The official biography below was current at the time of the award. See the organization's website for its latest information.

The Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN) has had a significant impact on the development of mentoring programs and activities for female and underrepresented minority students in engineering. Its strengths center on the established and sustained partnerships and collaborations that are designed to ensure that all WEPAN activities and initiatives have a broad and enduring impact at the individual and institutional level. The project advances knowledge of effective mentoring strategies, training, and programs that change the engineering infrastructure to enhance the academic experiences, professional development, and career success of underrepresented minorities in engineering. Further, WEPAN has fostered the integration of research and education activities to enhance mentoring in engineering program administration, undergraduate and graduate education, preparing future faculty, and K-12 education. The project has taken a significant leadership role in the development, training, and widespread dissemination of a mentoring curriculum.

WEPAN has had an amplifying effect through activities that train individuals and institutions that mentor large numbers of underrepresented minority students in engineering and has been instrumental in contributing to and documenting the increase of Women in Engineering Programs from 18 formal programs in 1990 to 85 in 2002.