Fresh, New Leadership

During the Region V RLDC I think one long time member of SHPE said it best when she stated that, "...the other candidates for SHPE National President have been in the organization long enough and have had their shot at changing the organization." She then pointed to me and stated that, "...it's time to get some new blood in there to lead the organization."

Members of SHPE, I don’t plan on just being “new blood” for the organization, but I plan on being a National President not afraid to challenge the old way of thinking and to push the limits of the organization for the betterment of the organization.

My way of thinking begins the moment I receive word that I have been elected to be the next President of SHPE. I will immediately begin contacting the members of the 2009-2010 NBOD to talk and strategize on what the most important policies, procedures, plans and proposals are that need to be put in place once the transition to the next NBOD occurs. I will immediately begin working with the next NBOD to plan our basic goals and to strengthen the foundation of the organization by beginning to move towards an organization that is lean and efficient.

My way of thinking is not limited by the excuse that the NBOD only meets six times a year. I plan to lead by example and to challenge the next NBOD to push their limits between NBOD meetings and to add on additional virtual meetings as often as necessary to quickly but thoroughly streamline our processes and put into place a strong foundation for the organization. As your National President I will set the example of work ethic by devoting all my extra time on the business of SHPE to ensure the organization gets to the point where we can stand on a strong foundation amidst the possible tough economic times ahead of us. The NBOD must work hard now so that in the near future we can have an infrastructure in place that allows the NBOD to spend more time directing, managing, and leading the organization. This in turn will then allow the highly talented SHPE national offices to drive the majority of the work and programs.

I plan to work hard, to push all the limits, and to bring a fresh new way of thinking to the NBOD that will lead our organization to the next level.

If you want to vote for a new way of thinking to lead our great organization, then be sure to vote for me, Michael Gutierrez, to be your next SHPE National President.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q8

What do you think on the following statements/comments?

I just learned the SHPE may be working with VISA Corporation and other to offer members credit cards. This is will generate funds for SHPE’s programs. I am one of those that will use the credit card with SHPE logo, knowing that SHPE will money every time I use the credit card.

I have heard discussions like this before. I can tell you nothing has been proposed to the NBOD in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding or contract so this may still be a way off before it becomes a reality. I do intend to utilize company sponsorships like this as another strategy for generating revenue for the organization because I know many members have also stated they would use a SHPE credit card if they were offered. In addition I would also work to get travel discounts, new car discounts, theme park discounts, and national discounts from companies like Best Buy, Amazon.com, Microsoft, or Dell for everyone that is a member. I believe many companies would love to invest in the promotion of Hispanics in an effort to create more customer loyalty and a larger customer base with more buying power. If I am elected SHPE National President, membership will have its benefits. This is also how I would solve the problem of funding for professional programs since many companies do not want to train professionals from a competing company.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q7

What do you think on the following statements/comments?

SHPE cannot longer remain on the sidelines in the political arena. Washington is making a lot of decision that impact education and opportunities for Hispanics. I am really concerned with privatization of the public system. Charter schools are not any better than public and cost more to run. Engineering programs in public universities have been threatened to be closed. If in the future public system disappears, a lot of Latinos (Hispanics) will not be able to get out of the cycle of poverty, low pay, and unfair treatment.

SHPE will not remain on the sidelines of the political arena at the local, state, and national levels if I am elected SHPE president. At the national level, SHPE has already begun discussions with national political figures through AHETEMS and our current president, Diana Gomez. SHPE is at a critical point in these discussions and it is vital that we have a national president that can build on these relationships, has the full support of their company as I do, and will move forward in a direction that is best for the entire organization. If elected, I intend to maintain and fully utilize those contacts and even ask Diana if she has the time to continue in her efforts in order to maintain continuity. As SHPE National President I will do everything I can to ensure SHPE connects with our elected leaders at all levels and builds a mutually beneficial relationship that can be sustained for years to come.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q6

What do you think on the following statements/comments?

It is time for SHPE to start working with Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and create business opportunities for our members. I would like to see more Latinos starting their business and hiring from SHPE.

This is another great point that I would fully support. I have a really strong relationship with my local Hispanic chamber and I would promote and suggest nothing less to all the chapters in the country. Rosa Navejar, the CEO and President of the Fort Worth HCC has been a tremendous ally and mentor to me and the local SHPE chapter. As SHPE national president I will seek to create a national strategy to strengthen the relationship of the HCC and SHPE on both a local and national level.

