Speaker
Rebecca Watts
Founding Principal, Barrenjoey
Rebecca Watts is a Founding Principal at Barrenjoey, a proudly Australian financial services firm. She is passionate about women in technology and was recently awarded the Engineers Without Borders/MECCA MPower 2018/19 scholarship to connect, inspire, and empower young women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to pursue STEM education. Rebecca holds degrees in Engineering (hons.) and Finance and is drawn to implementing practical and innovative solutions that have sustained impact. She spent two years with Engineers Without Borders, establishing and expanding a solar energy project in rural Cambodia. Working in the nexus of poverty reduction and climate sustainability, Becky was awarded with the Australian National University (ANU) 2016 Undergraduate Student of the Year, Oceania Winner for the Undergraduate Awards, and her research was published in the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering. As the Vice Curator for the Global Shapers (World Economic Forum) for 2018/9 and as a Committee Member of Young Engineers Australia, she is a strong advocate for the importance of youth in shaping the future. Rebecca has presented at international conferences (including the International Student Energy Summit in Mexico and Undergraduate Awards in Ireland), and has published work about the role of youth in creating positive change in Junkee Magazine, create Magazine, and the ANU Reporter.