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Panel of ACE Graduates & Leadership - Local High School STEM Mentor Program
Saturday, January 17, 2026
10:00AM - 12:00PM
Location: Zoom meeting, no charge, registration required
Join AAUW-Seattle as we highlight the work of the ACE Mentor Program of Washington, an educational non-profit that introduces high school students to careers in architecture, engineering, and construction. A local affiliate of a nationwide organization, ACE in Puget Sound has provided more than 5,000 students with career exploration, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities since its inception almost 25 years.
The program has hubs in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma, plus a virtual program that engages students from areas like the Olympic Peninsula, Spokane, and Bellingham. Countless students have completed ACE, graduated from four-year university programs, and now work in professional construction-industry related careers – some even coming full circle to mentor the next generation with ACE.
Our presentation will feature Angela Gottula, the Executive Director of the ACE program, as well as Aimee Phung, an electrical engineer, ACE alumna, and current ACE mentor, and Selome Muruts, a current university student and ACE alumna.
Angela Gottula is the Executive Director of the ACE Mentor Program of Washington, having been involved with ACE for more than 20 years. She acts as the “air traffic controller” for ACE, coordinating with students, parents, mentors, teachers, donors, community partners, and more. In her career, she has worked in the marketing department for a civil/structural engineering firm and a multi-disciplinary engineering firm, and led a structural engineering educational foundation for 12 years. Originally from Maryland, Angela earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Brigham Young University and has lived in Washington state since 2004.
Aimee Phung participated for two years in the ACE Mentor Program when she was a student at Kent-Meridian High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and passed her Fundamentals of Engineering exam. During college, she had an internship at Hargis, a Seattle-based consulting engineering firm which was also one of her mentor firms when she was an ACE student. She credits one of her Hargis mentors with inspiring her to pursue electrical engineering, and now they are colleagues mentoring the next generation of ACE students together.
Selome Muruts is a current sophomore at the University of Washington, majoring in civil engineering. She participated in the ACE Mentor Program for two years in high school, where she received one of the top scholarships her senior year. Professionally, she hopes to one day utilize civil engineering and construction to benefit communities and livelihoods. She is a graduate of Seattle Prep in Seattle and still lives in the greater Seattle area.