I also fully support the promotion of entrepreneurship to members in the organization. This topic has eluded the organization in recent years and I believe it is time for SHPE to refocus on these efforts. I want to thank former NBOD member and supporter, Michael Gonzalez, for his recent advice to me on this topic and I promise to develop this topic once again.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q5

What do you think on the following statements/comments?

We need to take advantage of the media.

I agree with this statement. In the past SHPE has relied on local chapter efforts and sporadic media coverage to promote and advertise the organization. While this is okay, SHPE needs a national strategy on how to tap into all media outlets. A group of engineers are not necessarily the best group to figure this out so I would seek the advice of media specialist and our marketing consultants. I believe SHPE should also invest in a national marketing campaign much like the United Way's "Live United" campaign. One idea I have is the "Get on-board with SHPE. campaign. The campaign slogan simply would be, "Get on-board with Technology. Get on-board with SHPE." For more information on this, please feel free to contact me. michael4prez@gmail.com

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q4

What do you think on the following statements/comments?

I would like SHPE to develop a program that will have offices in important cities, i.e. San Francisco, with people dedicated to stay connected with companies and create job opportunities. Maybe having a direct person at the location will avoid issues with chapter not being active and loosing valuable contacts.

This is an interesting statement. Right now SHPE relies on our local chapters to stay connected with companies and to help promote job opportunities to local SHPE members. SHPE currently does not have the resources to place people at specific locations throughout the country to maintain contacts and job opportunities with local companies. However, I can propose a program to help with this problem. I have designed the “SHPE Affinity Group Program” to strengthen local company/SHPE chapter relations and to promote membership to new potential SHPE members. This program provides funds to local chapters to act as an umbrella organization for local affinity groups. A local SHPE leader facilitates a day of workshops and idea sharing events for the local company affinity groups and also promotes the value of becoming a SHPE member. If you would like more information on this program, please feel free to contact me. michael4prez@gmail.com

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q3

Q3: I have not seen any statistics that show members getting hired through the National Career Conference. Can you provide details on this?

This is an extremely good point and the answer is no, SHPE does not currently provided statistics on members hired at our national conference because we have not compiled this information. Why haven't we gathered or compiled this information? Well that is a question for the committee chairs of the past conferences. While I believe we can ask for these details from our past chairs or even our IPCs, there is no guarantee that we will receive this data. What I can guarantee is that in the future SHPE will poll and report to see if conference participants have received an interview and/or a job. I will also ensure that SHPE reports these results whether the numbers are good or not.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q2

Q2: Professional Chapter needs the ACE money right away. What changes are [you] going to make to speed up the process?

Having submitted applications for ACE funding in the past, I can understand the frustration with the timing and speed of the process. As SHPE National President I plan to propose two changes. First, I will propose to move the ACE application to be an online application similar to what many other foundations already use. Data can be saved each year so that if a chapter wants to apply for the same funds each year, they can recall the saved information instead of entering it in every year. Second, I will ensure that SHPE offers an online Continuous Feedback Form (CFF) for every chapter to use. With the implementation of the proposed OpenSHPE architecture we can create or allow suggestions for how to implement a simplified, online CFF form that will allow for easy data entry and then auto-generate the CFF form for both ACE reporting and End of Year reporting required by every chapter. The online CFF form would also benefit chapters that participate in the National Point System by automating that process as well.

One other alternative could be to allow for a bi-yearly acceptance of ACE funding, however, this solution would most likely require more resources (employees) to review applications and work on ACE throughout the year. In order to do this, SHPE would have to work with AHETEMS to determine if this can be done without any impact to the current resources.

Questions posed to all the candidates: Q1

I and other candidates recently received a number of questions regarding SHPE. My next few blog posts will answer these questions.

Q1: The “Professional Track” and the Executive Training (ELI) ARE excellent programs for professional. Is this going to be offer to students?

The PDS, MGT and ELI have all been designated for professionals only, so those particular programs currently are not offered to undergraduate students per the currently proposed business plan definition. The reason SHPE has done this is so that a student member will see these programs as a reason to continue on as a SHPE professional member after graduation. We have continuously seen the problem where graduating seniors do not become regular members even when the membership is free. Having these three programs available only for professional member, will hopefully be one incentive for recent grads and new professional members to join the organization and get more value for their membership.

If you would like to discuss alternatives for students, I would be more than glad to discuss with you my ideas for a STEM Leadership Institute for graduate and undergraduate students.