Cedar Valley SWE Executive Board FY17
President - Gayle Keys
Allison is a Program Manager for John Deere in Power Systems. While at John Deere, Allison was also an Engineering Supervisor and Project Manager. Prior to joining John Deere, Allison contributed to powertrain development at Chrysler in the metro Detroit area. Allison is passionate about supporting women in technical fields. Allison earned her B.S. in Mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. She also holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Oakland University. Allison loves spending time with her family and enjoying the Cedar Valley.
Vice President - Gayle Keys
Gayle Keys is currently the Program Manager for Large
Tractor Continuous Improvement at John Deere. During her career at John
Deere, she has been through many roles in design & quality engineering in
the Seeding Group and Harvesting Division.
Most recently Gayle served as Engineering Manager in Utility Tractor
product line. Prior to joining John
Deere, Gayle worked for several years at McDonnell Douglas in St Louis,
Missouri in the design of aircraft. Gayle is passionate about providing
support and development of women in STEM fields and has spent the past 5 years
serving on the advisory board of the Programs for Women in Science and
Engineering (PWSE) at Iowa State University. Additionally, she has
remained involved with SWE both at the Quad Cities/Muscatine section and now
the Cedar Valley Section of SWE. Gayle holds a BS in Aerospace
Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as a MS
in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Missouri-Rolla. In
2005, she also completed and received her Executive MBA from the University of
Iowa. Gayle resides in Cedar Falls, Iowa with her husband and son and is
an avid supporter of her son’s soccer team.
Secretary - Noel Menard
Noel is a 2013 graduate of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. She is
currently employed by John Deere in Waterloo, IA as a Quality Engineer.
She has been a member of SWE since 2009 at both college and professional
levels. Noel served as the Cedar Valley Section Representative from
2013-2014. In her free time, Noel enjoys anything outdoors {hunting,
fishing, boating, etc.}, gardening, crafting, & trying new things.
Treasurer - Brianne Stewart
Brianne is
a Field Performance Engineer for John Deere Power Systems. In this role she is
responsible for trouble-shooting engine performance issues on Construction
& Forestry machinery. Brianne is a native of Independence, IA and graduated
from the University of Iowa in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering. Prior to this position, she worked as a Product Engineer in the
JDPS CI group and for Procter & Gamble as a Process Engineer. Brianne
currently lives with her husband in Parkersburg and enjoys mountain biking,
camping, and traveling.
Section Representative - Amy Hou
Amy is in her third rotation as an Engineering
Development Program (EDP) Engineer within John Deere Power Systems. In this
role, Amy supports S350 Performance & Emissions Development through the use
of engine cycle simulation and performance analysis. In her previous rotations,
Amy supported Aftertreatment DOC-DPF Calibration and Development and Component Development
for Air, EGR, and Fuel Systems. While at John Deere, Amy had previously
interned in Ag and Turf Drivetrain where she helped support Utility Tractor
Transmissions. Prior to joining John Deere in the Cedar Valley, Amy interned at
Chrysler in Powertrain Development and at Toyota in Chassis Design, both
located in the metro Detroit area. Amy graduated in December 2013, earning her
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Outside of
work, Amy enjoys spending time with friends, exploring the Cedar Valley area,
country line dancing, and volunteering within her community.
SWEnext Chair - Heidi Kenkel
Heidi has worked for John Deere for over 15 years and currently holds the position of Reliability Project Manager for the Waterloo Works. She has also worked in design engineering, drive train test, quality, and operations. She graduated from Michigan Tech with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. She also has an MBA from the University of Iowa and a Masters in Systems Engineering from Iowa State University. She became involved in SWE during college and chaired the annual Dine With Industry event held in conjunction with the fall career fair. Heidi also served as an advisor for the establishment of the Cedar Valley SWE section in 2009. She has been on the Cedar Valley SWE board since 2012 and has a passion for STEM outreach as shown by involvement with Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, the Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival, and Women in STEM mentoring with the Waterloo Community Schools. Heidi is married to Phil (another engineer!) and they have three sons.
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