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Social change makers
From ending poverty to creating equality, meet people whose careers in STEM make a difference to society.
Charishma Kaliyanda
Liverpool councillor | Community engagement officer
Charishma is a mental health professional, community service expert and budding politician making a difference for the community.
Naomi Manu
Director of Pūhoro STEM Academy
Naomi Manu established the Pūhoro STEM Academy at Massey University, which works to improve Māori participation and success in STEM.
Lesley Woodhouse
Digital knowledge keeper
Lesley Woodhouse is a Darug woman bringing Indigenous culture to the world.
Liam Ridgeway
Co-founder and director of NGNY, Indigitek & IndigiGig
Liam Ridgeway shares how he combines STEM with entrepreneurship to connect communities.
Adele Hauwai
Social entrepreneur
Adele likes to blend Māori concepts and language with technology, as this is a way to keep her culture and people alive and growing.
Kelsie Clarke
Engineers Without Borders Director
Systems engineer and Engineers Without Borders Australia non-executive director Kelsie Clarke wants the world to know that engineering is for everyone.
Preethika Mathan
UNSW Bragg Prize Winner
Preethika Mathan won the UNSW Bragg prize 2018 with her piece about how technology could improve the lives of those living with disability.
Hori Te Ariki Mataki
Animation artist and startup founder
Your cultural background brings unique strengths to your work goals, says Hori Te Ariki Mataki – co-founder of creative tech startup Te Ao Hangarau.
Makereti Papakura
Māori anthropologist
Makereti was a well-known Māori tourist guide during the early 20th century, before she turned her talents to anthropology and the study of Māori culture.
Patricia Gadd
Nuclear scientist
Patricia Gadd, instrument scientist at ANSTO is analysing lake sediment cores with nuclear science to map climate changes over tens or hundreds of thousands of years.
Rachel Carpenter
Global Googler
Rachel Carpenter spent her childhood sailing the world. Now she’s improving Google’s app capabilities for people in different cultures.
Grace Johnson
Diversity officer
Grace is completing her Master of Engineering at the University of Melbourne, and is passionate about diversifying engineering recruits.
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Texas Beeworks’ Erika Thompson has been accused by other users of staging her TikTok videos and handling bees in an unsafe manner.