Changing the Conversation Online Engineering Messaging Toolkit

CTC Community

"Our economy, national security, and quality of life depend on engineers, so it is disturbing to see how few Americans, particularly young people, understand the importance and excitement of engineering."

– Chuck Vest, President Emeritus, NAE

"Adoption of the messaging from Changing the Conversation has had a dramatic impact on our engineering college’s ability to attract more diverse students, particularly women and minorities."

– Jackie Sullivan, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Colorado

"This new blueprint puts ideas into action. Just as engineering helps shape the future, this new platform will help engage young people and inspire them to pursue a career that can change the world."

– Ellen Kullman, Chair of the Board and CEO, DuPont

Changing the Conversation... with a comic strip!

What do a robotic dog and fifth-grade students have to do with Changing the Conversation? Nothing until now, when the comic strip “Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog” started featuring engineering as a topic for a classroom project.

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Engineering Messaging . . . Huh?

With support from the United Engineering Foundation, the NAE has been working this year to find ways to better reach the engineering community about Changing the Conversation. One of the things we’re doing, with help from National Engineers Week Foundation , is develop a train-the-trainer ...

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Dr. Irving P. McPhail

Executive Director, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering

Dr. McPhail is the president and Chief Executive Officer of NACME, where he works at the nexus of practice, policy, and research in literacy education, post-secondary student success, community college leadership, and STEM education.

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Dr. Don P. Giddens

Dean, College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Giddens sits on the National Advisory Council of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of NIH, and is a Fellow of the American Heart Association and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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Dr. Ray O. Johnson

Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin

Dr. Ray O Johnson is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. He currently serves as a member of the National Math and Science Initiative, Hispanic College Fund, and the Project Lead the Way Advisory Board.

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Dr. G. Wayne Clough

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution

Wayne Clough is Secretary of the world’s largest museum and research complex. He has served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2001-08) and chaired the Engineer of 2020 Project for the NAE.

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Dr. E. Jim Prendergast

Executive Director, Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Dr. Prendergast is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of IEEE, the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity. He oversees IEEE initiatives that foster innovation and technology excellence.

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Ms. Leslie Collins

Executive Director, E-Week Foundation

Leslie Collins is responsible for development and stewardship of a coalition of more than 150 corporate, government, engineering society, education, and diversity partners, representing more than 1.5 million engineers and students.

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Dr. Charles M. Vest

President Emeritus, National Academy of Engineering

Dr. Vest was co-chair of the CTC committee. He was a director of DuPont for 14 years and of IBM for 13 years, vice chair of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness for eight years and has served on various federal committees and commissions.

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Ms. Elizabeth A. Shanahan

President and Chief Executive Officer, Society of Women Engineers

Betty Shanahan is the executive director and CEO for SWE, a 20,000-member organization founded in 1950. In addition to her work on “Changing the Conversation,” Betty sits on the JETS Board of Directors and the STEM Equity Project Advisory Board.

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Mr. Bob Hoffman

President and Chief Creative Officer, Gearon Hoffman, Inc.

Robert Hoffman is President and Chief Creative Officer of Gearon Hoffman, Inc., a $100 million advertising and marketing firm with a professional staff of 40 and a broad range of clients including consumer and business-to-business products and services.

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Ms. Ellen Kullman

Chair of the Board & Chief Executive Officer, DuPont

Ellen Kullman is co-chair of the CTC committee. She served as president of DuPont prior to assuming leadership of the company in 2009. She had been executive vice president and a member of the company's office of the chief executive since 2006.

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Ms. Virginia Kramer

Creative Director, Keiler & Co

Virginia "Gini" Kramer is executive creative director at the advertising and public relations firm Keiler & Co. She is an award-winning copywriter with broad experience working with industries from aerospace to manufacturing to the performing arts.

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