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May 4, 2023 17 mins

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Cherie Pinsky is Chief Operating Officer for both the Florida Engineering Society and the American Council of Engineering Companies.  She sat down with Sam Yates, the host of Engineering Florida, to discuss Florida MathCounts and the Florida Engineering Leadership Institute.

What's the difference between the FES and ACEC?   We have that answer for you in today's episode of Engineering Florida!

The Florida Engineering Society, Engineering Florida podcast, is produced by Yates & Associates, Public Relations & Marketing. Contact Sam Yates, Sam@Yatespro.com.

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Episode Transcript

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Sam Yates (00:01):
Engineers are ingenious professional.
Engineers invent, design, verifyand qualify. Engineers are the
professionals who make our livesand businesses prosperous and
safe. The Florida EngineeringSociety is proud to put our
engineering professionals in thespotlight so that they may

(00:21):
educate, share information andintroduce you to the world of
engineering that is thriving inFlorida. Here's your host of the
engineering Florida podcast. SamYates with today's guest Hello,
everyone and welcome to anotherepisode of the Florida
Engineering Society EngineeringFlorida podcast. Cherie Pinsky

(00:42):
is the Chief Operating Officerat what we call affectionately
FES as well as the AmericanCouncil of Engineering
Companies, the ACEC. Now sheoversees the daily operations
including education, events,marketing, communications, and
of course, membership veryimportantly, so I'm lucky to

(01:05):
have her as our guest today forthis edition of the Florida
Engineering Society, engineeringFlorida podcast. Welcome to the
program.

Cherie Pinsky (01:14):
Thank you so much for having me, Sam. I'm grateful
to be here.

Sam Yates (01:18):
You know, I always love to start out with getting
some tidbits about our guests.
So I'm going to ask the same ofyou. And I'm going to say that
back in 2021, you received theFES and ACEC Florida President's
Award for outstanding serviceand leadership. And we're going
to talk about those things in abit of detail. But tell us about

(01:41):
yourself.

Cherie Pinsky (01:44):
Yes, that was a very flattering award that I
received. It was very gratefuland kind of them. I've been with
FES and ACEC Florida for sevenyears this month. Proud to say
very happy about that. startedoff as the in the education and
events department as a meetingplanner and advanced to Director

(02:07):
of Education at events and nowsee oh, and I enjoy being here.

Sam Yates (02:13):
And a little bird told me you are also a Florida
Gator.

Cherie Pinsky (02:17):
Absolutely at a proud one at that. graduated a
few years back I won't datemyself too much. But I really
enjoyed my time there. Got myBachelors of Arts Degree.

Sam Yates (02:32):
Go Gators, you know, and I have to say sure. So far
we are batting 100% as havingguests on that our gators go
figure but you know, sometimesthose things just happen because
gators are so prolific. And alot of them are in the
engineering world.

Cherie Pinsky (02:50):
And it's hard being our headquarters being in
Tallahassee, we do have a lot ofseminars around us. But I'm very
fortunate that yes, a lot of ourleadership, our members are
gators, and I'm able to jointhem in that support.

Sam Yates (03:07):
Being there where you are. I know that you're
involved, as I mentioned earlierin some of the special events,
as well as the daily operationsand one of the programs that is
near and dear to you math countstook place statewide and
culminated with the selection ofthe Florida math counts team to

(03:29):
present morada in the NationalMath counts competition, that it
was a big success. And, youknow, for those who are not
familiar as I am with Mathcountstold me why it's important.

Cherie Pinsky (03:45):
Mathcounts is absolutely wonderful program
that we get to give back to thecommunity. We have this past
year, I think we had 233Students middle school students
from throughout the state attendthe state competition, which
means it means they had toadvance from their local chapter

(04:07):
to even compete at the statecompetition that took place in
Orlando. It was a absolutelywonderful event that allows us
to give younger STEM studentsand math proficient students the
opportunity to travel networkwith their peers and just be

(04:33):
involved in their community. Wehad a fantastic competition and
actually two, we four studentsactually ended up advancing to
the national competition whichwe're very excited about that
will take place in Orlando lastyear it was in DC. But this year

(04:53):
it will be in Orlando so it'snot a super far travel for them.
But to the students wereactually from Tallahassee And
the other two from others in thestate, but it's, it's just a
fantastic event where we get toshowcase younger generations and
their love for math and the STEMfield in general.

