WiT22: The inconvenient imposter…..igniting your confidence

Amy Low is Service Delivery Director at AbilityNet, a technology and digital accessibility charity that supports disabled people to achieve their objectives at home, at work and in education. AbilityNet provide a range of services for individuals and organisations including 1-1 support services, online resources, consultancy and training. Having spent 15 years working in a variety of roles within serviced property and IT services, Amy joined AbilityNet in 2016, drawn by the opportunity to leverage technology to remove barriers to participation for disabled people and create a better digital experience for everyone. Amy is also a Community Board Member of the Digital Poverty Alliance.

Twitter: @Abilitynet @AJL0w

Teresa Loftus is an Assessment Team Manager, AbilityNet Assessment Services. She has worked for AbilityNet since 2012 delivering workplace assessments and disabled student assessments.

Teresa has a background in Assistive Technology (AT) training and support to students with a visual impairment in mainstream schools and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Ergonomics. She is National Association of Disability Practitioner (NADP) Accredited, has 20 years of AT experience and continuous professional development that supports a belief in Equality for all at work, home and in education. Teresa recognises that Assistive Technologies is forever evolving and improving so stays abreast of these through regular training events and research.

In her spare time, Teresa enjoys walking through glorious Gloucestershire and eating ice cream!

I’ve been working in IT since 1993 starting off as a Microsoft application trainer, moving into desktop support, server support and virtual environments. I’ve been in my current role for the last 4 years. My teams are responsible for the virtual and physical infrastructure at UWE, including Unified Communications.

Dawn’s role at Waterstons is Associate Director of People & Culture. She has worked here for three years and being part of a growing business, which puts people in the heart of each and every decision is something she is immensely proud to be part of. Having the opportunity to think globally and learning as we evolve, while navigating the changing landscape of work and partnering the business to achieve our aspirations is her favourite part.

Helen Fawcett is Associate Director consulting at Watertsons. Helen has a background in strategic consulting and evidence based decision making. She leads the Higher Education team at Waterstons and has experience of working with HEI’s to solve a diverse range of business problems.

Hannah Francis is an Executive Data and Analytics Consultant at Waterstons and the Lead for Data Consultancy. This means that when not writing SQL or playing in Power BI she spends her time thinking about how we work with our customers to ensure they are improving their data maturity and maximising the benefits from the solutions we build. Hannah has two small people and loves walking; sadly, the small people do not.

Jake has worked for the University of Southampton for over fifteen years and has been leading teams both small and large for most of that time. He has a strong track record for turning team performance around and building positive and inclusive team cultures. Jake is a popular speaker at UCISA known for his highly engaging talks that always give you practical takeaways.

Rachel has worked for over twenty years as a software developer at the University of Cambridge, working on database applications such as the student information system, and more recently managing a team of DBAs. Outside of work she enjoys science fiction, learning languages, and playing ice hockey.

Ellen has over 35 years’ experience in IT. With a degree and PhD in Mathematics, Ellen started her career at the MoD, and via a variety of steps, moved to international consulting where she headed an international consulting organisation, working across multiple sectors. In her spare time Ellen enjoys time with her family, science, music, art and running. Ellen is a member of an international women’s chess team.

Jenny Rae joined Imperial College as Head of Products in January 2022. Jenny has 15+ years experience in product management and business transformation. She specialises in transforming IT departments through product management. Her previous product experience includes working as a Portfolio Product Lead at OneWeb. She also held various product and digital transformation roles at Vodafone and BT. Jenny is qualified with a first class honours degree in Business and Operations Management from Oxford Brookes and an MBA in Business Administration from Henley Business School.