Chair

Karen Cohen aka “blockmum” is the Founder and Director of Emerging Tech HUB, a company that helps humans connect to Emerging Technology. She is the Founder of Women in Emerging Tech and Previous Deputy Chair for Blockchain Australia. She is the Community and Events Manager for Stables. She is the 2022 Blockies award winner for Community Champion. Karen is the previous program manager for Inspiring Rare Birds where she ran the Prime Minister and Cabinet Office for Women mentoring scholarship program. She also ran females in Fintech program for Stone and Chalk sponsored by LaunchVic . She founded and ran AlgoHUB the Developer and Student Community Hub for Algorand Foundation.

Vice Chair

Stefano Tempesta works at Microsoft in the Azure Confidential Computing product group to make the Cloud a more secure place for your data and apps. Additionally, as advisor to the Department of Industry, Australia, on the National Blockchain Roadmap, his current focus is on helping people gain and own their digital identity. Stefano is also a technology advisor to Carbon Asset Solutions, a climate action and sustainability network with a mission to slow carbon dioxide emissions and remove excess atmospheric CO2 by using regenerative agriculture technologies.

Member

After graduating from UNSW, Ambarish has held positions as a visiting researcher in Italy and Taiwan, worked for industry in United Kingdom and the United States of America and for the past nine years has been working in the Australian Public Service.For the past 17 years Ambarish has led the development of five international standards under the auspices of the International Standards Organization (ISO) popularly known as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). He is the recipient of the ISO/IECcertificate for contributions to technology standards. Ambarish is highly active in the area of international standardization and voicing Australian concerns in the area of JPEG and MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) standardization. Recently, he initiated an effort in the area of standardization relating to Privacy and Security in the Multimedia Context both within JPEG and MPEG standard bodies.In 2015, Ambarish was the recipient of the prestigious Neville Thiele Award and the Canberra Professional Engineer of the Year by Engineers Australia. Ambarish currently works as an IT Architect within the Australian Taxation Office. Ambarish currently also serves as a committee member on the ITEE College Board, the ITEE Canberra Branch committee of Engineers Australia and is also served as Vice-Chair and Treasurer for the IEEE Canberra Section.

Member

Dr. Andrzej Gwizdalski is a pioneering academic and leading expert in the integration of blockchain technologies within the Web 3.0 economy, specialising in open public blockchain applications for business, including DeFi, DAOs, NFTs, the Metaverse, and cryptocurrency. Holding a Master of Science and executive education in blockchain from the University of Nicosia and Oxford Saïd Business School, Dr. Gwizdalski launched the first graduate course in Western Australia, 'BUSN5001 Blockchain and DLT in Business,' at the UWA Business School in 2018, reflecting his dedication to academic excellence and innovation. Renowned for his award-winning curriculum design and teaching, Andrzej is also deeply invested in research, focusing on sustainable fintech and the adoption of Web3 and blockchain by SMEs. As a co-founder and driving force behind the Western Australia Web3 Association (WAWEB3), he has significantly contributed to promoting Web3 technology awareness and adoption in the region. His commitment extends to empowering local startups, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and artists through Web3 technologies, alongside providing strategic advisory to organisations and governmental bodies, including the Commonwealth Treasury on digital assets regulations. Dr. Gwizdalski's efforts in community building and leadership in the blockchain space are recognised both nationally and internationally.

Member

Christy leads Data Visualisation Research Lab at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), whose research interests focus on Data Visualisation and Visual Analytics Science Technology. She was a recipient of UTS University Medal with First Class Honours, Capital Markets CRC scholarship and Australian Postgraduate Awards. She had global appointments, including IBM Australia in Strategic Data Analysis, and Peking University in Visual Analytics Research. Her Honours research contributed to stock market surveillance work, and her doctoral and later research has substantially contributed to the fundamental research in information visualisation and visual analytics. Her research has been widely applied to the other domains, including blockchain, finance, food safety, bio-medical, smart city, and social media. She owns 4 intellectual properties. She has lead as chief investigators in a number of multi and trans-disciplinarily collaboration with Australian government, domestic and international industry and academic partners. She develops and coordinate a number of new enterprises and educational learning online courses, including short courses, micro-credentials in data visualisation field.

Member

Danielle Marie is a seasoned Blockchain Educator, Crypto Enthusiast, and Community leader who was awarded Australian Blockchain Leader of the Year 2023. She is the founder of the Women in Digital Economy initiative fostering female empowerment and a founding member of ALL THINGS BLOCKCHAIN a non-profit association focused on growing the local blockchain ecosystem.

Member

Member

Scott Waller is a technology professional with over 20 years’ experience supporting businesses implementing digital and transformation agendas within finance, capital projects, supply chain and manufacturing environments. Scott’s passion is in the use of technology to drive business model innovation and ensuring technology risk is effectively managed. Scott leads EY’s Oceania blockchain business that is focused on supporting clients with blockchain solution development and digital assets related trust services. Scott brings an entrepreneurial spirit to solving corporate technology challenges and is a co-founder in a number of Web3 start-ups.

Member

Wayne is considered a true generalist with a heavy IT background and has an extensive business career spanning over 30 years of integrating technology with business processes and people. With an early career in IT later broadening to general management both in the private and public sectors, the range of industries and sectors Wayne has engaged with includes Information Technology, Software Development, Media, Marketing, Advertising, Political Campaigning, Property Management, Property Development, Printing, Tourism, Hospitality, Local Government, State Government, Federal Government, Retail, Venture Capital, Marine Industry, Professional Services, Financial Services, Auctions and Valuations. Waynes passion currently is the expansion of underlying Blockchain technologies into wider commercial and societal use for the betterment of business and the community via education, training and skills development within the IT industry specifically and the wider community more generally. Waynes overarching philosophy is that Ideas are nothing without implementation - a creed that has served him well throughout his career.

Member

An internationally experienced ICT senior leader with 23 years of experience in the commercial, government and health care sectors. A strong drive to use technology to improve peoples lives and business has seen my leadership of numerous transformation programs throughout my career establishing new business capabilities and transforming others.

Member

Rachael has a robust background in economics, finance, and blockchain technology. At Cavalry Consulting in Brisbane, she employs technology to streamline business processes in the Oil and Gas sector, demonstrating a keen ability to apply the latest technological advancements to industry challenges. Her approach is informed by a solid theoretical foundation, acquired through a Master’s degree in Financial Economics and a Diploma in Applied Blockchain. Additionally, Rachael's practical experience is enriched by her internship as a Project Coordinator at BlockConsult, a premier Web3 consulting company, where she played a pivotal role in project management and strategy development in the blockchain space. Her engagement in the blockchain community is evident in her roles, including Secretary for Blockchain Australia and contributions to All Things Blockchain. This involvement underscores her dedication to leveraging technology in business for innovative and sustainable growth. Rachael's career is a testament to her commitment to excellence and her skill in harnessing technology to enhance business operations and drive development.

Member

Dolly is a FinTech professional with over three decades of experience, blending technology projects with financial expertise. She ventured into entrepreneurship, where she became a licensed fund manager specialising in alternative investments. Passionate about merging technology and finance, Dolly focuses on business strategy, utilisation of artificial intelligence and the creation of digital assets, aiming to revolutionise digital finance delivery. Her educational background includes Information Technology, Financial Services and Blockchain studies. Dolly is the Chair of the ACS Blockchain Community of Interest in Victoria. She also sits as a member of the of the Professional Standards Board. The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee including the Technical Advisory board for the Blockchain committee.