The Path Forward: Speech with the IPC (Industrial Partnership Council)

This is the transcript of the speech I gave today with the IPC over teleconference. Normally the incoming president would attend in person, but we wanted to save some money and decided to just do teleconference instead. 

First SLIDE

Good morning everyone, my name is Barry Cordero.  I’m your current SHPE Inc National Vice President and soon to be your SHPE Inc. National President.

Firstly, I’d like to thank all of you for coming together today and for staying even after you’ve all made your booth selections.  I’m very sorry I couldn’t be with you this week but I look forward to meeting you all in person at the next IPC meeting.

 

Second Slide

For those of you who do not know me, here’s a little bit of background

 

Next year, in 2014 it will be 40 years since Rod Garcia and a group of Latino engineers in Los Angeles decided that our community would be more successful in our professions if we connected over a common organization. 

Since the birth of our organization we have grown and adapted and maintained our status as the leading Hispanic Technical organization.  But like many of you, I believe we can be so much more.  About two years we revisited our mission and vision statement.  Our new vision is:

“a world where Hispanics are highly valued and influential as the leading innovators, scientists, mathematicians and engineers.” 

Now…If pursued a good vision statement can be transformational.  What we are claiming in this goal is that we want to change our world …. For us this world is the United States.  So what would our world look like if SHPE achieved this vision?

Our grade schools would be different:

-          Imagine a future where every Latino child wished and hoped they could be an engineer or scientist when they grow up

-          What if every teacher actually knows what engineering is and can competently encourage their students to pursue it

-          And each of these kid's parents understands that allowing their child to take on a bit of short term debt to get a STEM education will result in a lifelong payoff in quality of life…

Our universities and colleges would be full of Latino students majoring in STEM

- In these universities, 95% of Latinos who start a STEM degree, finish it in 5 years
- The other 5% dropped out early to start companies based on their innovations
- In these schools, every Latino student graduates with a 3.0 GPA and the only real struggle they face is deciding which fortune 500 company they should work with
- Because in this future, every company knows that Latino engineers and scientists are some of the most creative, passionate, innovative and dedicated people they can hire

I also imagine a corporate America that is different
- Where minority engineers and scientists, interested in climbing the corporate ladder were expected to pursue the skills and training to achieve their aspirations…… and supported when they went
- And when they return, their mentors and champions coach them in leveraging their new skills and new connections to fill the gaps in executive succession planning
- Imagine that in every company the distribution of black and hispanic talent was not all at the entry level and senior engineer level…
- Imagine there are as many Black and Hispanic decision makers at the top of these companies as there are dedicated, young engineers hired in at the entry level….

Imagine a country
- That was so obsessed with the amazing innovations STEM professionals create, that you were actually SICK of all the movie-star supported commercials meant to inspire kids to pursue their dreams and get an engineering or science degree

- Imagine a country that had so much bilingual talent that countries in south and central America were no longer a mysterious growing market, but instead extremely accessible and open to partnership because their executives were understood culturally by our executives.

There’s a long path to reaching this future.  In the near term… the next two years, I want to lay a foundation of stability in our highest variable processes while simultaneously executing on highest priority strategic items.

Third Slide

As President, I will be working hand in hand with our CEO to support and help drive the changes necessary for us to grow.  We will need to be one organization made up of our amazing staff, our passionate members and our dedicated sponsors to ensure we march together as one shared voice and one organization.

I’m not here to provide another reinvention of SHPE.  We will not have a brand new strategic plan next year and we will not try to decide on a new mission or vision.  I’m also not here to resurrect decisions made in the past or try to try to play a power struggle with our CEO and staff.  I’m not here to move us backward under the guise of progress.

I am here because I eat, breath and sleep the mission of SHPE…. I believe if we execute on our strategic plan…. Not just talk but actually execute on it... And we carry out our mission throughout the pipeline we can achieve our vision statement.

Thank You

I also have a request:  To get a head start on strengthening our partnership, I would like to request the establishment of an IPC sub committee on professional development.