Amy is a final year student studying BSc Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Plymouth University. Fed up of dead-end jobs, she decided to go to university and start a career in something she is passionate about. Amy is now hoping to start her MSc Zoo Conservation Biology in the next academic year. When she isn’t studying, she is volunteering as a keeper at Shaldon Wildlife Trust, her main passion is behaviour of primates and more specifically lemurs. Her dream is to become the Jane Goodall of lemurs and smaller primates and help with the conservation and research of these endangered species.

Amy helps with the social media aspect of WISP and is new to the committee and is passionate about seeing gender equality within STEM. She would like to encourage other women to become a part of WISP and inspire the next generation of women scientists to flourish in their field.

Abi has always had an interest in how things work, are put together and how they link to everything around them. Since the age of 13 she has aspired to be an Architect and despite various set-backs from individuals claiming it was a man’s world, she persisted with her dream.

She now has over 15 years experience in the construction industry and qualified as an Architect in 2013, following 7 years at university. Her particular passions are residential works, community projects and works to existing buildings as these present some of the greatest problems to overcome and are the most rewarding in terms of fulfilling user and place led designs.

Now, as a mother of two and the managing director of her own company, AJ Architects, she aims to inspire future generations through STEM and WISP, including her two daughters, that with hard work and dedication anything is possible…and most importantly enjoyable!

Becky is one of four directors and Head of Web Development at Elixel, a Plymouth based app development agency. Becky has always shown a keen interest in STEM subjects, particularly around technology and maths, and produced her first website at the age of 11. Since then Becky’s involvement with STEM has only got stronger. Following a Digital Art and Technology degree at Plymouth University, Becky founded Elixel with her three colleagues at the age of 21, and is now regularly involved in digital community events such as Digital Plymouth and Plymouth Web.

By getting involved with WISP Becky hopes to be able to encourage and inspire more young women into technology and other STEM roles, and to help provide the support they need to continue in their careers.

Carly has always had a keen interest in Technology and the Film Industry which led her to studying Media with IT & Computing at University. She blames watching Back to the Future when she was a kid and the day her parents brought home their first Amstrad PC.

She has worked in the IT sector for over 10 years and has spent 5 years specialising in video technology. She currently runs Technical Support and Network Operations at Vualto. She is also one of the co-founders of the Babble App which aims to support, inspire and encourage women from all walks of life.

Carly joined as the Social Media Officer in May 2018 and hopes that she can raise awareness of WISP and encourage more women to get involved.

Garry is a high functioning nerd and the most handsome person at THINQTANQ (the best co-working space in Plymouth). He’s also a director of two Community Interest Companies – MESH and Digital Plymouth.

Owning and running his own digital agency DIG LAB – based in Plymouth, Garry loves working with small businesses, community groups and other freelancers (like him) on epic websites, awesome graphic designs, creative digital marketing campaigns and digital skills training that doesn’t suck.

Garry has two children (a boy and a girl) that have recently started school and he wants to spend some of his free time creating a better future for them.

Kym has always had a fascination for the Earth and how it works, this lead her to choosing STEM A-Levels. Although she originally hails from Lancashire, she decided to undertake an integrated masters degree at Plymouth University. This has allowed her to travel the globe looking at the various rocks and how they make the Earth tick, especially the volcanics which are her favourite field of study. She is in her final year at Plymouth and will be undertaking her research project on Heard Island, understanding why there is a volcano in the Antarctic.

She has worked in outreach in the past, specifically through the Geology department, encouraging young children to take up science during British Science Week. She often uses new media such as photography and animation to convey scientific ideas and make them accessible to all. She is extremely passionate about encouraging more women to become a part of STEM, in order to inspire the next generation of scientists, as she was inspired in the past. She hopes that as Social Coordinator through Women in STEM, she can see an increase in the number of women hoping to take up STEM and join us in our scientific pursuits, especially through fun social events!

Lana landed into tech completely by mistake! She designed an app during her first year of an English Degree and received a mark of 98/100. After that she knew she wanted to be in tech, after coming up with the idea of Babble App, a social media just for women,she received over £100,000 of investment to turn her idea into a reality.

Lana has just completed her second year of uni and can now focus on all things STEM, including her business and WISP projects.

Lana is also mum to two under fives who keep her on her toes and one of the reasons for joining WISP is to improve the quality of lives for women. She wants her daughter to know she can do whatever she likes and if she wants to build robots or study Jellyfish, then she can! Lana is very excited to be Deputy Chair and is keen to encourage, support and inspire young girls and women into STEM.

