Executive Board

Executive Board (FY19)

Lindsay Hess - President

Lindsay Hess is an Engineering Project Manager on International Blackhawk Programs at Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company. In this role, Lindsay is responsible for leading a team in the design, manufacturing, test, and qualification efforts associated with unique customer configuration needs. Lindsay has worked at Sikorsky Aircraft for 14 years, beginning as a structural loads analyst and crashworthiness engineer and has held roles of increasing responsibility leading to her current assignment. Lindsay holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from University of New Haven and an MBA from University of New Haven. Lindsay has been a SWE member for several years as a professional member. Lindsay held the position of Section President for FY19. During FY19, the Officers lead the Section in several unique under-takings, including ratifying a new set of bylaws and building a new website. During FY19, membership increased by 78% and a record number of qualified applicants were considered for the Jean R. Beers Scholarship. Lindsay previously served as Alternate Section Representative and Scholarship Committee Chair. Lindsay is passionate about advocating for women and girls in STEM fields and works to advance STEM opportunities through SWE as well as through work-related outreach activities. She hopes to continue her role as SWE Connecticut President in FY20.

Rochelle Shidler - Vice President

Rochelle Shidlercompleted a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University. She began her full-time career in 2012 as a Manufacturing Engineer on the Final Assembly line for Black Hawk helicopters at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut. From there, Rochelle transitioned to become Sikorsky’s Engineering and Technology Achieving Enterprise Excellence Leader. In this role, she was responsible for the oversight of all continuous improvement initiatives for over 3,000 engineering employees. Recently though, Rochelle accepted a new position as a Project Engineer-Technical Assistant within the Engineering Performance & Affordability organization at Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company. In addition to her new role, Rochelle is the Co-Chair for Sikorsky’s Professional Development Network (PDN) Employee Resource Group and a Sikorsky STEM Council representative. Through PDN sponsorship, she helped design and build a 5k run obstacle for the Sterling House Community Center’s largest fundraiser to date. Rochelle is an active SWE member and held board positions for the SWE Connecticut (CT) professional section including Section Representative, Alternate Section Representative, and Vice President. As a SWE professional, Rochelle has participated in local University career panels, K-12th grade (STEM) activities, and represented Sikorsky at seven WE Local and Society Conferences.

Nicole Karinchak - Treasurer

Nicole Karinchak is a Project Engineer at Eversource Energy. In this role, Nicole is responsible for the design of gas distribution pipelines, regulator stations, procedure writing, and other critical infrastructure required to safely deliver gas to customers in Connecticut. Nicole has worked at Eversource for over three years. Prior to Eversource, Nicole was the Zinc Technical Manager at Platt Brothers in Waterbury, CT from 2013-2016. From 2009-2013 she worked as a Marine Corrosion Engineer for Corrosion Control International in Seymour, CT. She graduated from Manhattan College in 2007 with a bachelor’s in civil engineering and a minor in mathematics; then graduated from Florida Institute of Technology in 2009 with a master’s degree in Ocean Engineering. She conducted her thesis research on elastomeric wraps to prevent biofouling on marine instrumentation. She is a NACE certified Cathodic Protection Technologist, CP3. She is currently studying to obtain her MBA from SNHU. After moving from Florida to Connecticut, Nicole contacted SWE CT in January 2010; later that year she became the Section Representative and in 2011 she was elected Treasurer.

Chelsea Fanara - Secretary

Chelsea Fanara is a Project Engineer at GHD and has been with the company for four years. In this role she is responsible for the design and management of several wastewater treatment improvements projects as a consulting engineer. She has recently obtained her Professional Engineer license in the state of New York. Chelsea graduated from Clarkson University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering and minor in a Project Management. In 2013 she began her career as a wastewater engineer in Syracuse, NY and became an active member of the Greater Syracuse Area Section. During her time with the Section she served as the President-FY17, Vice President-FY16, and Scholarship Coordinator. Chelsea relocated to Connecticut in 2017 and works out of GHD's White Plains, New York office. She began her involved with SWE CT by serving as the FY19 Secretary.

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