Katelyn Lichte

I grew up in rural Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities as a first-generation college student. During college, I studied Mechanical Engineer and was heavily involved with the Society of Women Engineers. I had three different work experiences when I was an undergrad: an internship at Buhler, an internship at the University of Minnesota - Medical Devices Center, and a co-op for Cargill. After graduation, I accepted a job with DuPont Pioneer (now Corteva Agriscience) as a Plant Operations Specialist in their Emerging Leaders Program. While in this role, I worked in Iowa at a corn and soybean processing site. I learned about and helped manage a plant that provided quality seeds to farmers. During this role, I developed a passion for agriculture and educating others about it's impact on their lives. Recently, I accepted a new position with Corteva as a Production Engineer at a crop protection manufacturing site (pesticides, herbicides, etc.). Due to this new role, I just moved to the California area. After graduation, I've continued my involvement of SWE. While in Iowa, I was the Outreach Chair for the East Central Iowa Section. Now in California, I am a Chair for the local Golden Gate Section and I'm the Outreach Chair Elect for the entire Society of SWE. Additionally, I've led a Girl Scouts Troop and have coached a FIRST LEGO League team. I've also been involved in advocating for STEM policies at the local, state, and federal levels. My passion is outreach and educating the next generation.