Date: Thursday, 9 November 2023
Time: 8:30am – 6:30pm
Venue: Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre (PCEC)
The much-awaited WiTWA Tech [+] Conference is coming this November, But that’s not all! This year’s event is extra special as WiTWA is turning 25! So we’re celebrating a quarter-century of tech innovation, inspiration, and empowerment.
Get ready to be inspired by top-notch speakers, explore the power of diverse innovation, and engaging discussions at the WiTWA Tech [+] Conference.
Get out those bold coloured power suits and statement piece outfits that make you feel confident, spread the word, and join us in making this milestone event a memorable one. Stay tuned for more updates, surprises, and announcements coming your way.
Ticket enquiries: Are you having issues purchasing your tickets, reach out to our friendly team who are more than happy to help via [email protected]
The Power of Diverse Innovation
Join us on a journey of discovering the profound benefits that come from embracing gender diversity, along with diversity in ethnicity, age, and backgrounds. Together, we’ll explore how this inclusive approach enhances our ability to solve problems, fuels creativity, and ultimately yields better results and healthier workplaces.
Topic #1: Celebrating WiTWA’s 25th birthday! Let’s looking back on how far we’ve come.
We will explore how women can boost their own power and step up as leaders. Join us as we sit down for a conversation with some incredible women who’ve used their influence to drive change and keep advocating for equality, especially in the tech world in WA. A celebration of the progress we’ve made!
Topic #2: The power of storytelling.
Storytelling has always been an integral part of humanity and communities, serving as a powerful tool for communication and knowledge sharing. By integrating storytelling principles into a tech diverse world, innovators and creators can bridge the gap between complex concepts and user understanding, making technology more accessible and engaging for all audiences.
Topic #3: What do the next 25 years of innovative, diverse technology look like?
Let’s delve into how historical biases are shaping our future, the current landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tech field, and how we can individually contribute to reshaping the path ahead. Join us to uncover how the past influences the present and what actions we can take to steer the future in a more positive direction.
WiTWA Tech [+] Conference Speakers Announced:
Kemi Nekvapil is one of Australia’s leading coaches for female executives and entrepreneurs and a sought-after professional speaker and facilitator! With over 25 years of experience in the wellness industry and 10+ years in holistic leadership, Kemi brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her work.
Kemi’s passion for leadership and purpose has taken her around the world, where she helps leaders unlock obstacles to value-based leadership.
As a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator trained by Dr. Brenè Brown, Kemi also works with teams and organisations to create daring leaders and courageous cultures. She has been recognised for her contributions to the field of leadership, including being invited to Richard Branson’s Necker Island to discuss “humanity at work” and being a Virgin Unite alumni of 100% Human At Work.
Kemi also sits on the Australian Human Resources Institute advisory panel, and serves as a lead facilitator for The Hunger Project Australia, leading immersive leadership programs to Africa and mentoring for AIME.
Clara is an accomplished engineer at the forefront of innovative solutions for carbon reduction, leveraging her extensive background in Physics, Math, and Electrical Engineering.
With a dynamic career spanning a decade, Clara has emerged as an expert in the modeling and simulation of complex systems from asteroid mining space exploration to emissions-reduction technology for mobile applications in heavy industry.
As the current Director of Strategic R&D at First Mode, Clara focuses on finding right-sized, system-integrated solutions that move the needle on creating a more sustainable future.
Sandra Tuohy is the Services Director, Western Region for Insight and has been in the role since January 2023.
Running a business of circa 170 people – leading Sales, Practices & Delivery for Western Australia & South Australia.
Starting her career in Ireland, Sandra has over 23 years of experience in the Technology Industry more recently in Australia. Collaborative, results-focused, and motivated by her core values of accountability, integrity, and family.
Sandra is highly regarded for her ability to mentor and inspire large teams by leading from the front and prides herself on her ability to establish and maintain genuine customer relationships. Sandra has a consistent history of building and developing high performance teams.
Stephen was born in Dublin and migrated to Australia in 1989 with his family. He has been a Chief of Staff to a number of Government Ministers in WA and Victoria and worked with the Trade Union movement.
In 2017, Stephen was elected as the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council – a role he continues to hold – and was appointed as the Minister for Environment and Disability Services.
Stephen is passionate about the enormous opportunities that Science, Medical Research and Innovation can offer to help improve the lives of Western Australians. Advances in medical research are stamping WA as an internationally recognised hub with the results and knowledge set to enhance the health and wellbeing of more Western Australians.
Jaccy, upon discovering yoga and meditation over 20 years ago, developed a life-long commitment to practice. Following a corporate career spanning high-level support roles in legal, property development and mining, Jaccy and her husband Nick pivoted their focus to supporting their community through their yoga studio Mala Yoga in the Fremantle area.
Focusing on so much more than the many physical benefits of practice, Jaccy embraces a holistic and inclusive approach to yoga.
