Page 29 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2022

NOVEMBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
WOMEN IN DEFENCE AWARDS 29
LEGAL/CONTRACTING
Awarded to the defence community’s most outstanding female individual working within the legal/ contracting field.
The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Legal/Contracting category are: Nathalie Sarlin of Buzzworks, Katherine Stapels of Droneshield, Deanna Byers of ASC, Rachel Horne of Trusted Autonomous Systems and Jo-Anne Rushworth of Airbus Defence & Space.
And the winner is: 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.
Rachel’s ability to bring multiple stakeholders together to develop the code of best practice will have a lasting impact on the autonomous systems sector in Australia and makes her a worthy winner of the Legal/Contacting category.
COMMUNICATIONS
Awarded to the defence community’s most outstanding female individual working within the communications/ marketing/stakeholder engagement field.
The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Communications category are: Wing Commander Deanna Nott of Wings Public Relations, Siobhan MacCana of BAE Systems Australia, Clare Grandison of Defence Science and Technology Group and Cindy Slaven of Navantia Australia.
And the winner is: Clare Grandison of Defence Science and Technology Group.
In 2021, Clare executed various science communication activities for the research program she leads as
Discipline Leader Environmental Signatures for Defence Science and Technology Group. Amongst these, she established a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary community of practice online to connect stakeholders in the environmental signatures interest area and educate the broader Defence community.
Clare was a stand-out to the judges for her substantial work representing Australian Defence science interests on a national and international scale. Highlighted by the judging panel was the fact that her dedication to enhancing Australia’s science and technology ecosystems also extends to her many pursuits outside of work, including active representation on professional committees, CSIRO STEM in Schools activities, female mentoring and science communication in professional fora.
OPERATIONS
Awarded to the Defence Community’s most outstanding female individual to recognise efforts of women in deployed/remote areas with a focus on logistics, services and support roles.
The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Operations category are: Trish Denison of BAE Systems Australia, Wing Commander Marija Jovanovich of the Royal Australian Air Force, Able Seaman Wainise Morel of the Royal Australian Navy and Lieutenant Commander Makaila Lasalo of the Royal Australian Navy.
And the winner is: Wing Commander Marija Jovanovich of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Marija is the Commanding Officer of Number 10 Squadron RAAF, where she is responsible for the operations, maintenance, supply chain, administration, safety and mission support functions. As a current AP-3C (EW) aircraft captain she also routinely flies in an operational capacity. The judges were impressed by the number of and breadth of her achievements in 2021 that directly impacted the lives and careers of other women both directly under her command and through the delivery of presentations and keynote speeches outside her direct role in the RAAF.
While Marija’s ability to manage the many facets of her role with great skill and professionalism are worthy of commendation, it was her compassion towards the welfare of others, her willingness to go above and beyond the defined boundaries of her role and her true ambassadorship and outreach as a woman in defence that led the judges to choose her as the winner of this category.