Page 33 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2022

NOVEMBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
WOMEN IN DEFENCE AWARDS 33
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Awarded to the defence community’s most outstanding individual academic or researcher working on Defence related matters.
The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Research & Development category are: Professor Vice Chancellor (Research) Andrea Bishop of Griffith University and Lieutenant Commander Victoria Jnitova of Royal Australian Navy.
And the winner is: Lieutenant Commander Victoria Jnitova of Royal Australian Navy.
Victoria is the 2022 Chief of the Defence Force Scholar and is now studying for her doctorate in resilience of training systems. In 2021, she maintained her position as an officer commanding a large school at HMAS Cerberus, while conducting her studies examining how to measure resilience attributes within training systems. Showcasing outstanding leadership and perseverance, Victoria successfully developed, piloted, and refined a survey for use as an ongoing training management tool. Her analysis has informed major reforms in the RAN, and her survey is now being trialled in the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College and other Defence colleges.
Victoria is an exemplar to all officers to explore, expound, and excel continuously. For the judges, LCDR Jnitova’s enthusiasm and commitment to her work are an inspiring example and worthy of recognition as a winner.
INDIGENOUS
Awarded to the defence community’s most outstanding indigenous individual female working in any field.
The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Indigenous category are: Rhiannon Busch of JLB-Yaran, Alice Beilby of Savanna
Solutions, Rikki Cooper of BGIS, Haley Matthews of BAE Systems Australia and Jessie Risk of AKJ Services. And the winner is: Rhiannon Busch of JLB-Yaran.
Post 15 years of full-time service with the Australian Army, Rhiannon is now a consultant to Defence with JLB-
Yaran, currently supporting the RAAF through services as a Foreign Sales Management (FMS) Project Officer.
The judges were impressed with Rhiannon’s strong commitment to supporting community at every opportunity, during her time in service as an Indigenous Recruitment Consultant within Army, and now as a mentor with JLB- Yaran's Indigenous Development and Employment Program (IDEP), inspiring and supporting other Indigenous professionals. She also continues to support her passion for ADF sport on the board of the ADF Australian Rules Committee.
Rhiannon’s professionalism and dedication to continuing her service post ADF is an example which all transitioning members should look to, and in the judges’ view, make Rhiannon a deserving winner.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Awarded to the defence community’s most outstanding female individual working within project management. The finalists in the WIDA 2022 Project Management category are: Georgia Davey of Aurecon, Kristen Raby of Nova Systems, Kiri Roberts of Accenture, Jessica Swan of Rohde & Schwarz Australia and Eva Wong of Thales.
And the winner is: Jessica Swan of Rohde & Schwarz.
Jessica joined Rohde and Schwarz in January 2021 as the Project Manager for three Transportable Air Operations Towers, and is responsible for capability assurance and delivering complex capability upgrades. During 2021, Jessica’s team successfully delivered a range of upgrades whilst managing rolling Covid lockdowns and supply chain constraints. Meanwhile Jessica is also an active RAAF reserve flight lieutenant and a single mother to two children.
The judges see her ability to achieve success in her role, whilst balancing the demands of military service and single parenthood, as exemplary examples of commitment and tenacity – and well-deserving of winning a Women in Defence Award.