Western Sydney Innovation Connect: Women x Industry Summit

Karen McKeown OAM is the Member for Penrith in the New South Wales Parliament, proudly representing her local community with dedication and integrity. A lifelong resident of the Penrith area, Karen is a local mum of four and a grandmother, deeply connected to the families and small businesses that make up the heart of Western Sydney.

Before entering State Parliament, Karen and her husband Brendan operated a small business and she also served as a Penrith City Councillor and Mayor, where she championed community development, local infrastructure, and opportunities for young people. Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to the community, and women in leadership, she is passionate about delivering better schools, healthcare services, transport, and job opportunities for Penrith.

Karen is a member of the Committee on Children and Young People, holding the position of Deputy Chair. She also sits on the Committee on the Ombudsman, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, and the Crime Commission for the Government.

Karen’s strong local ties and firsthand understanding of family life continue to shape her advocacy, ensuring Penrith remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Amanda Rose (#BossLady) is an advocate for women in business, a media commentator, keynote speaker and entrepreneur. She appears regularly on Sunrise, Weekend Today and 2GB, and features in national media including the Australian Financial Review, the Daily Telegraph and SmartCompany, applying compassionate critical thinking to unpack complex issues affecting everyday Australians.

Amanda is the Founder and CEO of Entrepreneurial & Small Business Women Australia (ESBWA) and Western Sydney Women. She also founded and sold Business Women Media, the first platform of its kind dedicated to advocating for small business women. As a mentor and advisor to women in executive roles and SMEs, Amanda is known for her strategic, practical approach to leadership and business.

A passionate keynote speaker, professional development trainer and workshop facilitator, Amanda Rose has worked with the Australian Defence Force, CPA Australia, Law Institute, UTS, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, ANZ, Deloitte, the Royal Australian Navy and local government in the areas of confident leadership, conflict resolution and relationship building.

Working with John Holland, Laing O’Rourke, Downer, EG Funds and all levels of government on policy creation and stakeholder engagement, Amanda has been described as the “glue connecting communities, government and business” on critical infrastructure and social impact initiatives.

Amanda holds a Master of Communication Management from UTS, a Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing & Psychology) from Macquarie University. She is currently completing a Master of Business Law at the University of Sydney.

Dr Jaclyn Aldenhoven is the Executive Director, Fostering Innovation at Investment NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a PhD in Animal Genetics from the University of Sydney. After completing postdoctoral research at the University of Utah, Jaclyn joined the NSW Government.

During her career, Jaci has shaped science policy, delivered programs to drive economic and industry development, and provided strategic advice to Ministers, agencies, and stakeholders. She has led a range of innovation-focused initiatives to strengthen research, foster investment, and accelerate industry growth, including programs in biotechnology and natural hazard mitigation.

As part of her current role, Jaci leads the Fostering Innovation Branch, within Investment NSW, in delivering the NSW Innovation Blueprint—a whole-of-government strategy designed to make NSW the best place to innovate. The Blueprint sets a clear vision and consistent policy direction to strengthen the innovation ecosystem, drive economic growth, and support priority missions such as net zero, housing, and local manufacturing.

Nikki Meller is a strong advocate for inclusive innovation, based in Western Sydney and leading at the intersection of learning, technology, and impact. As the founder and CEO of CREDuED, she designs accessible, human first learning experiences that bridge the digital divide and empower people with the skills needed for a future ready workforce, with a strong focus on equity, sustainability, and economic opportunity.

Her work helps organisations upskill teams, transform cultures, and embed capability at scale. She is also the creator of DocuCRED.Ai, an AI powered compliance tool she built to transform document comparison from a manual burden into a strategic advantage. Beyond entrepreneurship, Nikki is a recognised voice on AI ethics, governance, and responsible innovation, ensuring that technology adoption aligns with fairness, accountability, and trust. She contributes to national conversations on the future of technology as a member of the Tech Council of Australia, Women in Leadership (WIL), and SECNA, bringing a female tech founder perspective to complex challenges at the intersection of regulation, innovation, and social impact.

An award winning leader and speaker, Nikki sees AI not as a threat to human potential but as a catalyst to unlock it. She champions AI as a productivity partner, freeing people from repetitive tasks, amplifying critical thinking, and enabling smarter, faster, and fairer decisions. Her perspective challenges outdated narratives with a provocative questionWhat if AI didn’t replace us but revealed our best selves?

