Women in STEMM Australia’s Ambassador program began in 2016. Ambassadors are high profile leaders in their STEMM profession in positions of influence who encompass our core values of excellence in STEMM, respect for others and “paying it forward”.
Importantly, Ambassadors will also have a demonstrated track record of empowering all girls and women in STEMM regardless of their background or profession. Ambassadors are nominated and approved by the Board.
Ambassadors
“As a country we need to do a better job of attracting women into science careers and allowing the scientific talent we have to reach their full potential”
Dr Leonie Walsh is a respected leader and expert practitioner of industrial technology development and commercialisation, with a career evolving from large multi-national corporations across diverse applications, markets and geographies to current roles as a leader and strategic adviser to industry, government and academia in the areas of business development, collaboration, technology commercialisation, and the future skilled workforce. Dr Walsh has accumulated more than 25 years of technology leadership experience in a broad range of industrial applications both locally and globally. She has worked in companies such as Dow Chemical, Henkel and Visy with a focus on the development and commercialisation of technology. She is Board Chair for C4NET (Centre for New Energy Technologies) and was Victoria’s first Lead Scientist (2013-2016). Leonie is an outstanding advocate for early career researchers and women in STEMM across all professional sectors.
Dr Misty Jenkins is a Laboratory Head and cellular immunologist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Misty has had a long standing interest in cytotoxic lymphocyte biology and has spent the past ten years investigating how killer lymphocytes acquire the ability to kill cancer cells, and how they deliver the lethal hit. She is funded by a New Investigator project grant from NHMRC, and a prestigious NHMRC Career Development Fellowship, where she is investigating cancer and inflammation. She has been awarded 15 awards for her work, including the L’Oreal for Women in Science Fellowship for Australia (2013) and the 2015 Tall Poppy of the year. Misty is a passionate, engaging public speaker involved with various programs aimed at increasing young people’s engagement in science and education, particularly Indigenous students. Misty provides leadership on a number of boards including the board of directors for the Aurora Education Foundation (which supports indigenous students to excel at school and into their university studies), the governing board and scientific advisory panel for the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics (NCIG) at Australian National University in Canberra, and the Federal government’s expert working group for “Indigenous engagement in the sciences” which is helping shape public policy. Misty aims to increase support and visibility of Indigenous girls and women in STEMM and advises Women in STEMM Australia in this area.