Sam Yates (05:16):
You know, I like the name that they're called. And
that's mathletes. There aremathletes are outstanding,
because they're going to haveskills that they developed in
this process that they're goingto carry the rest of their
lives. Is that a good, strong,fair statement?

Cherie Pinsky (05:36):
Absolutely.
They're the skills that theydevelop through the education
throughout, obviously school.
But as well as adding thesecompetitions and giving them the
chance to showcase what they cando is just a wonderful
opportunity that they have. Andthat carries with them, we have
several of our leaders that weremathletes when they were younger

(06:00):
and middle school, because it isa program that is just for
middle school students.

Sam Yates (06:05):
Now, I know that during the math elite
competition, there is such anemphasis on math that even at
the beginning of the program, itstarted out with a math joke.

Cherie Pinsky (06:24):
That is true, there are a lot of math jokes
that are said and I only getabout half of them. I only
understand about but the kidslove it. And they love the the
camaraderie

Sam Yates (06:39):
it is it is special.
Whenever I listened to theprogram to the to the
competition, and I I waschuckling to myself, I was like,
that is really great. I lovedit. But let's switch gears a
little bit if we can. Anotherimportant educational program is
designed for the more maturegroup and that is our engineers

(07:01):
themselves. So what is the FESLeadership Institute? And what
do the participants take awayfrom that program,

Cherie Pinsky (07:12):
Fili is, as it affectionately is called, is a
wonderful leadership program.
That is for our slightly moremature engineers. That really
focuses on the networking, theleadership abilities, work life
balance and giving back to thecommunity. It is very much a

(07:36):
fun, but also serious programthat is highly sought after that
we're proud to offer.

Sam Yates (07:51):
And I think on one of our previous programs, Carlos
Pennine told us a bit about someof what philia had accomplished.
But it is not a program asidebar, if we could for a
second, it's not a program thatanyone can participate in it. It
actually is one that membersapply for. And for the 2023 I

(08:13):
believe only 59 candidatesapplied and only 14 were
selected to take part. So thereis a bit of competition to get
into the field program.

Cherie Pinsky (08:25):
There is a stringent selection process that
the committee does go through tomake their selection, they found
that if there are more than 40people in a class, it really
kind of helps. I mean, itdoesn't help it breaks apart
that tight knit bondrelationships. So they really

(08:46):
try to keep it at that 40 personlevel. So that it can the people
in the class can form thosetighter relationships and come
together.

Sam Yates (08:57):
We look forward to following along with that
program. And as they come upwith the things that they're
going to accomplish, we'll bespotlighting them here on the
Florida Engineering Societypodcast as a just a little note
for our listeners. You know, Isometimes get way ahead of
myself and at the onset of theprogram, I mentioned that you

(09:18):
are wearing dual hats there. SoI wanted to talk a little bit
about what you do is the C O fornot only the Florida Engineering
Society, but the AmericanCouncil of Engineering
Companies, two separateorganizations closely aligned.
Tell us about the Council ofEngineering Companies.

Cherie Pinsky (09:39):
Both associations are work fantastic together but
they're also great on their own.
For ACC of Florida. They haveseveral programs and several
initiatives to get involved withthe community to be a presence
within the engineering industry.

(10:00):
Are you and part of my job is tohelp make sure that they're
successful at it, we haveseveral programs. For example,
ACC of Florida, right after, Iguess, two or three years now,
they are now working on aprogram called FTO. T Connect,
which connects engineers withsoftware programs for designing

(10:26):
transportation pieces, sorry forlack of a better word, whether
it be bridges, pond draindesign, drainage design, and
things of that nature. ACC alsosponsors construction career
days throughout the state ofFlorida, giving students the

(10:47):
opportunity to be more involvedand learn about engineering, in
the construction capacity. ACCis for involved in several other
things as well. But those arejust a couple that popped into
my head.

