SPEAKERS
Say Hello to our 2024 Speakers!
Catherine Dodds
Data Engineer, Analyst, KPMG
Catherine is an Analyst within the Consulting Applied Intelligence team at KPMG, with a passion for Data Engineering and Data Science, having up-skilled herself in tools such as Python, Snowflake, Azure and Thought Machine. Catherine equally enjoys the satisfaction from debugging that one wee problem that you can't seem to crack as much as the entire concept of brunch.
Chloe McAree
Senior Software Engineer at Hamilton Robson
Chloe McAree is a Senior Software Engineer at Hamilton Robson. She has experience working on small research prototypes using cutting edge technologies, right through to building large scale web applications using multiple technology stacks. Chloe is an active member of the global tech community, she has been an AWS Community Builder for the past three years and is also a former Belfast City Lead for Women Who Code. Chloe uses these outlets to share her learnings and experiences through blogs and other events.
Emily Hogarty
Technology Consultant at EY
Emily is a member of the Intelligent Automation team in EY Ireland. Since joining EY's graduate programme as a technology consultant in September 2022, she has worked as a Business Analyst and Developer in the Intelligent Automation space. Emily has worked in both the public and private sector, helping organisations unlock value by automating manual tasks, allowing employees to use their time doing more challenging, creative and rewarding work.
Flo Cochrane
UX Designer, Gearset
A unifying thread during Flo’s varied professional career has been creating simplicity out of complex environments. As a UX designer at Gearset, it is her role to do exactly that.
She draws on her past experiences in finance, research, consulting, and even tourism, as a way to deepen her understanding of people. Her user-focused approach, as well as her academic background in human behaviour and perceptual psychology, has been instrumental in helping her build delightful and intuitive experiences that resonate with users.
Jemma Simpson
Founder DiverseTalent.ai
Jemma is the founder of DiverseTalent.ai, a social impact HRTech company. A recruiter turned entrepreneur, she's on a mission to decrease workplace discrimination and increase diversity, starting with recruitment.
Katie Willoughby
Head of Data Analytics at OpenData Belfast
Head of Data Analytics at Open Data Belfast. Data Analyst with experience interpreting and analysing data to aid and influence business decision-making and development. Experienced Analytics Team Lead and line manager.
Experienced working in precision medicine helping big pharma to utilise patient data to progress their drug or companion diagnostic for the goal of better testing and better treatment in oncology and other disease indications.
Experienced working in government bodies within the public sector to support policy planning, development, evaluation and review that facilitates decision making, supports fundamental organisational change and drives performance improvement. Thorough understanding of the research funding landscape.
I have an IML Level 7 Leadership and Management, Master of Science, Cancer Sciences (with Merit) from the University of Glasgow and a Bachelor of Science Joint Degree, Biology and Mathematics (with Honours) from the University of Stirling.
Laura Kelly
Software Engineer - Rapid7
Laura has been a backend software engineer at Rapid7 for the last 3 and a half years, with a particular interest in serverless technology, NoSQL databases and operational metrics. She's a lead organiser for Rapid7's women's network & wants to help empower women and junior engineers in technical roles. Laura has been a footballer for the past 22 years, so if you can't find her at a computer she's either driving to training, in the middle of a match, or fuelling an ever-growing caffeine addiction.
Máirín Murray
Digital Innovator, TEDx speaker, Co-founder Tech for Good Dublin
Máirín Murray is a tech innovator, ‘woman tech founder’ and TEDx speaker who has led the creation of numerous award winning digital products. She is passionate about harnessing tech for positive social impact and recently launched TechFoundHer - a 500+ network which aims to unlock the potential of women founders to start and lead tech companies for the benefit of our economy, society and world.
Máirin has a MSC from Computer Science department at Trinity College Dublin which she completed in 2001 graduating when the dotcom bubble was about to crash!
She started her career working in the BBC working first in Belfast and then London as a Sen Digital Producer specialising in digital inclusion and learning platform projects.
Máirín has led the product development for a wide range of technical products from online games and platforms to apps and digital learning content - as Senior Producer at the BBC and for many high profile clients across education, health care and media sectors.
She recently completed training in data science and applies a data driven approach to the work of www.TechFoundHer.com
Maisy Sinclair
Software Engineer II, Apex Fintech Solutions
Maisy is a Software Engineer from Belfast and currently works at Apex Fintech Solutions, leveraging cutting-edge technology to remove barriers and make investing an equal opportunity for all. Before this, Maisy completed a higher-level apprenticeship with Queen’s University and a corporate firm in Belfast, kickstarting her career in tech and cementing her skills with first hand industry experience. During this time, Maisy was nominated for apprentice of the year and won highest achieving student in Northern Ireland in 2019. Additionally, Maisy participates in her company’s ‘Time to Code’ initiative, teaching programming to primary school children and encouraging young women to enter the tech industry! Maisy has always been passionate about art and design and enjoys commissioning artwork for friends, family and charity auctions in her spare time (@thelazymaisy on Instagram – shameless plug!). Whilst pursuing her career in tech, Maisy is keen to uphold her artistic flair and harness her creativity to innovate solutions and provide a new perspective to problem solving.
