March/April 2020
NSPE Today: Outlook
With New Vision in Place, Now Begins the Heavy Lifting
BY 2019–20 PRESIDENT DAVID MARTINI, P.E., F.NSPE
As spring approaches, I think it is a great time to promote the work that NSPE staff and volunteer leaders are completing for the benefit of our members, our profession, and the public we serve. NSPE’s vision is, “A world where the public can be confident that the engineering decisions affecting their lives are made by qualified and ethically accountable professionals.” Our mission is, “To foster licensed professional engineers in service to society.” The organization’s vision and mission will continue to be front and center as we work to implement NSPE’s strategic plan. Making progress in each of the plan’s areas of focus (Driving Growth, Shaping Public Policy, Educating for the Future, and Promoting Diversity and Tomorrow’s Engineer) is key to the organization’s success, with themes such as advocacy, licensure, ethics, education, and diversity enmeshed throughout the plan.
Driving Growth
One thing that continues to be clear, as I travel and talk to volunteer leaders, is that membership growth continues to be on everyone’s mind. Although we agree on the problems, the solution continues to elude us.
I have witnessed firsthand how effective a member can be selling the benefits of NSPE and telling personal stories as to why they believe all PEs should be members. Unfortunately, we are not all comfortable selling the organization, for one reason or another. Driving growth is an effort that will take all of us to accomplish. NSPE will continue its marketing efforts, education offerings, and production of media content. However, it’s the personal interactions at the local level that can truly make a difference in growing the organization.
We all joined NSPE for different reasons, and for some of us the reasons we joined are not the same as the reasons we’ve remained members over the years. You don’t need to be an over-the-top salesperson to help us out. Just be yourself and tell your story. Who invited you? When did you become a member? What are some of your favorite memories?
We need to pass the organization on to the next generation of PEs, and we need everyone to invite someone new to the party. Who will you invite?
Shaping Public Policy
NSPE’s advocacy efforts continue to be one of the main reasons that I am a member. No other organization is dedicated to promoting and protecting the value of licensure like NSPE. I have had the privilege over the years to participate in the legislative process to both defeat harmful legislation and to proactively support legislation that improves and strengthens licensing laws. By far, the more enjoyable experience has been our proactive efforts.
For too long, a well-organized and well-funded effort to attack licensure has gone unchecked. Fortunately, that is beginning to change. NSPE is a proud founding member of the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing. With the tag line, “Professional Licensing: Rigorous for a Reason,” APRL provides factual information to policy makers related to the high standard, rigorous education, and extensive experience needed for highly complex, technical professions such as engineering.
Educating for the Future
One of the direct benefits that NSPE offers its members is continuing education. The offerings continue to focus on the expertise of the organization, including licensure, ethics, advocacy initiatives, and emerging technologies.
NSPE’s ability to provide content to members around the country also allows us to share local expertise with a larger audience. It is our hope that we will continue to expand our ability to tap into all the organization’s resources and repurpose content that is prepared and offered by the state societies. From my travel experiences over the past few years, I can tell you that there are many excellent local programs worth sharing with everyone.
Promoting Diversity and Tomorrow’s Engineer
NSPE is committed to improving the profession by advocating for and supporting diversity and inclusion. We are actively working to ensure that our membership reflects the ever-changing demographics of our society. This effort includes work from the newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee. Collaboration with other groups to highlight and broadly communicate the societal benefits of diversity and inclusion in the engineering profession is also key to our success.
Developing and implementing programs and content that will attract, engage, and retain younger members is essential for the organization’s long-range success. I have seen firsthand the diversity that naturally exists in groups of young people participating in programs like MATHCOUNTS, the Future City Competition, and FIRST Robotics and the benefits that it brings to the team. NSPE and the public we serve will certainly benefit from increased diversity and inclusion.
Moving Forward
The development of the new strategic plan has already led to many great discussions and content development. We have reflected on where the organization has been and where it needs to go. Thank you for all you do for the good of the organization and ultimately the public we serve. Keep up the good work and remember: Who invited you? And, who will you invite?