Achieving Excellence Through Diversity & Reskilling

Yolanda Redrup is a technology journalist with The Australian Financial Review, covering startups, innovation policy, venture capital, and listed tech companies. She is a two-time winner of StartCon's Australasian Startup Journalist of the Year.

Maria Markman is the Chair of ACS in Victoria and also a member of the national ACS Management Committee. In the ICT industry, Maria has strong experience in professional networking, business development, project management, strategic advisory and business analysis. She has domain expertise across disruptive technology trends including cloud, mobile, big data and social media. Maria is a passionate advocate for increased representation of women in IT as well as broadening the general diversity of backgrounds for professionals working in the ICT industry.

Philip Dalidakis was born in the Southern Metropolitan Region and has lived here all his life. His father was born in Greece. His mother was born in Shanghai, the daughter of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. As the son of immigrant parents, he shares the life stories of many families in his electorate. Philip now lives in McKinnon with his wife Debra and three young children, who attend local primary and secondary schools.

Philip was educated at Gardenvale Primary School, St Michael’s Grammar School, Monash University where he holds a double degree in Business (Management) and Arts (politics and Thai language) and UNSW, where he obtained a Master of Commerce.

Philip has worked in both the private sector and in government. He started at Deloitte, worked in the property and finance team with Centro Properties Group and as a financial controller of a small family group of companies. He was chief executive officer of the Victorian Association of Forest Industries from 2007 to 2011. In government, he was Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, in 2011-12. From 2012 to 2014 he ran his own small consulting firm.

Philip has been active in many community organisations. He has been treasurer of the Jewish Museum of Australia, treasurer of FKA Children’s Services Inc, and a Homework Support volunteer with Southern Ethnic Advisory and Advocacy Council.

In addition to his role as Member for Southern Metropolitan Region, Philip holds the portfolio responsibilities of Minister for Trade and Investment, Innovation and the Digital Economy and Small Business in the Andrews Labor Government.

Danya is a Senior UX Designer, Researcher and Writer working at SEEK in Melbourne. Danya advocates for inclusive and accessible workplaces, products and services, with a focus on language and design processes. She also mentors fellow designers, teaches and facilitates workshops on inclusion and human-centred design. Danya has written and presented in Australia and internationally on a range of topics, including intersectional diversity in tech, how to be an effective ally in the workplace and global UX trends.

Susan Wu is an entrepreneur and investor who splits her time between Australia and California. 

Susan is a co-founder of Project Include, an internationally recognized nonprofit organisation focused on accelerating diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. Susan is a co-founder of Luminaria, a guild of educators, innovators, and scientists, who are reimagining our education systems to empower children to thrive in and build a future world that is anchored in humanity, and realized through invention. 

Susan has been an influential and early contributor to the early commercialization and development of the Internet and the Web. She is a member emeritus and former CMO of the Apache Software Foundation, one of the world’s most influential open source software organisations.

As an investor and advisor, she has worked with many leading tech companies, including Twitter, Square, reddit, Canva, Color Genomics, and others. As an entrepreneur, she has been co-founder of gaming startup ohai, co-founder of FreeAgent.com (one of the first on-demand labor platforms, NASDAQ IPO,) founding partner at Obvious Corporation, co-founder of Above all Human, founding producer of the Virtual Goods Summit, and a mentor to startup accelerators Startmate & Techstars.  She has been a board member of several organisations, including LaunchVIC, the Color Genomics Foundation, and Code Club Australia.  

Susan was an early employee at Stripe, and played a key role in launching Stripe's international operations, overseeing Stripe’s business in Australia and New Zealand, which she led from 0 to more than $1 billion in yearly turnover in its first year of operations. 

Fast Company named Susan as one of the "100 Most Creative People in Business" and "Most Influential Women in Technology." She was named by the San Jose Mercury News as one of the "10 Most Influential People in Silicon Valley." Susan is a writer and vocal leader of building a more human and humane technological future, and has been published or quoted in journals such as Wired Magazine, the Atlantic, the New York Times, and many others.