Following our announcement of the Women in Defence Awards 2022 finalists last week, ADM will be introducing each of our amazing finalists across the 10 categories in more detail. Today we are focusing on the finalists in Legal/Contracting.
In this category, judges were looking for entries that exhibited outstanding success in legal/contracting matters in 2021. The finalists in this category all demonstrate this level of success, with additional evidence of having overcome personal challenges to do so and for the impact their success had on the wider Defence and industry community.
Nathalie Sarlin of Buzzworks
Nathalie is a co-founder of Buzzworks, a self-funded start-up that became an ASDEFCON-approved subcontractor to a prime within 12 months and successfully won and completed four grant projects in 2021 collectively worth over half a million dollars. Nathalie stood out to the judges for the scale of her achievements in 2021, as well as her ability to do all this whilst being a mother to six children – an all-around star candidate and an inspiration for those balancing their family and their careers.
Katherine Stapels of Droneshield
Katherine is general counsel for DroneShield and is described as indispensable to the company’s success. Katherine stood out to the judges for a remarkable
success in 2021: Katherine successfully called on the Australian Communications and Media Authority ('ACMA') for an exemption to possess jamming technology in Australia, independent of Defence and law enforcement, which kept DroneShield’s research and development in Australia. Her material contribution to Australian defence capability, in the judges’ view, was outstanding.
Deanna Byers of ASC
Deanna is Contract Manager – Training for ASC and ultimately ensures that ASC supports the Royal Australian Navy to train Australia’s submariners. Her exceptional KPI performance in 2021 stood out to the judges, as well as her close relationship with the Navy, her long and successful career across both Defence and industry, and her commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion in her workplace.
Rachel Horne of Trusted Autonomous Systems
Rachel is the Assurance of Autonomy Activity Lead at Trusted Autonomous Systems, where she leads two projects aimed at improving the assurance and accreditation journey for autonomous systems in three domains. Her accomplishments in 2021 particularly impressed the judges: Rachel brought multiple organisations into a project that resulted in a benchmark code of best practice for Australian autonomous vessels and operations. The judges also noted that Rachel achieved this whilst undertaking a PhD with the QUT Faculty of Law and volunteering with the ACT SES.
Jo-Anne Rushworth of Airbus Defence & Space
Jo-Anne is Airbus’ Australian Procurement Lead for the company’s bid for JP 9102, Military Satellite Communications. Jo-Anne developed and delivered the company’s Team Maier concept for the bid, and stood out to the judges for her advocacy on behalf of Australian businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and Indigenous businesses. The judges also noted that Jo-Anne accomplished all this whilst being a single mother to three children, advocating for workplace equality, and for going above and beyond her daily role.
The winners and Hall of Fame inductee will be announced at a gala dinner at The National Arboretum Canberra on 14 September 2022. Book your tickets here – we hope to see you there!
Thank you to all our sponsors: SYPAQ, AeroPM, Airbus, BGIS, Boeing, CEA Technologies, Leidos, Precision Public Affairs and Ventia.
