Industry Volunteer of the Year 2025

How did you get involved with Apps for Good and what volunteering have you done with us this year?

I forget the precise circumstances, but basically a colleague of mine heard about Apps for Good and suggested it might be something I would like to do - thanks Dan. This year I have dialled into some classrooms to offer feedback on app ideas and prototypes, and taken part in a Career Series conversation regarding the importance of creativity in digital careers.

Are there any particular highlights from this year’s volunteering?

As always - the actual dialling into the classrooms to see and hear what the students have been working on is always a highlight. The ideas themselves are great and I love the enthusiasm, the confidence and the willingness to learn.

I was also pleased to be part of the Career Series conversation on creativity in the digital workplace. It was super to meet fellow volunteer Fabi, and of course Laura at Apps for Good.

How did students respond to your feedback?

I hope they responded well! I always try to look for the core nugget of genius inside an idea and build on that.

From your perspective, how does industry engagement benefit young people?

I’d like to think it shows that we are human beings, just like they are, and it inspires them to know this is something they could do if they decide they would like to. And if they don’t that’s also fine, but the skills of empathy, creative thinking and iterative building will help them in whatever they choose to do.

What did you gain from the experience of volunteering with Apps for Good?

I love doing these sessions, and I joke that it’s more terrifying to work with a room full of 14 year olds than it is to work with a room full of senior business leaders. Of course it’s not more terrifying, but it does focus my mind! There’s a real energy and focus required to listen and respond to upwards of 7 or 8 ideas in quick succession. And I love the freshness of ideas that come from the student teams.

Has your experience with Apps for Good increased your job satisfaction

Absolutely - there is a real sense of giving something back. Plus I love that I am hopefully helping set some young people up with some real skills for the future. I wish I had known at school that empathy, creativity and experimentation were all things that would set me up for the future.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Stay curious, try everything and trust your intuition. Recognise that tech and science are important but so is creativity and humanity, and that really original stuff comes when you pull on all of it. Yes of course STEM subjects are important, but so are the arts and creativity. And when you bring all this together with curiosity - that’s when some really special stuff can happen.. Finally, by all means follow your passion but consider how you can apply it practically. Sometimes you have to take baby steps.