Lorna has always loved STEM subjects, starting with Lego™ and books on sharks, which inspired her to do a degree in marine biology at Plymouth. Since then she has been a lab technician, marine biology teacher in The Bahamas, snorkelling leader, head host at the National Marine Aquarium, and successful research scientist and published author.

Lorna is living proof that the WISP networking approach works – her life changed at a networking event when someone said “you don’t have to be an engineer to work here”. She now works for Babcock International Group as a Graduate Safety Engineer.

Lorna took over as Chair of WISP in autumn 2016 and hopes that she can take the group to a new level, expanding our support network and connecting with the local community and giving our members more than ever before.

Millie has always been interested in the logic and practicalities behind things, she has been assured that as a child she was very ‘inquisitive’ but this did not end at childhood and has continued into her education and career. During school Millie studied STEM subjects all the way to A-level and has always seen the importance of STEM in the world, feeling particularly passionate about Physics and Geography.

Millie is now over two years into her Rail Telecoms apprenticeship and is enjoying the exposure she gets to projects such as Crossrail and HS2, alongside her sponsored study on the Digital and Technology Solutions degree apprenticeship.

Millie joined as the Events Coordinator in August 2017 and hopes to aid with the other members increasing the profile of STEM for Women in the local area across all ages, as it’s never too late or too early to get involved in STEM.

Stacey has over 20 years of business management experience working for the likes of Apple, Three and Dyson.

She is driven by a desire to solve problems and make life easier for her clients. In her current role at Acronyms, an IT and unified comms provider based on Plymouth Science Park, she ensures that businesses across the South West have the correct technology to meet their business needs.

She is the mother of two young girls, one of whom dreams of being an engineer. This means that involvement within WISP is not just a means of personal education for Stacey, but also an opportunity to promote strong young women across Plymouth.

She will be organising regular events at Plymouth Science Park, with the aim of inspiring more young women to embark on a career in STEM.

Charlotte is the South West and Wales Area Manager for the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce. Previously spending three years as Policy Director for national trade body techUK. Her focus was on creating a better policy environment to help tech companies grow and thrive, and focused on areas such as skills and education, women in tech, regional growth, the future of work, and more.

Earlier this year she was awarded Number 36 most influential woman in UK tech by Computer Weekly. She’s passionate about how to get more women into STEM and how we make sure no one is left behind by advancements in digital technology.

Helen is an Engineer at Babcock and Chair of the local (Devon & Cornwall) branch of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). She has been a committed supporter of WISP for several years and her presence at our committee meetings allows us to keep up to date with IMechE events and news to pass on to our members.

Sam is the STEM Manager and she works for CSW Group. Sam has worked for the company for many years and has a background in Youth Work and Careers Guidance. She now manages the STEM Learning contract for Devon & Cornwall, providing advice and guidance for schools and colleges around best practice for STEM delivery including STEM leadership and embedding STEM within the curriculum. A big part of Sam’s job is to recruit and train volunteers who act as STEM Ambassadors and currently there are over 760 Ambassadors across the two counties. They are the best resource available, are passionate about what they do, and want to make a difference and inspire the next STEM generation. Sam also delivers STEM based CPD training for teaching staff and develop STEM based materials and resources for use by teaching staff and STEM Ambassadors.

If anyone is interested in becoming a STEM Ambassador then please get in touch with Sam.

Steve Gerry is a freelance business and economic development consultant. Since 2008, he’s been Secretary of the Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group or ‘PMG’. The PMG were instrumental in forming the Plymouth Women in STEM group because the engineering and manufacturing sector, perhaps more so than any other, feels the full effects of a gender imbalance in the workplace. ‘Quite simply, we need more girls to consider taking STEM subjects at school and in further and higher education so that they can pursue the careers that flow from these’.

Steve’s recent non-executive positions include: Board Member, NHS Plymouth PCT (2007-11); Chairman of Guinness Hermitage Housing Association’s SW Area Committee (2005-13). Steve had a extensive career in the Electricity Supply Industry, where, with SWEB, he was a senior management consultant and business analyst. After completing his MBA he was seconded as Business Development Manager with South West Enterprise Ltd (SWEL), a private sector economic development lobby group and went on to become Executive Partnership Director of Plymouth 2020 Partnership (2000-03).