Women at Work: An Interview with Allison Grealis, President, Women in Manufacturing

Allison Grealis is the founder and president of Women in Manufacturing (WiM), a national trade association focused on supporting, promoting and inspiring women in the manufacturing sector. She is also the vice president of membership and association services of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), a full-service trade association representing the memetal formingndustry.

Since joining PMA in 2001, Grealis has held a variety of positions that included district, committee and division management; affinity partner relations; sponsorship sales; new product and service development; and member services. Grealis earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Ohio University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Akron. Presently, Grealis serves as the president of the Greater Cleveland Society of Association Executives and as a board member of Our Lady of the Elms High School.

We are thrilled to have Allison join us at the American Manufacturing Summit. She will be Chair of our People & Workforce Management Stream, as well as hosting a Lunch and Learn on “Succession Planning: Support, Promote, and Inspire Women in Manufacturing”, and participating in a panel on avoiding the skills shortage in the next 10 years.

We sat down with Allison in advance of the event to ask her some questions about where manufacturing is going and how to support women in the industry.

Questions Answered:

• What is the overall mission of Women in Manufacturing?
• What is the importance of mentorship, and how has that been a factor in your success story?
• How does WiM plan to empower the next generation of skilled manufacturers?
• How would you summarize the current state of manufacturing?
• Does manufacturing need to be re-branded?
• What is the importance of expanding collaboration in manufacturing and attending networking events like the 2018 American Manufacturing Summit?

Click through to read the interview with Allison Grealis.