Kaitlyn Bunker, SWE RMS Section Representative

You may have heard about the brand new events that are coming up soon, the WE Local conferences! As a member of the WE Local Advisory Board, I wanted to provide a bit more information about the inaugural WE Local events, and the history of how they came to be.

In 2015, I joined a task force focused on exploring options for regional SWE conferences. The discussions around regional conferences had been happening for several years prior to that, and were happening separately from the current discussions around potential governance changes in SWE. I had previously helped to plan a Region H conference, and at the time was co-chair for the Region i conference that our section co-hosted in 2016. The other task force members also had experience planning region conferences, or as Region Governors. We started from a blank slate, and tried to imagine what the ideal regional SWE conference would look like. We brainstormed on what the key purposes of regional conferences are, and who might be in the best position to implement the many pieces involved with planning a SWE conference.

From that task force, WE Local was born! The task force transitioned into the WE Local Advisory Board (LAB), which I am a part of now. There are about 12 of us on the LAB, and we serve as ambassadors and stewards for the WE Local program; we provide ideas on how to address WE Local initiatives as well as recommendations for programming. In addition, there is a Local Host Committee (LHC) of volunteers for each WE Local. The LHCs provide important input on what is unique and important to the local area for their conference, including suggestions for venue, theme, entertainment, tours, sponsorships, and recruitment of speakers. The third component of the overall WE Local team is SWE Headquarters (HQ), who focus on many of the logistics for each conference such as hotel contracts, marketing, registration, and a consistent experience for organizations who want to sponsor multiple WE Local conferences. For me it feels like we’ve struck a great balance with HQ handling many of the behind-the-scenes details and risks inherent in conference preparation, and SWE member volunteers contributing to the planning and implementation of each individual conference. Part of my role on the LAB is to help ensure a consistent experience across WE Local conferences in terms of event quality and programming. 

The WE Local conferences will be similar in quality to the SWE annual conference (most recently WE16 in Philadelphia), but at a much smaller scale and with a local flavor based on their location. The conferences are designed to provide value to attendees at all stages of their career and life, with relevant sessions, speakers, and tours. They are open to all SWE members regardless of your geographic region – for example if there is a WE Local in a city near where you travel for work or to visit family, you might choose to attend that conference instead of one near where you live. The first WE Local conferences will be held in 2017, while some SWE regions continue with their region conference (like iCON17 in St. Louis, MO which I will be attending to represent our section and present one of the sessions). In 2018, there will no longer be any SWE region conferences, and the number of WE Local conferences will increase. 

Four great WE Local events are happening around the world in 2017. I am planning to attend WE Local Pittsburgh, and would love to see you there! The dates and locations for the four conferences are:
• WE Local Pittsburgh, February 16-19
• WE Local San Jose, February 23-26
• WE Local Pune, March 22-27
• WE Local Amsterdam, May 17-19

The U.S. locations for 2018 have also been selected, and dates and other specific details will be confirmed in the next couple of months. For 2018, start getting excited about WE Local conferences in Portland, OR; Phoenix, AZ; Tulsa, OK; Madison, WI; Providence, RI; Europe; and India. SWE sections and members can submit ideas for locations to hold WE Local conferences in the future, so if we’re interested in hosting, we could see WE Local Denver in the future!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions about the upcoming WE Local conferences, or the process that we’ve taken to create and plan for these new SWE events.