Executive Board and Committees - Greater Syracuse Area

Meet our Officers

Valerie is in her second year serving as President. She has formerly served as Vice President for multiple years. She has also served as the Outreach Chair and on the Scholarship Committee. Valerie is a Rochester native and graduate of the University of Rochester, with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Valerie currently works as a Lead Project Manager in the Property Services group at National Grid, where she manages capital projects. Valerie also has many years of experience as a mechanical design engineer and Valerie is currently an EIT.

Her interests include hiking with her dog and visiting the Finger Lakes.

Last updated: 10/27/23

Lexie is in her second year serving as the Vice President and first year as the Social Media Manager for the Greater Syracuse section of SWE. Previously Lexie has also served as the Sponsorship Chair on the Scholarship Committee.

Lexie graduated in 2020 from Clarkson University with a Bachelor’s of Science with Honors in Electrical Engineering. While at Clarkson, Lexie was SWE’s Sponsorship Chair. Shortly after graduation Lexie began working at SRC as a member of their STELR rotational program and joined SWE not long after that!

Lexie enjoys running, home projects, playing with her dog, and planning her wedding!

Last updated: 7/19/22

Emily is in her first year as Treasurer for the Greater Syracuse section of SWE. She joined as a member in 2023 after attending the annual scholarship reception.

Emily graduated SUNY ESF in 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Resources Engineering and a minor in water resources. Emily is water resources engineer at Colliers Engineering & Design with a focus on dam safety, stormwater management, and flood control.

Outside of work Emily enjoys gardening skiing, hiking, and traveling to different national parks. She is also a coach for the SUNY ESF Timbersports team and participates in Lumberjack competitions throughout NY.

Last updated: 9/18/24

Kara DiNatale joined the Greater Syracuse Area section of SWE in late 2015 and immediately took up the mantels of Communications Committee Chair and Webmaster. FY25 will be her nineth year in this role and her sixth year as section Secretary. She also serves as the Application Coordinator for the section’s scholarship program.

Kara works as a Process Engineer for Novelis at their Oswego, NY facility. Prior to this role she also worked there as a Quality Engineer while completing their Engineer Development Program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Professional Certificate in Materials Engineering from Clarkson University, where she graduated from in 2014. In addition to working full time at Novelis, in 2019 she completed a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistics through Kansas State University’s Global Campus. She also volunteers as a goalie coach for the Oswego High School girls’ lacrosse teams.

Kara enjoys camping, reading, watching hockey, and working on the never-ending list of projects on her 125-year-old house.

Last updated: 7/16/24

Committees and Additional Positions

Communications Committee
Chair: Kara DiNatale
Webmaster: Kara DiNatale
Social Media Manager: Lexie Peppe

Scholarship Committee
Chair/Co-Chairs: OPEN
Application Coordinator: Kara DiNatale
Sponsorship Coordinator: OPEN
Reception Coordinator: OPEN
Application Coordinator Apprentice: OPEN

Non-Committee Positions
Outreach Chair: OPEN
SU Liaison: OPEN
*NEW* Professional Development Chair: OPEN

Past Board Members

Many thanks for our members who have served on the Board previous years!

Year	President	Vice President	Treasurer	Secretary	Section Representative
FY 25	Valerie Countryman	Lexie Stoyell	Emily Ellithorpe	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 24	Valerie Countryman	Lexie Stoyell	Ariel Judd	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 23	Valerie Countryman	Lexie Stoyell	Ariel Judd	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 22	Bridget Dixon	Valerie Countryman	Ariel Judd	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 21	Bridget Dixon	Valerie Countryman	Ariel Judd	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 20	Bridget Dixon	Valerie Countryman	Ariel Judd	Kara DiNatale	N/A
FY 19	Bridget Dixon	Ariel Judd	Chelsey Kniffin	Chelsea Armstrong	N/A
FY 18	Nicole Carfi	Bridget Dixon	Chelsey Kniffin	Chelsea Armstrong	N/A
FY 17	Chelsea Fanara	Bridget Dixon	Deanna Victoria	Tabby Svereika	Chelsea Armstrong
FY 16	Deanna Victoria	Chelsea Fanara	Allison Muehe	Kara DiNatale (Comm. Chair)	Chelsea Armstrong
FY 15	Deanna Victoria	Allison Muehe	Alissa Diminich / Allison Muehe	Ashley Waldron	Casey Lupini
FY 14	Allison Muehe		Alissa Diminich		Wende Weber
FY 13	Alissa Diminich	Allison Muehe	Joan Dannenhoffer	Kristin Angello	Kelsey Wessel
FY 12	Alissa Diminich	Allison Muehe	Joan Dannenhoffer	Kristin Angello	Kelsey Wessel
FY 11	Kristin Angello	Allison Muehe	Joan Dannenhoffer	Sue Weaver	Caitlin Howieson
FY 10	Monica Cody	Allison Muehe	Joan Dannenhoffer	Lauren Livermore	Caitlin Howieson
FY 09	Monica Cody	Lynn Culotta	Joan Dannenhoffer	Lauren Livermore
FY 08	Monica Cody		Joan Dannenhoffer
FY 07	Jennifer Reina	Tina Crowley	Lynn Culotta	Joan Dannenhoffer	Lauren Livermore
FY 06	Jennifer Reina	Tina Crowley	Lynn Culotta	Joan Dannenhoffer	Lauren Livermore