I am a Software Engineer working in Digital Platforms, Consumer BT based in Belfast, a coding instructor at Coursera and a graduate with an MSc in Software Development from Queen’s University Belfast.

Before I discovered coding I worked in Marketing and gained a First Class Honours from Ulster University. During my time at university I worked at a local tech start-up the summer before I started my placement year I got my first insight into the world of technology and this kicked started my passion for wanting to learn how to code. I am an advocate for driving change within technology and have been involved a number of committees and boards including the Project Management Institute Northern Ireland Chapter, Women Who Code Belfast City Lead and IET Young Professionals Committee Belfast. Additionally, I am an advocate for tech diversity and I am part of the Diversity and Inclusion team within BT which involves helping to drive change around our processes and culture.

I am passionate about giving back to the tech community as throughout my journey into technology I was fortunate to be mentored by some incredible females and I now dedicate a lot of my time paying that forward. I have completed the CodeFirst Girls Fellowship and over two months I taught 40 girls coding skills in SQL and within a team completed research into leadership and education. I have taught a number of CodeFirst Girls courses and I also develop my own coding courses for Coursera aiding more people in their coding journeys and currently have taught nearly 7000 people coding skills. I am also the Founder of FirbroME a management application for those suffering with chronic illness and was inspired with my experience of living with a chronic illness.

I also lead on BT Belfast Outreach activities which included the mTech Academy project which is a programme where 15 schools across Northern Ireland are linked with employers to deliver an experiential learning project over the course of six months. As part of the programme there was a workshop with careers teaching to up-skill them around the future careers in technology and empower them with the information needed to encourage students to pursue a career in technology. The programme was praised by senior leadership across BT and has been described by students as “the most worthwhile project they have done in school.” My work within the Belfast community around inspiring others from all backgrounds into technology has been recognised in a number of ways as I was named one of the Sync NI ‘Tech Trailblazer’ as part of the STEM role models in Northern Ireland, I was also highly commended for the Diversity Advocate Award at this year’s Women Who Code She Rocks Awards and nominated for the Rising Star Awards. Finally, I am a public speaker, mentor and creator to share my story and encourage others to consider a career in technology.