EOY Celebration: Beyond the Keyboard - Unseen Opportunities in Business & Tech (WIA Australia & IT Girls Rock)

Year End Celebration of Women in Architecture, Business & Technology! 

Join us for our year-end celebration that brings together Women in Architecture Australia (WIA) and IT Girls Rock’s Women Rocking Tech initiative. This event celebrates the roles in tech and business where women shine but aren’t always seen.

Hosted by Darryl Carr and Gry Stene, we’ll dive into a world of diverse careers in the cross-section between business and tech, showcasing career pathways that have the potential to shape our organisations. You’ll hear from accomplished women who drive innovation – from business architecture to tech strategy and beyond.

Enjoy a warm welcome, an engaging speaker and panel discussion, door prizes, giveaways, and a great networking session with food and drinks to connect with like-minded professionals, foster new relationships, and open doors to new possibilities.

Let’s celebrate the expertise, diversity, and achievements of women and allies creating change across business, architecture and tech!

This is an inclusive event, for ALL of us who would like to see greater inclusion and equality in these business and technology roles, from VISION to IMPACT.

We look forward to seeing you there, as we farewell 2024, and look forward to a more inclusive and supportive 2025.


Agenda:
5:15pm - Doors open
5:35pm - Welcome by Gry and Darryl
5:40pm - Guest speaker - Gillian Babe
5:55pm - Door prize draw
6:00pm - Panel discussion - Christine Morara, Janaki Gunawardhana, Tania Miller-Jones, Pascilia Rukunga (Moderated by Gry Stene)
6:40pm - Networking, food and drinks
7:30pm - Evening close

Guest Speaker

Gillian Babe: Manager ICT Strategy and Planning / Principal Enterprise Architect - Health Support Services (WA Health)

Gillian spent 21 years in a Tertiary Hospital Pharmacy Department (SCGOPHCG) including 6 years as Pharmacy Head of Department. Her current role is Principal Enterprise Architect and Manager of Strategy and Planning at Health Support Services. Much of her last decade has been spent advocating for safer systems, equity of access, and better value care. Many of these objectives must be enabled by technology, and through the pursuit of continuous systems improvement, she was increasingly pulled into the area of strategic digital investment planning until it became her formal remit. 

Gillian now oversees the Enterprise Architecture Office which is responsible for delivering Digital Investment Strategies, supporting the Architecture Governance Structure, and maintaining the WA Health Architectural Reference Framework. As an experienced translator between the realms of clinical and technology, Gillian strives to maintain a patient and a user focus in digital system planning.

Panellists

Christine Morara: Stakeholder Engagement | Application and Integration Management

Christine is a seasoned technology consultant with over a decade of experience enhancing business processes through data governance, engineering, integration, and stakeholder engagement. Her diverse career spans sectors such as healthcare, construction, mining, oil and gas, UN agencies, non-profits, and technology firms across three continents, giving her unique insights into building culturally inclusive workplaces. 

Beyond her professional roles, Christine has shown deep commitment to volunteerism, serving on the 100 Women grants committee and championing initiatives to empower women. She remains passionate about fostering equitable career pathways within Australia's multicultural business and technology sectors.

Janaki Gunawardhana: Global Executive Leader Driving Digital Transformation, Value Creation & Inclusion in Mining | WiTWA Tech [+] 20 Award Winner | Passionate About Diversity & Productivity

Janaki is an accomplished IT leader at Rio Tinto, where she drives automation initiatives that transform operations and enhance efficiency. Known for her expertise in technology and passion for innovation, Janaki has a proven track record of delivering impactful digital solutions that align with business goals in the mining industry.

In 2020, Janaki was a WiTWA Tech[+] Award winner, recognizing her as an inspirational leader in the tech space. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, she champions initiatives that create equitable opportunities for all, inspiring the next generation of technology leaders.

Janaki brings valuable insights into her career  and breaking barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields. Her story continues to inspire others to pursue careers in STEM and make a meaningful impact.

