Celebrating WiM's 15th Anniversary - Laura Wilde Shares Her WiM Story

As WiM celebrates its 15th anniversary, we sat down with long-time member and 2025 WiM Education Foundation Board Chair, Laura Wilde, to reflect on her journey with the association. Over her seven years of involvement, Laura has witnessed WiM evolve from a tight-knit circle into a powerful nationwide community—one that has shaped her personally and professionally. In this conversation, she shares what makes WiM so meaningful, the moments that stand out most, and how the organization continues to influence her leadership and passion for manufacturing.

Laura Wilde Vice President of Quality Ultra Maritime WiM Education Foundation Board of Directors Chair, 2025

Why is WiM important to you?

WiM is important to me because it is a community of like-minded women who are in a similar industry. This community is really important because it gives opportunities for mentors and mentees to share our stories, to build on our strengths, to understand opportunities that we can explore. It really comes back to the community that it has been from the beginning to this massively larger community that it is today. And for me, I was always the only woman in the room, in an environment in manufacturing where there just wasn't a lot of women and I sought out this opportunity seven years ago because I knew that I would find other people like me. And I certainly have.

What is a highlight moment or a favorite memory from your time with WiM?

I had the opportunity to be part of the executive networking group for a while. This was right before COVID. It was literally four weeks before everything got shut down. And we were all out in Arizona and it was a dinner and it was an opportunity to be at a table. And we were all just talking about our experiences, talking about some of the challenges that we were facing and at that particular event, we were all in similar career stages and positions, and it was just so refreshing to be able to talk freely about what some of those struggles were, while knowing that you are in a safe space to talk about those things – to really feel heard versus just trying to get past the issue.

How would you describe WiM in one word?

Community.

How has WiM affected you personally and professionally?

Personally, it has given me a voice in an organization. I'm very passionate about manufacturing and I'm very passionate about exposing more and more women to how awesome manufacturing is. So, from a personal perspective, WiM has given me that outlet to be able to do that. I've met hundreds of amazing women who are on that same path and it's enabled me to pay it back. It’s full circle now. I've been able to be a mentor to young ladies coming up through the organization and the programs that we offer and see them grow. For me personally, that's been extremely rewarding.

Professionally, I would say that WiM has really enabled me to build a strong network that I can rely on for needs and wants but also it's helped me within my own organization employ the value of educating women in the manufacturing workforce and helping them grow as well.