Her mission is clear, to create a future where innovation is inclusive, learning is a right, and technology serves people, not the other way around.

Julie is a Program Manager with 15+ years of experience leading complex initiatives across industries in Australia and internationally. She is passionate about education, community building and empowering founders through impactful programs and events. Julie specialises in program design, event strategy, stakeholder engagement, and connecting people and ideas to drive meaningful outcomes. She is currently leading the Liverpool Innovation Program at UNSW Founders, supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in South West Sydney.

Sally-ann Eather MAICD is the Executive Manager, co-founder and co-owner of Eather Group, alongside her husband Peter. Eather Group is a bulk material, earthmoving and transport business and was the 2024 Telstra Best of Business National Indigenous Excellence Award Winner.

Sally-ann leads with an ESG mindset, integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into the business. Eather Group has set a benchmark for diversity within the industry employing approximately 30% women; 20% Indigenous and 98% local (statistics current as of February 2026).

Sally-ann believes how you are in one area of your life, you are in all areas; she is committed to 1% improvements and aspires to encourage others across all industries to rewrite the status quo.

Julie is an engineer with more than 17 years’ experience in the public sector working on Defence projects including major acquisitions and long-term sustainment contracts. She is experienced in managing large technical teams in effective project delivery and has the insider knowledge on government procurement processes.

During her time in government, Julie issued numerous tenders to industry, evaluated them and debriefed unsuccessful tenderers on the failures of their bids. This has sparked the desire to assist companies that are technically capable but don’t have the resources or knowledge to bid successfully on government tenders and as such open up a whole new world of opportunities to them.

Julie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, Master’s Degree in Engineering Science (Electrical Engineering), a Certificate IV in Government Procurement and is a Fellow and Chartered Engineer of Engineers Australia.

Lauren Hitchen is the Principal Solicitor and founder of L.E.H Legal.

She established the firm with a clear purpose: to provide accessible, compassionate and effective legal services to the people of Western Sydney.

Lauren brings more than a decade of experience across Family Law, Criminal Law, and Wills & Estates. Her career includes senior positions in government and private practice, including time as a Federal Prosecutor and as a Senior Solicitor in child protection. She has extensive experience in both advocacy and negotiation, and a deep understanding of the court system in New South Wales.

Known for her approachable and thorough style, Lauren takes pride in guiding clients through legal processes with clarity and care. She is committed to ensuring that every client feels supported, informed, and empowered to make decisions about their matter.

Beyond her legal practice, Lauren is an active member of her local community and a passionate advocate for families and access to justice. If she’s not working, she’s walking her dog, playing soccer or watching the Penrith Panthers!

At L.E.H Legal, Lauren and her team provide legal services with integrity, compassion and strong technical expertise — helping clients navigate life’s legal challenges with confidence.

You might also know her as: “new mum slammed for going back to work a week after giving birth” (cheers Sunrise, but we still love you), but she’ll respond better to: “firecracker who chose to be a mum and a business woman and is bloody good at both”.

With a crowd of creative and compassionate clients on her books, Kat prides herself on finding the hidden gem in your business thanks to her knack for storytelling, cutting to the chase and keeping it real. She has a no ‘BS’ approach to PR and marketing.

After experiencing life on both sides of the fence, in agency and in-house, Kat took the leap and Ruby Agency launched on 10 January 2016. The business has grown five times over since inception and 90% of Ruby Agency’s work comes from referrals from happy clients.

Her mission is to make her clients thought leaders in their industries. She coaches them on different ways they should be thinking about their industries and how to be a ‘talk of the town’ game changer. This thought leadership coaching goes hand in hand with PR.

Kat is not afraid to tackle the hard subjects too. Think bitcoin, blockchain, enterprise technology, corporate culture – the list goes on. She also loves helping get the word out there for lifestyle clients too. Believe it or not, the lifestyle space is more of a challenge to come up with ideas, as these ideas need to be crafted in new and exciting ways – that have never been done before.

Anna has big plans for Australia’s transport industry, and with a natural ability to solve problems and connect the right people for the right job, there is no doubt that change is on the horizon. Anna spent her childhood moving around the NT, WA, QLD and is currently living in Sydney, NSW.

She has spent well over a decade fine tuning her transport and logistics skills predominately through various roles with Woolworths and Nutrien Ag Solutions (previously Ruralco). As a Supply Chain Executive, Anna gained awareness of critical issues in the national supply chain, most notably affecting rural and regional communities; and so, Rural Freight Connections was born.