Mamina Shrestha
User Experience and Service Designer
Shrestha is a recent GREAT Scholar from Nepal graduating at the top of her class for Master's degree in User Experience and Service Design, Ulster University. She is currently working in Sustainability and Service Design in Manufacturing in Bangor, Co. Down. She has a professional background in brand design, instruction design and STEAM education.
Marjia Siddik
Google Scholar '23 | Undergraduate Researcher @ DCU
Second-Year Computer Science Student at Dublin City University, with a strong interest in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Human-Robot Interactions.
Meghna Singh
Senior Consultant, KPMG Ireland
Meghna is a Data Analytics enthusiast, who has been working in this domain for 5+ years now. She has an M.Sc. in Economics from University of Calcutta in India. Meghna started off her career with Nielsen. Her most recent experience before landing in Dublin in March 2023, was Accenture in Bangalore, India where she was working as a Senior Analyst.
Niamh Quigley
Consultant, Applied Intelligence at KPMG Ireland
After completing my undergrad in Biomedical Science and post-grad in Bioinformatics, I started working as a data analyst in Applied Intelligence at KPMG Ireland. Here I started working in building applications in Power Apps for data management and transformation of business processes. From this I branched into building automation flows with Power Automate. I have been with KPMG nearly 18 months and currently sit as a Consultant working on digital transformations for business processes.
Rachael Aluko
Product Designer
Rachael is a product designer and content creator driven by an unwavering passion for crafting meaningful, user-centric experiences. As a lifelong learner, she thrives on exploring new ideas and continually experimenting with design to push boundaries. Rachael is the co-founder of SoloBook, a company that utilizes AI to empower female solo travelers by providing relevant reviews.
Rebecca Grier
Making products successful through behavioural science
Rebecca Grier, Ph.D. is a behavioural scientist with 20 years experience in product development across various business sectors. Most recently she was the lead for Customer-Driven: EMEA at Microsoft, with the goal to change product making culture to be more customer obsessed. Previously she moved Ford to consider people with disabilities in the design of their autonomous vehicles and the US DoD to include user experience in testing of systems. She currently lives in Dublin with her husband and son.
Svitlana Samko
Senior Technical Project Manager | DIT Finalist for Mentorship Award | Development and QA Mentor with a passion for AI and Security | Advocate for women in tech | VP of PR of Toastmasters | Speaker |
Svitlana Samko is a leader and advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. With her unwavering commitment to guiding and empowering others, she has made a significant impact on the careers and professional growth of numerous individuals.
As a Technical Project Manager at Verizon Connect and CEO of W2business IT Academy, Svitlana has demonstrated her exceptional mentoring skills by inspiring non-technical individuals to pursue and thrive in the IT field. Her dedication to helping others develop the necessary skills to embark on successful IT careers is truly inspiring.
Svitlana's influence extends beyond her professional roles. She serves as the Vice President of Education at Toastmasters, where she fosters an environment of learning and skill development. Additionally, she is the Lead of Circle of Women Association, actively championing gender equality and promoting opportunities for women in technology.
In recognition of her vast knowledge and expertise, Svitlana is actively involved in various mentoring programs and initiatives. She serves as an e-Mentor for EQUALS Tech4Girls, guiding and supporting young women in their pursuit of tech-related careers. In the ICT Skillnet Future in Tech Mentor Programme, she serves as a Mentor and Coach on the Web Developer path, helping aspiring professionals navigate the challenges of the industry.
Svitlana's dedication to community engagement is commendable. As a Co-organizer of Test IT Meetup and Dublin Agile Project Management Meetup, she fosters a collaborative environment for knowledge sharing and networking. She is also an active volunteer, contributing her time and expertise to organizations such as Junior Achievement Ireland and CoderDojo, where she mentors and teaches young children the fundamentals of computer programming.
Svitlana's impact reaches even further as she actively shares her knowledge and experiences as a champion and speaker at various IT conferences and panels. She has presented at esteemed events such as Agile Lean Ireland Conference, Browserstack ChatGPT Fireside panel, Google GDG Ireland, SnykCon, and EuropeClouds Summit. Her contributions to these platforms have inspired countless individuals and sparked meaningful discussions on the future of technology.