Over the last 6 years, I have had the opportunity to grow as a professional, an academic, and as a leader through EPICS in IEEE. During my time on the committee, we have selected over 100 projects for funding, benefiting students and communities all over the world. 

My first academic employer, Arizona State University, had a student team receive funding that created low-cost portable air filtration units for nomadic tribes in Mongolia. I had the opportunity to visit a team in New Jersey that was automating their camps community garden to help with food insecurity. A team of students in Gainesville, Florida, my home town, created an adaptive mouse that would allow individuals with physical disabilities the access to video games and e-learning by combing aspects of a keyboard with the mouse. Teams around the world are addressing access to electricity, clean water, improved agricultural outcomes, biodiversity, trash and recycling challenging, and more. 

Recent improvements to our program during my time as committee chair include providing teams video-grants, which allow them to capture high-quality video footage to showcase their project around the world. We have initiated a travel grant process, allowing individuals to attend IEEE conferences and develop their communication and networking skills. We have implemented new training materials that focus on metrics and impact, encouraging teams to plan ahead to be able to assess the positive change their project has on their local community.