Cedar Valley SWE

Karianne Zache – President
Kari Zache grew up on a dairy farm in Union Grove, WI. She graduated from Bradley University in 2008 with a B.S. in industrial engineering and a minor in business administration. During college, she was very active in SWE, holding positions such as secretary, treasurer, as well as holding being one of nine students to plan the 2008 Region H Conference hosted by Bradley University.

Kari held two internships with CNH Case New Holland and was selected as the 2007 Intern of the Year for Bradley University’s College of Engineering & Technology. Kari joined John Deere in June of 2008 in Waterloo, IA in their Engineering Development Program. She has held rotations at the Foundry, Drive Train Operations, and the Product Engineering Center. She is currently a manufacturing engineer for John Deere’s 8R and 7MR tractors. Since graduation, Kari has been a member of the Region H’s IBM Development Team, creating a coaching module for eliminating generation gaps in the workplace. She presented her group’s work along with another team member at the 2009 Region H Conference. Kari is also a SWE recruiter for John Deere. Kari’s activities include running, archery, volleyball, softball, horseback riding, and cake decorating. Kari is the founder of SWE-PCVS.

Erin Goldsmith – Vice President
Erin Goldsmith grew up in Sheridan, Illinois. She has one older sister and is a triplet. She grew up playing volleyball and participating in 4-H. Erin attended Iowa State University where she received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. While studying at Iowa State, she was actively involved with the Society of Women engineers her freshman year, spending time on outreach committees and serving on the executive board for three years. She also completed a six month study abroad program in Wales.

Erin joined John Deere in June 2007 as a summer intern for Power Systems’ S250 continuous improvement team. A year later she returned full time to Power Systems’ Engineering Development team. She is currently in her third rotation working as a Test Engineer; her previous assignments were in S450 continuous improvement team and Assembly Engineering. Erin recently got married and is living with her husband in Janesville, Iowa.

Tiffin Kunath – Secretary
Tiffin holds a bachelors degree in Architecture (Honors) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She completed Master’s Degree studies in Engineering Management, University of Auckland, NZ and is a registered Architect; admitted as Associate to the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), after passing the Architects Education and Registration Board (AERB) examination, December 1994. Tiffin served as a Committee and Associate Member of NZIA, Auckland Branch, 1994. She has earned her Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification with the Project Management Institute (PMI), June 2002 and is a current member of PMI since April 2001. She taught Risk Management and Professional Responsibility for PMI 2005-2006. Tiffin has been involved with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), attending Cedar Valley meetings and events, 2009 to current.

During Tiffin’s architecture career, she focused on commercial architecture and construction project management. Additionally, she was employed by and consulted for several companies including Nextel Communications. Tiffin started working for John Deere in February 2006, contract with Power Systems: Product Improvement Program management and process. She is currently employed with John Deere Ag Division: Supply Management with Indirect Materials & Services: Cost reduction projects, process analysis and improvement, and strategic sourcing projects for the Midwest Region Facilities Action Support Team (FAST).

Kim Hooser – Data Officer, Treasurer and Web Developer
Kim Hooser was raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota where she grew up to love snowboarding and playing lacrosse. She traveled to Indiana to attend Purdue University where she graduated with a B.S. in Computer Graphics, specializing in Manufacturing Design Engineering. Kim was an active member of WIT, Women in Technology, an organization which promotes women in engineering and technology fields. She held several positions including Treasurer and Vice President. Kim also tutored for students in 3D CAD courses, was a teaching assistant for an Introduction to Manufacturing Design course, and worked at the Digital Learning Laboratory in an undergraduate library.

Kim has been working as a Manufacturing Engineer at the John Deere Waterloo Foundry for the past two years. Some of her responsibilities include tooling design, virtual reality projects, and product container logistics. She is also a resource for ergonomic engineering projects in the facility. During her free time, Kim enjoys kayaking, volleyball, playing board games, and watching movies.

Justin Brown – Web Master
Justin Brown grew up in Osage, Iowa. He graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Computer Engineering. While at Iowa State, he attended a few SWE meetings. Justin interned for John Deere in May 2007 as an application developer for World-Wide Ag IT. He joined John Deere full time as part of the IT Early Development program in January 2008. He is currently in his second rotation of the Early Development program doing application development, web administration, and server administration. Due to his development background, he was asked to develop a site for the section.

Christine Abele – Section Representative
Christine graduated from Michigan State University in 2006 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. She started working with John Deere in 2007 and is currently working on the design of cab controls for new product programs. She was involved in SWE during college and joined the leadership council of the proposed Cedar Valley section in March 2009. Christine’s hobbies are trap shooting, archery, swimming, and reading.

Maureen Giles – Alternate Representative
Maureen Giles was raised in the Detroit area and graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in 1999 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and in 2001 with a Masters of Engineering. While at university, Maureen was active in the engineering student government, S.W.E. and as a member of the varsity tennis team. Maureen tutored B.S. of Mechanical Engineering Students at Ford Motor Company and also spent three terms in a cooperative learning program with General Motors Truck Group in Pontiac, MI.

Maureen brings ten years of automotive experience from Chrysler LLC, beginning with the Chrysler Institute of Engineering program. Maureen held positions in Advance Vehicle Engineering, Chassis design and release, and most recently as the Resident Engineering Body Team Leader at Brampton Assembly Plant outside of Toronto, Ontario, enabling the successful launch of the all new 2008 Challenger SRT8 and 2009 Challenger. Maureen moved to Cedar Falls in January of 2009 and has since rediscovered hobbies such as bread baking, cake decorating, biking and reading.