Role of Mentors in Dr. Tanya Gachovska's Journey From Bulgaria to Canada [Women in Engineering

Abstract

The IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) is continuing its tradition of inviting a guest speaker to the Women in Engineering (WIE) breakfast reception at major PELS-sponsored technical conferences to enhance networking among women engineers, scientists, and faculty around the world. This year, PELS invited Dr. Tanya Kirilova Gachovska of Solantro Semiconductor, Ontario, Canada, to share her career experiences, both achievements and struggles, at the 2019 IEEE Energy Convergence Congress and Exposition (ECCE 2019) in Baltimore, Maryland, on 1 October. She was introduced to the audience by PELS WIE Chair Prof. Katherine Kim of Taiwan University. Before inviting Dr. Gachovska to give her talk, Prof. Kim presented some statistics on the women engineers who are PELS members. According to a survey conducted by PELS, there are 79 IEEE PELS women members, which includes 29 IEEE Student Members, 29 Members, 18 Senior Members, one Fellow, one Life Fellow, and one with no response. Only a small percentage is currently involved with PELS as volunteers, but the interest to serve on PELS technical committees and volunteer for other services is growing rapidly.