Empowering Future Visionaries
Gala 2024
For the over 250 optimists who attended the ASME Foundation’s Optimism Engineered Gala on April 11, the future is looking brighter than ever—thanks to the ingenuity of diverse next generation engineers.
The assembled guests—from industry, government, academia, and the philanthropic sector—heard Next Gen Award winner Sylvia Acevedo exhort young innovators to
“navigate around the no’s,”
while Excellence in Industry honoree Andrew Anagnost, president and CEO of Autodesk, predicted a future where technology empowers engineers to solve humanity’s greatest sustainability challenges.
Our EVENING:
An inspiring evening celebrating leadership, innovation, and philanthropy to empower the next generation of engineers.
More than a fundraiser to propel ASME’s philanthropic programs, Optimism Engineered celebrates the ASME Foundation’s progress toward equity in engineering and sustainability for the world.
Highlights
Meet Our 2024 Award Recipients
Excellence in Industry Award
Andrew Anagnost
Autodesk
President and CEO / Board Director
Andrew Anagnost’s career spans more than 25 years of product, business, and marketing experience focused on driving strategy, transformation, and product development.
Next Gen Award
Sylvia Acevedo
Former CEO, Girl Scouts of America, Former NASA Engineer, Trailblazer
Sylvia Acevedo is a devout believer in the power of transformation and disruption to change and improve lives, communities, organizations—and the world.
Our Evening’s Host
Michelle Miller
Michelle Miller is the award-winning co-host of CBS Saturday Morning. Her work regularly appears on CBS Mornings, CBS Sunday Morning, the CBS Evening News, and 48 Hours. From presidential elections to the climate crisis, her area of coverage is wide-ranging, but her reporting on social justice has been particularly groundbreaking.
changemaker sponsors
Innovator & Accelerator Sponsors
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Gala Co-Chairs
Janelle Bradshaw
CEO, Public Prep
Sean Bradshaw
Senior Fellow, Pratt & Whitney
Tom Costabile
Executive Director / CEO ASME
Nicole Kaufman Dyess
SVP, Student & Early Career Development, ASME
Andrew Friendly
VP, Govt. Affairs & Public Policy, Autodesk
Ryan Macpherson
Climate Innovation & Investment Lead, Autodesk Foundation
Keith Roe
Chair, Philanthropy Committee, Past President, ASME
Sonya T. Smith
Chair, ASME Foundation Board of Directors
Professor, Howard University
Dara Treseder
Chief Marketing Officer, Autodesk
What is Optimism Engineered?
Engineering changes everything. It can solve our global challenges and create a healthy, sustainable place for people and planet. Tomorrow’s engineers must lead the way. Optimism Engineered 2024 celebrates leaders who care deeply about this work and support the ASME Foundation’s groundbreaking programs to empower diverse next generation engineers. The evening will honor two amazing individuals who embody the spirit of our mission—Autodesk’s visionary CEO, Andrew Anagnost, with the Excellence in Industry Award and Sylvia Acevedo, extraordinary rocket scientist and STEM advocate with the Next Gen Award. Optimism is only the catalyst. Together, we will harness optimism to engineer a better world for everyone.