The 2026 Houston IEEE STEM Leadership Workshop, hosted by the IEEE R5 Houston Section, brought together students, industry professionals, and academic leaders for an interactive session focused on building future-ready STEM leadership.

Led by Women in Engineering (WIE) and Young Professionals (YPE) leaders, the workshop encouraged participants to explore big-picture strategy, strengthen leadership skills, and share ideas for advancing STEM collaboration and impact.

The event was co-hosted by Harish Padmanaban Phd ,and Thangaraj Petchiappan on behalf of the IEEE Houston Section, with outstanding support from Annie (Wei) Dai and Olivia Zindel, who ensured the program ran smoothly.

The IEEE Houston Section was honored by the presence of Christopher Sanderson, SMIEEE, SMASQ, IEEE Region 5 Director. Sincere thanks to Christopher Sanderson and Donald G Dunn for their continued support of student and leadership initiatives.

This workshop marks a milestone as the first IEEE USA STEM Leadership Workshop conducted from Houston, reinforcing Region 5’s commitment to developing the next generation of STEM leaders.

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