SWE-NESS
Executive Council
The officers of SWE New England Shoreline Section are elected each summer at the start of our fiscal year.
President - Elizabeth Lavoie, P.E.
A SWE member since 2001, Beth was introduced to SWE and SWE-NESS through the Bridge Program sponsored by the University of Rhode Island (URI) section of SWE. The Bridge Program is multi-day camp for in-coming female engineering majors for URI. She was president of URI-SWE for the 2002-2003 academic year. Beth graduated in 2003 at URI with BS in Civil Engineering. She is currently working at Bryant Associates, Inc. on roadway and site projects. When she is not busy in the engineering world, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and playing games with friends. Email Beth
Vice-President - Ebony Joseph
Ebony Joseph joined SWE as a professional member in 2002 under region H (Ohio) section. She became a NESS section member in 2006 and co-chaired the Region F Conference Planning Committee from 2008 – 2010. In addition to being NESS Section Representative, she is also Region F Treasurer. Ebony holds a BS in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Upon graduating from college she immediately headed to the Midwest, where she had roles as a Resource Advisor, Plastics Engineer and Project Engineer. She has taught many workshops in lean manufacturing and is a certified Black Belt in the Six Sigma. She moved back to her home State of MA and as a Lean Implementation Leader. Taking on increasing responsibility in her career she landed the Lean and Quality Manager. She is currently a Product Manufacturing Engineer for Thermo Fisher Scientific in Franklin, MA. Outside of work, Ebony enjoys spending time with her family, acting, working out, volunteering for the Girl Scouts and watching the Discovery Channel and anything that involves surgeries. Email Ebony
Secretary - Yadira Gilchrest
Yadira joined SWE-NESS in 2002. She works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center(NUWC)in Newport, RI, where she received the Helen Martha Sternberg Award in 2001. Yadira has been an active member of the EC since joining the section (except for a brief hiatus when she lived in Florida). She has served as Secretary, Treasurer, and President. Email Yadira
Treasurer - Linda Bergemann
Linda joined SWE in 1989 and is a Charter member of SWE-NESS. She has held the positions of President, Vice President, Section Representative, Career Guidance Chair, Membership Chair and currently holds the position of Treasurer. Linda has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and an MS in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is licensed as a Professional Engineer in Rhode Island. Linda recently retired from Electric Boat Corporation in Groton, CT where she worked as a structural engineer for 35 years. Linda's interests include do-it-yourself projects, model railroading and travelling. She lives in Charlestown, RI. Email Linda
Section Representative - Kimberly McLean
Kimberly McLean, CM, is a Senior Life Member and Charter member of SWE-NESS. She has held numerous offices and chair positions in SWE-NESS, including President, Vice President, Section Representative, Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor, Membership Chair and Electronic Communication Chair. Kimberly is currently employed at Electric Boat as a Principal Engineer in Information Technology. When not working or volunteering with SWE-NESS, she is actively involved with Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Email Kimberly