Northwest Pennsylvania Committee | Small Steps, Big Impact: Lunch and Learn with Sara Hanks

Join WiM Northwest Pennsylvania Committee for

Small Steps, Big Impact: Lunch and Learn with Sara Hanks

Date:
Thursday, August 21, 2025

Time:
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET

Location:
NWIRC
8425 Peach St 
Erie, PA 16509

Cost to Attend:
WiM Members = $15
Nonmembers = $25

Join us for an inspiring Lunch and Learn hosted by Women in Manufacturing NWPA! Enjoy lunch in the NWIRC conference space while hearing from Sara Hanks as she shares her empowering presentation, “Small Steps, Big Impact” — an inspiring session originally featured at the 2023 WiM Summit.

Whether you’re early in your career or a seasoned professional, this session offers practical takeaways to create meaningful change, one small step at a time. Come for the food, stay for the inspiration, and leave with a fresh perspective on how your everyday actions can drive lasting impact.

About Sara Hanks

Sara has over 20 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, quality systems, and digital transformation. At NWIRC, she’s responsible for executive leadership, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and advocacy, compliance oversight, and driving innovation to support manufacturers throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. Before joining NWIRC, Hanks held several senior leadership roles at GE Transportation, now a Wabtec Company, including Senior Director of Continuous Improvement and Senior Director of Data & Analytics, where she led large cross-functional teams, implemented lean transformations, and drove multimillion-dollar impact through data-driven decision-making and process optimization. Previously, she served on NWIRC’s Board of Directors and contributed to workforce development efforts through teaching, mentoring, and thought leadership.

About NWIRC

Northwest Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC) is a not-for-profit organization that serves small and mid-sized manufacturers throughout 13 counties of northwest and north central Pennsylvania. We are driven by the impact our consulting and customized training solutions have on our client’s business, the manufacturing industry as a whole, and our regional economy. We help manufacturers achieve and sustain top and bottom-line growth through the implementation of next generation manufacturing strategies, world-class improvement methodologies and best practices, advanced manufacturing technologies, and customized workforce training and skill development programs. NWIRC was created in 1988 as part of a state-wide initiative, and is one of seven centers that comprise the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership (PA MEP) and PA IRC Network.

We can't wait to see you there!