Last Thursday evening, the Adelaide AWS User Group hosted its International Women’s Day gathering at the Innovation and Collaboration Centre in Light Square, Adelaide. The format was simple but powerful. A keynote, a panel, great conversation, pizza, and a room full of people curious about where technology is heading and who is shaping it.
One small statistic captured the spirit of the night. Just over half of the 100+ Meetup RSVPs, around 51 percent, were from women. Not a huge headline figure perhaps, but in many technology circles it still represents a shift worth noticing.
It meant the room felt balanced, thoughtful, and open to conversation. A mix of developers, engineers, architects, founders, students, policy leaders, consultants and technologists, many of them meeting each other for the first time.
The evening began with a keynote from Mahsa Paknezhad, Deep Learning Architect at AWS, joining live from Melbourne. Her work with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Centre focuses on taking AI from concept to production. That means moving beyond ideas and experiments and into solutions that genuinely deliver outcomes for organisations. Mahsa has a reputation for cutting through complexity and helping teams move fast while still delivering real value for customers.
That tone carried through the evening. Less hype about technology, more practical insights from people working in the field.
Later in the program I had the privilege of facilitating the panel discussion, bringing together an impressive group of leaders across different corners of the technology ecosystem.
The panel included Dr Judy Halliday from the South Australian Department of State Development, creative technologist and community builder Onnie Chan, data strategy leader Quanita Sitte (Q), digital specialist Sonia Tyndale from Journey Beyond, technology risk consultant Kalila Lin from EY, software developer Doria Ren, and Daniela Crivellotto from Snowflake.
One of the most interesting moments early in the conversation came from a simple question: how did you end up in tech?
Very few of the answers followed a straight line.
Some began in design or creative industries. Others came through data, engineering, or business roles. There were stories of career pivots, unexpected opportunities and learning curves that took people into entirely new areas.
That theme appeared again and again during the evening. Technology careers rarely start with a perfectly mapped plan. More often they evolve through curiosity, experimentation and the willingness to say yes to something new.
Q raised a particularly interesting point about the difference between “breaking in” to the industry and “breaking out” of the box people sometimes place you in once you are there. It sparked a lively conversation about career mobility, skills development and the pace at which technology roles continue to evolve.
Another thread that resonated strongly was the intersection of creativity and technical capability.
Sonia Tyndale reflected on her early career in the video game industry before moving into digital experience and search performance work across tourism and global brands. That combination of design thinking and technical execution is becoming increasingly valuable as organisations focus on user experience, accessibility and meaningful digital engagement.
For Onnie Chan, founder of Women in Creative Technologies, the conversation centred on building confidence and capability. Through programs like Power Her Up, she works with women developing pitching skills, marketing strategies and funding pathways, helping them step forward into entrepreneurship and innovation with greater clarity and support.
Kalila Lin offered a different but equally important perspective from the world of technology risk and governance. Her work focuses on helping organisations navigate cloud adoption, AI governance and compliance while still enabling innovation. It was a reminder that technology progress depends not only on developers and architects, but also on the frameworks that make systems trustworthy and secure.
For those newer to the industry, Doria Ren’s insights into life as a software developer were particularly relatable. A graduate prize winner in software engineering and a tutor with the Girls Programming Network, she spoke about the realities of building systems, solving problems and continuously learning in an environment where tools and languages evolve quickly.
Daniela Crivellotto added a global commercial lens, drawing on experience across AWS, Cisco and now Snowflake. Technology careers are not limited to coding or engineering roles. Sales leadership, customer engagement and strategic partnerships play a critical role in translating technology into real-world outcomes.
Throughout the discussion, Dr Judy Halliday connected these individual experiences to the broader innovation ecosystem in South Australia. Her work across research, entrepreneurship and government policy focuses on strengthening the pathways between universities, startups, industry and investment. The message was clear. A strong technology sector depends on collaboration across many different domains.
What struck me most about the evening was the quality of the conversation happening both on stage and around the room afterwards.
Panels can sometimes feel performative. This one felt genuine.
Questions from the audience ranged from navigating career transitions to the future of AI, to how organisations can better support emerging talent. The conversations continued well after the formal program finished, which is usually a good sign that the event achieved something meaningful.
The Adelaide AWS User Group deserves the credit for creating a welcoming and thoughtful community space. Events like this don’t happen without committed organisers. Nicole Lehmeyer led the International Women’s Day event this year, supported by Chris Ryan and Rick Morgans, along with a group of volunteers and ecosystem partners.
Several speakers and attendees later reflected on the evening through LinkedIn posts, highlighting the strong turnout, the diversity of perspectives on the panel, and the importance of creating environments where conversations about technology and leadership can take place openly.
For me, the takeaway from the night was simple.
Technology is no longer a narrow field defined by a handful of roles. It is an ecosystem that includes engineers, designers, strategists, risk specialists, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers. The more visible those pathways become, the more people realise there is a place for them in the industry.
And sometimes the shift begins with something as simple as an evening event, a panel conversation, and a room where people feel welcome to join the discussion.
If you have not attended an AWS User Group event before, I highly recommend it. The Adelaide community continues to grow and evolve, bringing together people interested in cloud, AI, engineering, science, data and the future of work.
You never quite know who you will meet, or which conversation might spark your next opportunity.