucky enough to experience the positive impacts of SWE at a young age I understand how important our service is to the society. We have the chance to impact our city to promote the growth and development of Houston’s future Women in STEM leaders. I am hoping to bring this passion to SWE and serve as their Secretary for this fiscal year. I believe that i’ll be able to ensure smooth updates and communications to all members, and that serving in this role will allow me to help strengthen the chapters online presence, ultimately helping to increase participation in the chapter’s events.
Andria Carpenter has 5 years of experience in air permitting and compliance within the oil and gas industry. She is currently an air quality engineer working in carbon reporting & carbon management at Occidental Petroleum and is recognized as a Greenhouse Gas Reporting subject matter expert. Her position includes both developing and improving emissions data management processes that lead to a more accurate understanding of a facility’s carbon emissions and further working directly with facility teams to identify emission reduction projects that will get the most bang for their buck. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a bachelors in Chemical Engineering. In her free time, you will find her embarking on a new adventure, relaxing in the park with a fantasy-genre book in hand, or concocting her next artistic creation.
Personal Statement
After serving as the FY24 VP-Internal, it became clear that there were many areas within SWE-HA’s operating procedures that could use some love and attention. If elected as the FY25 SWE-HA Secretary, I would want to focus my attention on making the changes to best optimize our communication with members. With the idea of piggybacking off the work our current board is doing to identify points of optimization, I would like to understand what method of communication engages the largest audience and focus the teams’ efforts on building up those communication pathways. For the section to start hosting larger more extravagant events, we need to use the internet to its fullest extent. This includes posting recap reels of SWE-HA events, developing marketing strategies for some of our main events like IAGTED and IWD, directing members to our website as often as possible, and engaging with members via social media.
Catherine is a Senior R&D Engineering Specialist at Dow. She started her career as a process engineer for major capital projects at ExxonMobil before transitioning to Research & Development. Catherine has 15 years of experience in project development and research in the chemical and oil & gas industries. Catherine is an inventor on 7 granted patents as well as additional pending or preliminary patents. Catherine is the FY24 Treasurer for SWE-HA. She manages the section’s budget, payment of scholarships and expenses, and collection of donations. Catherine was responsible for filing SWE-HA’s FY23 IRS tax form, which for the first time required an 18-page form and collection and reorganization of financial data dating back to 2018. Catherine joined SWE as a freshman at CMU and served for 2 years as co-chair of the section’s largest outreach event. She has been active in SWE-HA since 2016. Catherine is a member of the SWE Technical Career Track Affinity Group. In her spare time, Catherine plays clarinet in a community band and woodwind quintet. She enjoys volunteering for STEM outreach programs. Catherine holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Personal Statement
As Treasurer for SWE-HA my goal is to ensure our bank accounts are kept in good standing and watch for fraudulent charges. I ensure donations are deposited, reimbursements are made, and scholarships are paid promptly. I watch our account balances and budgets for events, working with the other members of the Executive Committee (EC) and chairs to stay within their budgets and/or revise, when necessary, with approval of the EC. As FY24 Treasurer, I was responsible for filing both the SWE-HA financial report and an in-depth 18-page IRS form, required for the first time. I’ve seen multiple opportunities to improve the organization of our financial books to make both filings easier and more transparent in the future. I’d like the opportunity to ensure the changes I’ve identified are implemented and effective. As a returning Treasurer, I would also be better able to advise the rest of the EC and chairs on their budgets and work with them to improve forecasting of both expenses and revenues for their events. As an Executive Committee member generally, my goal is to support others in their leadership development, provide ideas to the group, and support or build on ideas from other committee members.
Board of Trustees
Victoria Herman has been a member of the SWE since 2008 and with the Houston SWE Section since 2015. In her time with the Houston Area Section, she has held the executive committee positions of section representative and vice president career guidance (which she held for 2 years) and Treasurer. She’s also been active volunteering as the webmaster, with outreach activities, and has been a part of the nominating and scholarship committees and helped with many other events. In her professional life, Victoria is a mechanical engineer and manager at Jacobs Engineering, working to design HVAC and plumbing systems for commercial buildings. Victoria and her husband Michael live in Lindale Park, a near northside community with their 2 dogs and love to travel.
As an active member of the Houston Area Section since 2015, I’ve experienced firsthand how this section makes a positive impact in people’s lives, both SWE members and community members. An important part of making sure we continue this tradition is making sure the section has healthy finances. Previously as a board member, I’ve help create the fiscal year budget activities, and worked as a treasurer overseeing the budget and finances of the section. Additionally, in my personal life I’ve managed investment funds. As a long time SWE member, I understand the vital role our BOT plays in funding our section. I want to set us up for success long term with a succession plan to harness on the extensive knowledge of the current BOT members to the ensure our section is successful for years to come.
Donna Kottwitz is a Senior Life Member of SWE and has been active in a number of areas in the Houston Area Section. She joined SWE in 1972 as a charter member of the Kansas State University Section during her freshman year and was President her senior year. Donna became President of the newly chartered Houston Area Section in 1979 and has been Section Representative and Career Guidance Chair. She organized SWE Business events as part of the 1998 Convention Team. In 1994, she received the Woman of Excellence Award from FHPW. Donna retired in 2017 from Eni Petroleum after working 42 years in the oil & gas industry, last holding the position of Reserves Manager. She has been responsible for reserves studies, economic evaluations, managing property evaluation teams, and corporate financial studies and reporting. She earned her B.S. in chemical engineering at Kansas State University in 1975. In addition to Eni Petroleum, Donna worked as a reservoir engineer for Exxon, Louisiana Land & Exploration, and Wintershall Energy. She was also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers during her career.
Ann Green Terrell joined SWE as a collegiate member at the University of Miami in the early 1980’s when the number of women in the engineering college was low and SWE provided the rare opportunity for female students to assemble a network of support and also provide outreach to the community. She worked in industrial engineering for the airline industry, in manufacturing,, and in transportation-logistics. Most of her career has been in leadership roles with over twenty years at the United Parcel Service corporate offices where her most successful accomplishment was the co-founding of a charitable program set up to match UPS professionals (engineering, marketing, finance, technology, etc) to needs within the local non-profit community. She has remained connected to her profession since retirement by volunteering with ABET as a program evaluator to accredit undergraduate and graduate industrial engineering programs in the U.S. and around the world. She believes in the mission of SWE and looks forward to working in any capacity needed to forward that mission.
Marie LaPlante is a chemical engineer and SWE Fellow. She is employed as a Principal Project Engineer at Collins Aerospace where she enjoys leading technical teams in space suit and lunar terrain vehicle development. She also works in operations supporting the spacesuit currently used on the International Space Station. Marie has a diverse background having worked in plant operations, project management, process design, and technology sales. Active in SWE, she has served at the local, regional, and national levels for over 30 years and has held every Treasurer position within the Society. She is a past national Ethics and Audit Committee Chair, serves on the national SWENext Committee, and was a Section Representative for many years. Recent work included updating the section bylaws and procedures. Marie also served as the FHPW Administrative (and backup recording) Secretary for two years. She enjoys volunteering for various STEM events such as science fairs and is a long-time judge for FIRST Robotics. She also supports young women with scholarships through SWE-HA and her university. Marie has been recognized for her contributions as an engineer, as a leader in the community, and a mentor to younger engineers with awards from her university and SWE