Sam Yates (11:03):
And obviously, one of the reasons that we're doing
this program is to educateengineers and also attract
engineers. For bothorganizations. Since you're
wearing two hats. How cansomeone get more information and
ultimately become a member,

Cherie Pinsky (11:20):
We have a fabulous website that we utilize
for membership, we have a listof our membership benefits on
there along with digitalapplications. Going online, just
entering in your basicinformation, we have wonderful
membership team that will reviewthe application, if you're

(11:43):
applying as an individualmember, the process is a little
quicker. For ACC of Florida, thefirm membership is a little bit
takes a little bit longer abouta week to get all the ducks in a
row. But we do have a wonderfulwebsite that does give you a

(12:03):
clearer picture of what we areas FBS and ACC of Florida, and
what each organization has tooffer.

Sam Yates (12:12):
I do have another question before we go on with a
couple of more minutes into theprogram. I'm watching the clock
to make sure we stay on time.
Can you come back for anotherprogram in the future?

Cherie Pinsky (12:24):
Absolutely. I'm really enjoying being here. And
we have so many things thatwe're involved in that we could
talk about. Events, marketing,you know, there's just we're
just in the field so muchgetting involved with the
community. And as asrepresentative, I'm very

(12:44):
thankful and blessed to be apart of it.

Sam Yates (12:47):
What are the big things that that I know that
comes under the big umbrella andit I want to say it's
successful. And that's your newmagazine. And it's a great
looking publication. So you guysare doing a great job on that.
Oh, thank

Cherie Pinsky (13:01):
you so much. We are extremely proud of this new
magazine, and all of oureditorial partners that we
worked on with it. One reallyneat thing about it is we were
able to partner with otherassociations in the engineering
industry to bring about thiswonderful new publication and we

(13:24):
couldn't be prouder.

Sam Yates (13:26):
You know, before we wrap up, though, hurricane
season really is upon us by thetime we blink, it's going to be
here. Last year, hurricaneseason was horrible for
Southwest Florida. And we don'tknow how bad the season is going
to be back to my days of ofwearing a cap with a big red

(13:46):
cross on it and helpingcommunities out. We always like
to remind folks, it only takesone hurricane and you've got all
sorts of problems. But from yourvantage point, engineers have
always been right on the frontlines of preparation, tropical
storms, hurricanes, recoveryefforts. How do you as FeS and

(14:10):
ACC, help keep members up todate help to keep them safe,
help them with information thatthey can help keep their
community safe. How do you dothat?

Cherie Pinsky (14:21):
You know, we had a lot of experience with that
this year by sharing outlets offirst responders and businesses
and companies that wereavailable for emergency relief,
sharing that with ourengineering community sharing it
with our board and getting thosedetails from them as well. It is

(14:44):
very much about the connectionsthat you make and being able to
provide those that informationthose details to a further
outreach than you thoughtpossible. It we've certainly
reached out and have made itassisted different schools and

(15:05):
communities with hurricanerelief, Fili this year donated
to Operation barbecue reliefdown in the Fort Myers area,
which was wonderful. And we justwe just want to be there as much
as we can and share thatinformation to help people
recover as quickly as possibleto get what they need from the

(15:27):
basics of food to somethinglike, you know, repairs and
having a place to stay duringthe time. So it's, it's, it's
important, it's extremelyimportant. And we're certainly
looking to the future as thishurricane season approaches,
like you said, since we have agreat basis that we developed

(15:49):
last year, we'll have it readyto go for this year, just in
case, you know, obviously, wehope we don't have to use it.
But, but But it's ready andwaiting.

Sam Yates (16:00):
I don't want to steal any thunder from the philia
announcement of what theirspecial project is this year.
Although I have to say one ofour past guests touched upon it
a little bit. But I think peoplewill be very, very impressed as
they learn more about what Filiis doing. So I know you said you
would be glad to come back. Andso we'll talk about that. And

(16:23):
another you touched on brieflyis the FTO T training lab. So
I'd like to invite you back togo into more details on both of
those. And ladies and gentlemen.
She said she would be back. I'mgonna hold you to it.

Cherie Pinsky (16:37):
That's right Sam.
Thank you so much for having meand I look forward to hearing
from you soon.

Sam Yates (16:42):
So until our next episode of the Engineering
Florida podcast brought to youby the Florida Engineering
Society. I'm your host, SamYates. Have a great day
everybody. Thanks for listeningto another informative episode
of the engineering Floridapodcast. Our goal is to help

(17:03):
educate and inform everyone wholistens to our podcast about our
members and topics of interestto the Florida Engineering
Society. On behalf of theFlorida Engineering Society, and
the Engineering Florida podcast,have a great day everybody
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