Lives on the Line: How Engineering Leaders Make Tough Calls
2026-03-11 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Room 32-124, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States
Wednesday, March 11, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
Register for This Workshop
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.

Description
What does it take to make the call on a product recall when patient safety is at stake?
In this interactive workshop, industry leaders from medical devices, pharma, and life sciences will walk you through how engineering teams escalate and evaluate risks, even when information is incomplete. Working in small groups with our guests, you’ll step into real-world recall scenarios, grapple with the trade-offs, and practice making tough decisions under uncertainty. Together, we’ll debrief the approaches and insights that shape engineering leadership in critical moments.

Leaders
Karen Anigbo is a seasoned quality and product safety leader in the medical device and life sciences sector, with deep experience in complaints handling, field actions, and post-market risk management. At Johnson & Johnson, she served as Senior Manager for Complaints, Field Actions, and Post-Market, where she led cross-functional investigations into product issues, evaluated risk profiles, and helped guide decisions on corrective actions, including medical device product recalls. Her expertise in real-world response strategies that balance patient safety with technical risk is what she’ll bring to life for students in this workshop exploring how engineering leaders make tough, safety-critical calls.
Kim Soter is an accomplished quality leader, a former VP of Quality for Olympus Surgical and Quality & Compliance Director at Johnson & Johnson MedTech. With a career including leadership roles where she oversaw investigation and resolution of complex product issues, Kim has helped teams evaluate safety risks, engage cross-functional partners, and determine when field actions and recalls are necessary to protect patients and maintain regulatory compliance. Her practical experience navigating high-risk product quality challenges will give a front-row view into how engineering leaders make tough, risk-informed decisions that balance patient safety, technical integrity, and operational realities.

Wednesday, March 11, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
Register for This Workshop
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)

The Power of Storytelling for Technical Leaders
2026-04-01 17:00 - 19:00 | Room 32-124, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States
Wednesday, April 1, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
Register for This Workshop
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.

Description
Storytelling isn’t fluff; it’s a cognitive tool that helps people understand, remember, and care about complex technical ideas. In this interactive workshop, students will learn why narrative activates more of the brain than facts alone, how great technical stories are structured, and how to craft clear, compelling explanations tailored to any audience. Through real examples and guided practice, participants will transform a technical concept from their own work into a two-minute story that is memorable, engaging, and strategically aligned with their goals as emerging engineering leaders.

Leaders
Linda DuCharme is a seasoned engineering and business leader with nearly four decades of experience driving innovation and organizational excellence across global energy and technology operations. Over her 37-year career at ExxonMobil, she held a series of increasing leadership roles including President of ExxonMobil Global Services Company, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions, and President of ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Company where she focused teams on developing and deploying transformative technological and digital solutions to address complex challenges.
A graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Linda’s career spans engineering, project management, business development, and international leadership in the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific. Recognized for her impact on the profession, she was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2020 and has been a steadfast advocate for supporting engineering talent and diversity.
Narayan Nallicheri, PhD is an experienced strategy and leadership consultant whose career spans senior roles advising global organizations on complex business challenges and organizational performance. He has served as Managing Partner of the San Francisco office and Global Head of the Service Operations Consulting Practice at Booz & Company (now part of PWC) and Oliver Wyman, where he worked closely with executives across industries including financial services, technology and healthcare.
Narayan’s work blends deep analytical rigor with practical insight into how leaders can clarify purpose, communicate effectively, and guide teams through change. In this workshop, he brings that perspective to the art of storytelling for technical leaders showing how narrative can connect ideas to audiences, create shared understanding, and elevate the influence of technical work.

Wednesday, April 1, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
Register for This Workshop
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)

AI and Your Leadership Toolkit: How to Maximize Impact With This New and Rapidly Evolving Technology
2026-04-06 17:00 - 19:00
Monday, April 6, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
Register for This Workshop
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.

Description
Hear from Kate, an industry leader, on how AI is changing the way teams work and how you can develop the habits, skills, and behaviors that will help you thrive in your future career.

Leaders
Kate Bergeron is a Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple, where she leads teams responsible for the hardware design and delivery of many of the company’s most iconic products, including Airpods, Mac systems, iPad, and Apple Watch. With more than two decades at Apple, Kate’s work spans from early contributions to Mac notebooks to leading large, cross-functional engineering organizations that bring innovative hardware to market.
An MIT alumna with both a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate also co-developed and co-taught Design for Scale through MIT’s D-Lab, helping students connect engineering creativity with real-world impact. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2022, one of the highest professional honors in the field.
Kate brings a unique blend of technical depth, strategic leadership, and commitment to mentoring future engineers making her a powerful voice on how technical leaders can influence through clarity, vision, and effective communication.

