FY 26 Leadership Team
Gaby
President
Gaby is a Geotechnical Engineer that supports the power industry.
Gaby is currently serving her second term as president and is a second year senator on the SWE board of directors. Gaby has been involved with SWE since her collegiate days, serving various leadership positions and leading two outreach events Mother Daughter Event and Catch the Engineering Bug.
Gaby is also involved in other organizations, she is serving as secretary for the Women in Deep foundation Foundation committee for DFI (Deep Foundation Institute) and the president and founder of G-I Austin (Geo-Institute) of ASCE.
During her free time, Gaby likes to travel and explore new places and of course hang out with her dog (the unofficial SWE Austin section mascot).
Kokil Bansal
Vice-President
Kokil is an Professional Engineer (Environmental) registered in the State of Florida and Texas who moved to Austin in 2022.
She is currently serving her first term as vice-president and previously served as a secretary for SWE Austin for FY2024- 2025. She is passionate about helping women find confidence in their skills and passion through coaching and mentoring.
She is also involved in other organizations, and has served as co-President of Engineers Without Borders (Greater Austin Chapter), as well as a leader for the South-Central region for EWB. She is working on projects in Puerto Rico with EWB and is passionate about giving back to the community.
For pleasure, she likes to travel, try different cuisines, and reading manga and webtoon!
Shalini Haldar
Treasurer
I am a System On Chip Design Engineer and what drives me on a day-to-day basis is collaborating and brainstorming. I am enthusiastic about women in STEM and the issues revolving around that. I try to do my bit here and there and it’s been a great journey. One of the events that I really look forward to every year is STEM Girl Day at UT Austin. Introducing the concepts of STEM through fun activities to young girls which might later inspire them to take it up as a career option is something that gives me great pleasure. In 2024 we have enough exposure, but getting exposed to the right thing at the right time is what I feel will attract more women to choose STEM. I was a part of SWE during my masters in University of Southern California which helped me in my engineering career as I always had role models to look up to. I hope to continue doing that and help create a platform for women engineers to navigate. Besides this, I also enjoy hiking, traveling, discovering new food, and the occasional doodling.
Mara Herdic
Secretary
Mara is a Mechanical Engineer originally from Washington, D.C., who moved to Austin in May 2024. She enjoys building connections with other women in STEM, and her favorite SWE Austin event is the monthly coffee meet-up. Mara’s SWE journey began in college as a member of the Catholic University section, and she was excited to reconnect with the organization by joining SWE Austin after her move. For her, SWE has been a great source of community and an opportunity to meet and support fellow women engineers. As Secretary, Mara supports the section by managing communications, including writing monthly emails and quarterly newsletters, helping keep members informed and engaged, and ensuring meetings and events run smoothly. Outside of SWE, Mara loves exploring Austin by trying new coffee shops and staying active through indoor bouldering and playing soccer.