Blending asana, pranayama, meditation and breath awareness, Jaccy is passionate about making yoga available to everyone. With an emphasis on supporting the nervous system, mental well-being and offering a safe space for all. Jaccy inspires students to adapt the universal yogic principles into their life.
Dr Parwinder Kaur has won numerous awards for her sustained contributions to science. She uses her expertise in biotechnology to reach people in new ways, connecting them with their surroundings.
Through her diverse research teams, such as those at DNA Zoo Australia, she harnesses WA STEM to achieve maximised impact. In doing so, she believes this will help us tackle the bigger issues we as society are facing, bringing about solutions through fresh thinking rather than following usual norms.
She believes in connecting different disciplines to convey ideas in new ways, and impacting communities in ways they have not experienced before. She empowers people from all walks of life and age groups by showing that individuals can make a difference.
Pia manages a portfolio of interests, including as a general partner of Fund WA, a Perth-based VC fund focused on WA technology and innovation, and as Chair and member of a number of boards across the technology, health, education and energy sectors.
With 30+ years’ of legal, commercial, and corporate experience, across multiple industries, Pia has worked with 100’s of founders, start-ups and high-growth ventures and is passionate about building diverse ecosystems to effect positive change with impact.
As the immediate past Chair and a current Ambassador of WiTWA, Pia is a vocal DEI advocate. In recognition of her work over the years, Pia was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the King’s Birthday 2023 Honours List for her significant service to technology and innovation, and to women in STEM, and recently received the WAITTA INCITE 2023 Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Tina Ambrose is the visionary CEO and Founder of Valrose, a pioneering Technology Recruitment company she established in 2018. Her leadership has propelled Valrose to the forefront of the WA market, where it is celebrated by industry peers, clients, and candidates alike. With a string of prestigious industry awards under its belt, Valrose’s impact is a testament to the collective effort of a high-performing team.
Beyond her role at Valrose, Tina is a driving force in promoting gender equality in the tech industry. As the esteemed Co-Chair of Women in Technology WA (WiTWA), she leads initiatives that make a tangible difference. WiTWA’s annual Conference and Tech [+] Awards, Community Events, DEI Corporate Member program, and Techtrails initiative, funded by the federal government, are all dedicated to fostering inclusivity and inspiring the next generation of STEM enthusiasts.
Tina’s remarkable journey has not gone unnoticed. Her achievements earned her a coveted spot as a 2022 Business News 40under40 Award Winner, solidifying her status as a trailblazer and influencer in the business community.
Kay was introduced to technology at the age of twelve by a very forward thinking Head Teacher who insisted that all her students were introduced to computer programming. Since then, technology has always been a part of her working life. Starting as a Marketing Executive for a travel company, she discovered that her passion lay in harnessing the benefits of new technologies and became an evangelist for its use in the publishing sector. As Head of Publishing for the largest holiday company in the world,
Kay was responsible for changing the way holiday brochures were produced by using software and Apple computers.
In 2003, Kay moved to Perth where she changed career direction and became an owner of a printing company. It didn’t take long before she was introducing technology to the company and an IT division was created.
Today, she is the owner and Managing Director of Colleagues Matrixx: an IT company specialising in writing software that transforms the way businesses collect and manage data to improve their business processes.
Amanda Toogood is technical enough to be dangerous, passionate about customer success and obsessed with innovation, Amanda prides herself on pushing the boundaries to ensure the best possible outcomes for her customers and her teams.
With almost 20 years in the IT industry spanning Pre-sales, Sales, Service Delivery & Customer Success, Amanda’s experience offers her a unique insight into the customer journey and aligns brilliantly to her role as Data#3’s National Manager for Annuity & Customer Success.
Amanda is a DEI advocate and has created a high performing team consisting of people from all walks of life to foster a culture of innovation. She challenges her team to always consider the bigger picture and encourages active identification and pursuit of opportunities for improvement.
Sharon is a proud Noongar Yamatji woman who has been, and continues to be, a pioneer and inspirational leader around Western Australia.
She is a strong advocate for the tough conversations on disruption thinking, challenging non-functioning systems and cross-cultural awareness. Sharon brings people together and with a strong leadership style, working through complex cultural lens with a scope beyond many.
Sharon is a Western Australian Aboriginal Leadership Institute (WAALI) graduate, and sort after Community Engagement Co-Design Consultant.
With strong ties in both the Indigenous and other communities, Sharon is intent on creating opportunities for all disadvantaged children, families, and individuals.
She is the Lead Researcher for the Noongar Water Knowledge Project at the UWA School of Biological Sciences, and has been working on several co-design projects with the Centre for Social Impact UWA and other departments at UWA on many themes including homelessness, family and domestic violence, and child protection.
In her role as manager of Djinda Bridiya, Sharon works alongside WA Police towards family domestic violence prevention strategies.
Sharon Wood-Kenney was inducted to the WA Women’s Hall of Fame in 2020.
More speakers announced soon….
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