Tania Miller-Jones: Consulting Practice Lead at Mechanical Rock

Tania has spent her career enabling software delivery teams to build amazing things, and helping organisations, regardless of their sector, to think and act like high-tech companies. Tania is an Agile, DevOps and culture transformation specialist with over 20 years of experience leading people and technology-enabled change.  She leads the talented consulting team at Mechanical Rock, West Australia's leading technology product and data platform development specialists.
The principles of early and continuous delivery of value, fearless collaboration, transparency and retrospection are core to her professional and personal philosophy and she is driven by the strong desire to help teams deliver at their best for their customers, stakeholders, and each other.

Pascilia Rukunga: Manager, Architecture Delivery at Water Corporation WA

Pascilia has extensive experience in the IT industry, specifically in Data, Information and Solution Architecture and currently is the Manager – Architecture Delivery at the Water Corporation. In her current role, Pascilia leads with a strong focus on creating architecture solutions that are not only fit for purpose but also empower and drive business success. A visionary and pragmatic leader, She fosters environments where innovation thrives, and technology solutions are designed to be scalable, sustainable, and future-proof.

An advocate for a people-centric approach, Pascilia is passionate about creating workplaces where diversity is celebrated, and individuals can thrive in their unique strengths. Recognizing the critical role mental health plays in professional well-being, she is committed to promoting mental health awareness and fostering supportive, inclusive environments that prioritize employee well-being.

Pascilia is happy to bring insights into building strong architecture teams, developing talent, and championing the right balance of technical excellence and human-centered leadership.

Panel Host

Gry Stene: International Speaker | Award Winning Entrepreneur | Neurospicy Advocate for Inclusivity & Belonging

Gry is the Founder & Head Coach of IT Girls Rock, Neurospicy Advocate for Inclusivity & Belonging, and known by many as "The Tech Whisperer". With over 25 years experience leading tech teams globally, Gry is adamant that we need to "shake IT up for good". 

Her approach is multi-pronged:

• Foster inclusive cultures that are welcoming and supportive and welcoming of diversity of thought and perspectives to drive innovation and impact
• Empower women and other underrepresented people to show up, step up and shine in tech

Gry is on a mission to inspire 100,000 women to step into tech with confidence and thrive in their personal and professional lives. So where better to start with women entrepreneurs?

About Women in Architecture (WIA) Australia

We support architecting impactful outcomes through diversity of thought and representation. Well-architected organisations to support resilience and success require more architects. We are cultivating a supportive and inclusive community to grow the architecture community and outcomes the discipline can yield.

For more information about WIA Australia, visit our LinkedIn Group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14341362/.

About IT Girls Rock

We bring together a safe and inclusive, global community with courageous professional women from all walks of life who are IT-curious or IT-savvy, to connect, collaborate and support each other to live our best lives underpinned by technology.

We hold the shared belief that we need more girls and women involved in technology and business so that tech creators are representative of the communities we serve, to inspire innovation for impact and enable the ethical application of technology.

We provide meaningful connections and support for you whatever stage in your career and life you are, and we love the diversity of our members and supporters.

 For more information about IT Girls Rock, visit our website at https://itgirlsrock.global.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Venue:

About Digital Transformation Perth

Food:

About Journeyone

Drinks:

About Interfuze

Door Prizes:

About Diversus

About EAPJ

Our Charity Partners

To provide support for the supporters of those fighting breast cancer through the use of social networking, knowledge sharing, counseling and in-person events. We are stronger together.

For more information on Breast Cancer Partners view our website here.

100 Women is a dynamic giving circle and independent charity that is changing the face of philanthropy in Australia. We make it possible for everyday people to join our community and make a positive difference in the lives of women and girls facing disadvantage through our annual grants program.  Our giving circle is unique in supporting grassroots programs that are local, national and global. 100% of our membership donations go towards our grants - and members ultimately choose where the funding goes. For more information on 100 Women view our website here.