Raelene Sanders

As the first daughter of a Union Painter and stay at home mother, her parents knew that she would achieve REMARKABLE things and encouraged her to step outside the box. Her father did not have a high school diploma and had dyslexia making it harder for him to learn but worked hard to provide for his children. Her mother graduated from high school and got married at a youthful age. Struggling to ensure the family was cared for, supported getting educated. Her grandfather was the educated one and encouraged her to do BIG Things! Whatever was on her mind, she worked to achieve that (starting at an early age). She was taking apart wagons and putting them back together when he worked in his garage. Life was hard at times as she wanted to go to school, but her family could not afford it. This drive was always kept it in the back of her mind.

In high school, her mom encouraged her to take a typing class. She figured that no matter what happened, she could always earn a living as a secretary. Turns out that following her mother’s advice helped her to identify a good paying job in technology. Whoever would have known that the typewriter keyboard would be the keyboard for the new computer world.

Her career started as a secretary for the Civil Service, while attending a community college at night. The goal was to get an Associate Degree. One day a man came in to meet with her boss. This man asked her if she liked her job. And if she was going to be a secretary for the rest of her life. “No way.” She responded. He then elaborated on a class he was teaching a class that the Federal Government had developed to educate students to work in the Electronics Field. “When you complete this class, you could go into a career as a Quality Inspector or an Electronic Technician.” This was all so intriguing.

Raelene sat for the entry test for an electronics technician program. The graduates of this program could be a part of the team building the Space Shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Along with only four other women and 145 men, she sat for the test. Thirty-two scored high enough to qualify for the course. This class was a nine-month class that would provide a certificate in Electronics. The decision was made to take the class and graduated from it. NOTE: Of those thirty-two that started only thirteen graduated and she was one of them. From that point on her life and career changed. She was no longer a secretary; she was professional in the Technology field.

A short stent at Martin Marietta on a Space Shuttle Program working on accounting for the Space Shuttle Program. Finished my Electronic Certificate during that time.

Hired by Boeing to work on Minuteman Missiles as an Electronic Technician, her life was changing. She took every opportunity and tackled every challenge that came my way. It was there she found a passion for helping children within the Boeing Employees Good Neighbor Fund (BEGNF) where she sat on the board. Learning about the needs of children and education she represented Boeing and donated/volunteered to community non-profits. (The Employees Community Fund of Boeing (ECF) has funded approximately $1 billion to local communities across the United States. By giving small amounts and pooling their funds, Boeing employees and retirees have been able to maximize their impact on nonprofits.) The passion grew as she started volunteering with Junior Achievement (Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.) This was a way to give back, and as you will see throughout her career it has only blossomed. She lived by the motto of never saying “No” to anything and being open to all opportunities. This attitude led to promotions, a return to college where she graduated with a BA in Administration, and an eventual switching from Boeing to Microsoft.

While the technology career was expanding, the passion and commitment to volunteering the community and being involved in educating other was driving her. She sat on the Bethel District Advisory Board for Technology (The Bethel School District believes that technology is a basic tool in many life and career experiences. It is also a key to lifelong learning. We believe it is essential that technology be integrated as much as possible into both learning and teaching experiences.) her local school district, she wanted to ensure her school district had the best network for our children to learn on. Working with the PTA, she donated software and time to build out the local network for children to learn about the worldwide Network.

She was starting to notice, and it was very evident, that she was a woman in man’s field, Technology. Blessed by the man that had offered her the opportunity to test for his class and now finding herself in a situation that she believe she could change. There were few women in this field, and most were assisting each other as mentors. She has sat on the board of Washington State Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Board in 2013. (Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) is the largest business Career and Technical Student Organization in the world. Each year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business.) As the world is small, she was made aware of a need for books in Eritrea. She had a colleague she worked with, and he wanted to help his homeland by sending books to a new Library. Nothing is unachievable, Raelene, with her connections to the schools, lead a Book Drive. She had students bring books for the library as she spoke to them or gave them tours. This accounted to thousands of books donated to the new Library in Eritrea.

One day at the Microsoft Company Store she ran into a couple of women engineers. This is when she learned about IGNITE (Inspiring Girls Now in Technology Evolution) and what it did at Microsoft. Volunteering to help with several of their events (talking with young girls, job shadowing, campus tours, writing resumes, professional dress, worked with Lego Robotics assisting girls to understand their capabilities in programming, etc….). She planned and sponsored an IGNITE event for all school districts in the state to learn about IGNITE and how this toolkit could assist with bringing girls into the technology field. It was during these events that she learned firsthand about the power of IGNITE and how it inspires girls in the technology field. Wanting the same kind of inspiration for the girls in the local community, not only for me, but a daughter who would soon be attending high school. It was time to introduce her to the technology field. Only one slight problem – IGNITE was still only available in the Seattle area.

Asking Cathi Rodgveller, M.S. Ed-IGNITE’s founder, for her help in starting the Pierce County Chapter of IGNITE. Raelene and the team worked in the county to get all school districts involved in an intro meeting, this included elementary to universities, and they started Pierce County Chapter of IGNITE. This year we have nine events scheduled to date, which will have us reaching over three hundred girls in the next six months. This county alone is showing the biggest expansion for the Non-Profit. Raelene has sat on this board since that first meeting (two thousand) to build the non-profit, and still on it today.

IGNITEs first presentation was in 2000. (IGNITE Worldwide is the answer to achieving gender equity in STEM. We collaborate directly with teachers during the school day to provide programming that promotes STEM education and career advancement for girls and nonbinary youth from historically marginalized communities. Through hands-on events that connect students with role models who live and work in their communities, students recognize new possibilities for their futures.) IGNITE has won many awards (About | IGNITE Worldwide) including the Programs and practices that work – 2007.

After winning the Programs and practices that work – 2007 with IGNITE, Raelene was invited to apply for a position on the NAPE Executive Committee. She considered this an honor to be able to sit on this board from 2005 – 2017. She travelled with Mimi Lumkin (CFO of NAPE) to numerous conferences all over the United States telling her story about her career and how IGNITE has changed the technology world introducing young women. She gave a vision to the young, a story that you can be anything you want! She encouraged them to never turned down an opportunity, wanted to tell the world about IGNITE and how they could help young girls in the STEM Programs.

In 2016, Raelene left Microsoft has been consulting with other corporations as her passion still lives within her. As 2020 came around, she took advantage of the work from home and went back to school to obtain her MBA from Grand Canyon University. There is never a break in learned and sharing what you have learned, with an open mind!

Raelene sits on the Spanaway Lake Baseball Club Board and has assisted in addressing the needs of boys in a multicultural world, low income, and help young under privilege young boys to grow into fine young men with the game of baseball. (The Spanaway Lake Monster Baseball Club is an instructional baseball team located in Spanaway, WA. We strive to help many of our high school players to improve over the course of the summer and fall. The purpose of the club is to promote the game of baseball and a sound understanding of the fundamentals of the game while building a strong youth baseball legacy in the Spanaway area. Our program is dedicated to supporting all players currently in high school who have the desire to be successful at the game of baseball. There will be opportunities to raise funds to cover players’ fees and the Spanaway Lake Monsters Baseball Club Board of Directors is committed to supporting each player’s needs. It is our utmost priority to provide competitive Summer and Fall baseball seasons to all high school players in our community that are interested.)

Nothing appears to be impossible for Raelene. She is still taking on any task she can to have influence with her passion for Diversity and Equity.

Her Motto: When I leave an event if just one girl says “Thank-You” after an event, I am happy. To know that I am making a difference in somebody’s life is so rewarding one success at a time.