My fellow IEEE members

I am honored that you have selected me as a nominee for the IEEE Region 6 Director-Elect position. Region 6 is an important constituent of the IEEE and is vital to the success of our organization. Our strength lies in our membership, and the contributions of our members to a broad array of disciplines that span every conceivable field within Electrical Engineering from aerospace, computers and communications to electric power, biomedical engineering and consumer electronics to name a few. Our membership is diverse as it is strong and includes practicing engineers, entrepreneurs, engineering faculty members, researchers, and students. For a region as diverse as ours it is really vital that we nurture close relationships within each of our Areas and between our Sections and their Chapters.

I think we all recognize the importance of membership development to the future of our organization. It is absolutely essential to actively recruit, nurture and sustain our members as they progress through their professional lives and careers. We retain members by providing value for their membership with our Section and local activities, publications, and by providing them with the opportunity to network with other professionals. The value of IEEE may eventually lie in the peerless networking opportunities that we provide at our Chapter and Section events. As your Director Elect I will work hard to showcase the “niche” that IEEE enjoys to attract and retain our members.

Given the strong role played by IEEE members in developing the technologies of the future, it is especially vital that they stay at the cutting edge and dedicate themselves to life-long learning. Corporate support of members’ IEEE activities is not only important for their own professional development, but ultimately the growth and success of that industry. You can count on me to work with industry leaders so that they understand the vital role that the IEEE plays in the professional lives of their employees and actively support their participation in IEEE activities.

Finally all of us have a professional responsibility to increase awareness of engineers and engineering in society and strengthen the pipeline by encouraging, and mentoring students from K-12 to pursue careers in engineering and technological fields. As a professional engineering educator I have had the chance to work with some of the best and brightest and seen first hand the impact of IEEE on the lives of my students.

These are some of the challenges that I have attempted to address in my association with IEEE over the past two decades. I have served the IEEE in a variety of positions at the Chapter, Section, Area and Regional Levels and I have had the opportunity to work with some truly wonderful people along the way. I attribute all of the successes to the excellent teamwork and collaboration among the IEEE volunteers I have worked with. This experience has prepared me to take on the challenges facing our Region and strengthen it in the years ahead. Together, we can develop and sustain our membership base, increase awareness and industry support for IEEE activities, and continue to monitor, evaluate and deliver programs of value to our members. Thank you in advance for your support and your participation in IEEE.