Michelle and Kathy

Michelle is passionate about encouraging women and girls to develop their skills in STEM and overcome cultural barriers to seek employment in the industry. On completion of her studies, Michelle will continue to support women and girls to use STEM as a technique to solving challenges and encouraging innovation to improve livelihoods. Through her work, she hopes to see a transformation in the involvement and contribution of girls and women in STEM in Papua New Guinea.

Michelle hopes her participation in the Women’s Leadership Initiative will give her the opportunity to develop leadership skills and build confidence, enabling her to inspire and empower women to pursue their goals.

Kathy believes there is a need to celebrate, communicate and encourage the many achievements of Australian scientists. She is passionate about providing training and opportunities for STEM educated individuals to succeed in careers outside of academia and would love to see STEM PhD qualifications embraced and valued by employers in non-traditional STEM careers.

As Chief Operating Officer of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Kathy has the privilege to support an inspiring team of researchers from across Australia. Before joining the University of Adelaide, she worked at the Royal Institution of Australia and the New York Academy of Sciences. Her other professional interests include STEM policy, gender equity and diversity initiatives and science communication.