Monday, April 6, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)

Developing Charisma: A Science Based Workshop
2026-04-08 17:00 - 19:00
Wednesday, April 8, 5pm – 7pm

Part 1: 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Part 2: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Attend one or both parts. If you attended the previous Developing Charisma workshop, then you can attend this workshop but can’t count it toward GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.

Description
Charisma: it’s not innate, it can be learned, and this workshop will show you how. Join us on April 8 for a two-part workshop that turns rigorous behavioral science into practical tools you can use immediately: on campus, in interviews, and online.
Part 1: The Science of First Impressions
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
This practical session gives you concrete, research-backed tools to make strong first impressions both in person and online. Drawing on social psychology and neuroscience, we break down:

How first impressions are really formed and why they’re so hard to undo
What people notice most in the first moments of an interaction
Which signals matter far more than most people realize

You’ll learn what works and why. You’ll get a chance to try out the tools in the workshop, and learn how to adapt them to your own specific needs and objectives.
Part 2: The Science of Charisma
Long believed to be an innate trait, charisma has now been broken down by research into specific, observable behaviors. In controlled laboratory experiments, researchers were able to raise or lower a person’s level of charisma almost as if turning a dial.
In this session, you’ll learn:

The core components of charismatic presence
How to be charismatic (even as an introvert)
How to remain charismatic under pressure

Becoming more charismatic doesn’t mean changing your personality. It means adopting specific practices that work with the personality you already have, whether you’re speaking in a meeting, leading a group, or participating on Zoom.
What you’ll find here is practical magic: insight drawn from multiple sciences, combined with techniques you can use immediately.
This two-part workshop is designed for technical minds who want to maximize their impact. All MIT undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to take part in the whole workshop or to choose the part that best meets your needs.

Leader
Olivia Fox Cabane is a leading authority on the science of charisma and the bestselling author of The Charisma Myth and The Net And The Butterfly, translated into 36 languages.
Formerly Director of Innovative Leadership for Stanford StartX, she has lectured on charisma, leadership, and innovation at Harvard, Yale, MIT, the Marine War College, and the United Nations.
Her clients include founders of Airbnb, Brex, Paradigm, and Presight, as well as the leadership of Google, TikTok, Deloitte, UBS, and JP Morgan. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal.
As cofounder of the KindEarth.Tech Foundation, she supports foodtech companies advancing environmental sustainability.
Olivia is fluent in four languages and was the youngest person ever appointed Foreign Trade Advisor to the French Government.

Wednesday, April 8, 5pm – 7pm

Part 1: 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Part 2: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Attend one or both parts. If you attended the previous Developing Charisma workshop, then you can attend this workshop but can’t count it toward GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)

Fireside Chat with Astronaut Chris Birch
2026-04-30 17:00 - 18:00
Fireside Chat with Astronaut Chris Birch MIT PhD ’15
Thursday, April 30, 5-6 pm, 34-101
Escape Velocity – How Technical Leadership Skills Launched Chris Birch to New Heights
Astronaut. Professor. Champion Cyclist. Engineering Leader. Achieving lofty goals is in Chris Birch’s DNA. She conducted original research in synthetic biology, microfluidics, and infectious disease while earning a PhD in biological engineering at MIT. She then taught at the University of California and Caltech before joining the U.S. Cycling National Team, where she won 11 National Championships and three World Cup medals. Now she is a NASA astronaut working to reach her highest goal – flying to the International Space Station and beyond.
Join us for a Fireside Chat with NASA Astronaut Chris Birch. Hear about her remarkable achievements and the leadership principles that have guided her journey.
Register here
Chris Birch bio
Open to all in the MIT community. Hosted by Technical Leadership and Communication Programs – Distinguished Speaker Series.

Leadership Skills for Success
2026-05-04 14:00 - 15:30
Pathways Beyond the Lab – Leadership Skills for Success
Monday, May 4, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Location: E19-202
Register for This Workshop
Lunch will be provided (with gluten free and vegetarian options).

Attending any or all of the three Pathways Beyond the Lab* workshops counts as a maximum of one workshop credit toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
* Leadership Skills for Success (May 4), Communication Skills for Success (May 12), Women in Pathways Outside of the Lab: A Panel (May 15)

Description
The first of a 3-workshop series designed to explore skills and career pathways outside of the lab. This workshop focuses on leading effective teams, understanding your transferable skills and public speaking skills.

Leader
Anna Frebel is an astrophysicist, professor of physics and head of astrophysics at MIT, known for her work in observational stellar astrophysics with discoveries and spectroscopic analyses of the oldest, more metal-poor stars in the Milky Way and small dwarf galaxies. Alongside her scientific achievements, she is committed to expanding professional career development opportunities through MIT’s LEAP program where students learn to navigate both academic and career goals with more confidence, gain leadership competency, and strengthen skills needed to successfully navigate a career path.

Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
