Board of Directors

Andrew Meier

Vice President | Senior Electrical Engineer, Air-Weigh

B.S., Electrical & Electronics Engineering and B.S., Business Administration Oregon State University

12 years of service | Program Graduate

Andrew is a Senior Electrical Engineer for Air-Weigh On-Board Scales with 25 years of experience in product design and project leadership. Andrew is passionate about teaching and encouraging the next generation of engineers. As a primary member representative and mentor for Air-Weigh since 2013, Andrew has served on the Student Support Committee and the MECOP Connect Task Force. Andrew began his association with MECOP as a student at Oregon State University, completing internships with Electro Scientific Industries and Sentrol. He graduated from OSU with B.S. degrees in Business Administration and Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Prior to his employment with Air-Weigh, Andrew worked for participating companies SAIF Corporation and Tektronix. Andrew and his wife Jenny have three children, who have all participated in MECOP as student interns.

Michael Chin

Treasurer | Senior Project Electrical Engineer, Oregon Steel Mills

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering – Portland State University 1991

5 years of service

Michael Chin is a seasoned professional in the steel industry with over three decades of experience, serving as a Senior Project Engineer at EVRAZ's Flat Products Group. His commitment to nurturing talent within the organization is evident through his mentorship of young engineers and active involvement in the MECOP (Multiple Engineering Co-Op Program) as a Board of Directors member. Michael's educational journey, including pursuing an Electrical Engineering degree at Portland State University while working, showcases his dedication to continuous learning. He has spearheaded numerous greenfield projects, demonstrating his leadership in areas ranging from Glassification facility to large-diameter spiral pipe mills. Michael's profound commitment to fostering the next generation of engineers makes him an asset to the MECOP Board of Directors, contributing to the future of engineering education and co-op programs. In addition to his own achievements, Michael's family excels in engineering; his son, Ryan Chin, is a graduate of Oregon State University in Mechanical Engineering, and his daughter, Rachel Chin, is pursuing a degree in Bio Engineering while gaining experience through internships at Medline Renewal and ADEC, reflecting the family's shared dedication to engineering excellence and education.

Steve Horvath

Secretary | Staff Aviation Systems Engineer, Garmin AT

B.S. Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

26 years of service

Steve is a Staff Aviation Systems Engineer at Garmin AT where he helps define and develop state-of-the-art avionics. His MECOP involvement stretches back over 20 years in roles from being a mentor to his current position as MECOP board member and its Electronics Committee chair. His background includes leadership positions at Motorola and Garmin AT, and he currently sits on the Oregon State University EECS Industry Advisory Board Executive Committee. Starting from his experience of being a Kemper Scholar intern while attending the University of Illinois working towards his B.S. in Computer Science, Steve strives to balance the needs of the interns, the goals of the MECOP organizations, and the role MECOP takes toward providing experiential learning for students at the MECOP universities.

Gary McGuire

Committee Chair - Business Disciplines | MECOP Director At Large

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University

17 years of service | Program Graduate

Gary was one of the first Mechanical Engineers to go through the MECOP program and was hired by one of the two companies that he interned with. His career has been in product design and has managed design groups through new product development cycles including sustaining the product during manufacturing. He has brought MECOP to new companies and set up the Rand Sherwood Scholarship fund with OSAC when he was the committee chair of the Student Support Committee. Later he served as MECOP's Chair, during which two committees were created; the New Member Committee and the New Company Recruiting and Retention Committee (NCRRC) of which he is currently serving as Committee Chair.

Caithlin Kapsner

Committee Chair - Diversity | Assistant Director of Technology, Cambia Health Solutions

6 years of service

Caithlin is an Assistant Director of Technology at Cambia Health Solutions. Cambia has been active within the MECOP program for the last 11 years, with Caithlin as the Cambia member representative. Her career includes nearly 30 years in the computer science and information technology fields in a variety of industries, the last 11 with Cambia. She has chaired the MECOP Diversity Committee for the last 4 years. During Cambia’s involvement in MECOP, the organization has employed nearly 100 MECOP Interns and employes a number of former MECOP Interns full-time. Caithlin is passionate about the MECOP program and looks forward to continuing to serve Interns with guidance and a great hands-on educational experience as well as serving the goals of the MECOP organization.

Emily Preston

Committee Chair - Electronics and Software | Principal Manufacturing Process Engineer, FormFactor

M.S. Materials Science, Arizona State University

9 years of service

Emily is a Principal Mfg Process Engineer at FormFactor, where she focuses on factory yield improvement and integrating new technologies from Development into Manufacturing. At ASU she studied Materials Science and Engineering, with a research focus on bio-inspired materials and carbon nanomaterials. She has been an active member of MECOP since her first time mentoring in 2016 and is honored to carry on the legacy of FormFactor’s (formerly Cascade Microtech) involvement in MECOP, which started in 1996. Witnessing the positive impact MECOP makes in a student’s career trajectory and personal growth inspires her continued dedication to the organization and its goals.

Susan Hawksworth

Committee Chair - New Members | Director Human Resources US, Oregon Tool, Inc.

BA Public Administration, San Diego State University

13 years of service

Susan has been employed with Oregon Tool for over 12 years and since 2016 has been the Human Resources Manager supporting the Administrative and Manufacturing operations in Portland, Oregon, Prescott, Arizona, and Chandler, Arizona. Throughout her career, she has primarily been involved with recruiting and human resources. Susan has her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University post-baccalaureate certificate in Human Resources from Portland State University. She has been supporting the MECOP program as a company representative for over ten years and has been on the Board of Directors since 2021. As the New Member Committee Chair, she helps new members navigate MECOP and prepares them for events throughout the year. She is proud to be with Oregon Tool who has been part of MECOP for over 40 years and employs a number of former MECOP Interns.

Jim Griffis

Board Member | MECOP Director At Large

B.S. Forest Engineering, Oregon State University

27 years of service

Jim is retired from practice, ending his career as senior vice president for a west coast based, 1000 person consulting engineering firm with offices throughout the U.S. Jim became involved with MECOP when more demand for civil engineering interns was expressed from industry (1998) and represented one of the six “founding” firms for the CECOP (Civil Engineering Cooperative Program) branch of MECOP. Jim is a past chairman of CECOP, having been involved with the program for 20 years now. Even in retirement, Jim strongly believes in the program and sees this small investment in his time as very small price to pay, working for and with those students who will take our place and become tomorrow’s leaders.