The Virginia Tech IISE 2020 Regional Conference Team aims to create a unique crossroads for a diverse community of students, educators, researchers, innovators, and practitioners. Over the course of the event, we will go on a journey exploring revolutionary ideas and creating meaningful connections.

Elise Foster (BS ISE, ’99, MS ’00), past IIE president, turned executive coach, leadership speaker and author will kick off Saturday morning with an engaging keynote demystifying “leadership in engineering.” In her talk, she will introduce the idea of leader as Multiplier, based on the NY Times best-selling book, Multipliers: How the Best Leadership Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman.

In keeping with the conference theme, Power of the Past, Force of the Future she will invite participants to reflect on the ways in which leadership has changed, and challenge participants to imagine what becomes possible when we are all leading more like Multipliers.