Society of Women Engineers

Marisa Ceppi, Yardi Energy

By Erica Rascón on Apr 9, 2018 in People

Engineers are the brain and muscle behind the Yardi technology that makes property management (and property managers’ lives) easier. When Marisa Ceppi proposed the idea of presenting at the Society of Women Engineers 2018 National Conference (We’18), it was met with unbounded support from her teammates.

The SWE We ’18 Conference

Ceppi, Yardi Energy Account Executive, has been a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for more than a decade. She sees it as a way to encourage other young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career paths.

“The amount of women engineers hasn’t really changed since I was an undergrad,” Ceppi observed. “It’s still a male-dominated career so one of our missions is to provide members with a network of women who are on the same path, facing similar challenges.”

The annual conference hosts 14,000 attendees from across the United States. Participants receive networking and educational opportunities through events and carefully curated sessions. Conference sessions address challenges in the industry, new technology developments, as well as topics like leadership, strategic planning and work-life balance.

“There is also a tremendous amount of best practice sharing between members and across the SWE organization. How can we improve? How can we make more of an impact in the communities that we live and work in?” said Ceppi.

When approved, Ceppi, Annette Durnack, Christy Cannon, and Ankita Gupta, all part of the Yardi Energy Commercial Team, will lead a presentation entitled Not Your Mothers’ Air Conditioner:  IoT and the Evolving Energy Industry.

“We want to bring an educational component to the conference, sharing information on how Yardi is making an impact in the artificial intelligence environment. We will discuss how AI is changing our world, not just the energy industry but other industries as well,” said Ceppi.

The presentation will include details on energy’s changing landscape, real world examples from Yardi customers, and how those customers benefit from Yardi energy management tools.

“Also, we will talk about how the Yardi Energy Suite uses data in different ways and different levels of complexity. We will explore how the IoT is impacting the software industry. We’re also promoting career paths within the energy industry. This is a very exciting time in the energy field! We are tackling challenging problems and we need diverse brainpower to solve these challenges.”

A Decade of Service

The conference is one of many ways that Ceppi engages with SWE throughout the year. She participates in the Girls Exploring Science, Technology, and Math (GESTEM) event in Denver, CO. Now in its 15^th year, the event hosts 40 hands-on workshops for more than 1,000 Denver area middle school-aged girls.

“SWE outreach events works with girls of all ages but targets middle school age, since that is when girls start determining what they’re good at, classes that they want to take in high school, and potential career paths,” explained Ceppi.

The free GESTEM event allows attendees to participate in three workshops per day, each requiring hands-on interaction and teamwork.

“We want to show these girls that STEM careers involve working with people and helping people solve problems, it’s not just about math,” said Ceppi.

“The workshops cover a broad spectrum of career options like technology, building bridges, aerospace, and designing circuit boards,” Ceppi said. “We want to expose girls to STEM who might not be exposed to such career paths at home. They may not have a parent who can take them to science museums or they can’t afford it.”

GESTEM is a completely volunteer-driven event. More than 15 volunteers serve on the planning committee and 400 volunteers support the day of the event. The Rocky Mountain Section of SWE not only plans and hosts the event, but also raises funds from corporate donors to cover its costs.

Ceppi also serves as a judge at the FIRST Robotics competition. “I interface with kids in fourth through eighth grades who participate in the robotics competition. The kids are excited and passionate. It’s extremely rewarding for me to see their excitement and how creatively they solve different challenges.”

SWE goes beyond the presence of women in STEM careers. It promotes greater diversity throughout the national workforce.

“You don’t even have to be a woman to join SWE,” noted Ceppi. “We have many male members and recognize an outstanding male supporter at our annual conference through the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award.”

She adds, “There is a tremendous value that diversity brings to a company. Women think very differently from men. But it’s not just about women engineers. It’s about having different cultural backgrounds as well. That can bring value to an organization because of the different perspectives and different thinking.”

To learn more about Yardi’s inspiring employees, check out our People page.