Meet the Women in GovTech 2024

More than a hundred stories, 23 countries across four continents, five community partners, and one sponsor – marking multiple firsts for us and the most comprehensive Women in GovTech report in GovInsider’s history!

In its eighth edition, the report features perspectives from Ministers, product developers, researchers, across domains such as smart city development, healthcare, cybersecurity tech policy, and digital government transformation. 

The wide scope of the report points to the complex and diverse ways women contribute to the mission of digital government. 

Some of the many highlights include a UX Designer in Cambodia who helped to design and streamline a Vaccine Management System; a Deputy Director in Singapore who develops training programmes for senior leaders; and UAE’s Deputy Minister for Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, who spearheaded the country’s Zero Government Bureaucracy initiative.

The report is a snapshot of the state of government transformation today, with leaders sharing their country’s progress on emerging themes.

The themes ranged from the state of digital public infrastructure (DPI), the artificial intelligence (AI) whirlwind, and the quantum tech question mark, as well as perennial topics such as designing accessible, user-friendly services, sustainability, managing change within an organisation, and modernisation.

As such, this year’s report also sought their views on AI within the public sector.

Hear from thought leaders like JTC Corporation’s Shermaine Wong, Synapxe’s Christine Ang, and Public Digital’s Emma Gawen, who predict that 2025 will see governments moving towards deeper AI use-cases, while representatives from Turkey, Cambodia, and Thailand share about their countries’ experience developing national large language models (LLMs).

Lastly and most importantly, the report was made possible with official support from our community partners in the public sector, including Singapore’s Open Government Products (OGP), Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI), and Synapxe, as well as Cambodia’s General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Indonesia’s Jabar Digital Service (JDS), and the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA).

These five partners have worked with us to identify and spotlight exemplary women from across their organisations and networks.

We would also like to thank HCLTech, without whose support this report would not have been possible. Without further ado...

Meet the Women in GovTech 2024.

Cambodia 

Chhun Sokhour, UX/UI Designer, Technical Team, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia 
Dy Bosolida, Legal Officer at the Policy and Legal Affairs Department, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia 
Hap Monyca, Project Coordinator, Technical Team, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia 
Lay Puthineath, Data Scientist, Technical Team, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia 
Sary Manida, UX/UI Designer, Technical Team, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia 
Sok Monyneth, Scrum Master at the Digital Transformation Department, General Secretariat of the Digital Government Committee (DGC), Cambodia

Canada 

Amanda Bernardo, Director, Change Management and Service Design Enterprise Transformation, Government of Canada 
Honey Dacanay, Director-General for Digital Policy and Performance at the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada’s Office of the Chief Information Officer 
Mélanie Copeland, Director, Digital Transformation CIRNAC, Canada 

Estonia 

Carmen Raal, International Cyber Security Cooperation Advisor, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia 
Kristel Kriisa, AI Advisor to the Secretary of State, Estonia 
Nele Leosk, Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia 

Egypt 

Mariam Fayez, Director of Media Relations, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt

Germany 

Christina Lang, CEO & Founder of DigitalService, Germany

Indonesia (only available in Bahasa Indonesia)

Dini Maghfirra, Executive Director of Satu Data Indonesia, Ministry of National Development Planning, Indonesia 
Dwi Retno Wilujeng Wahyu Utami, Director of Statistical Dissemination, BPS-Statistics Indonesia 
Ika Mardiah, Head of Communication and Informatics Office, West Java Provincial Government, Indonesia 
Rizki Hustiniasari, Head, Jabar Digital Service (JDS), Indonesia 
Santi Sopandi, Lead Tribe Government and Operation Services, Jabar Digital Service (JDS), Indonesia 
Yuliana Keke, Project Officer, Jabar Digital Service (JDS), Indonesia

Japan 

Chikako Masuda, Head of Intelligence Research, Digital Agency, Japan

Kenya

Nwabundo Dike, ICT Specialist, Digital Centre of Excellence, UNICEF, Kenya

Laos 

Vannapha Phommathansy, Deputy Director General, Digital Government Center, Ministry of Technology and Communications of Laos

Lithuania

Ieva Žilionienė, GovTech Policy Expert at Infobalt, Lithuania’s DigiTech Association

Malaysia 

Chan Chuey Hwye, Lead, Intervention - Regulatory Facilitation, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) 
Maimunah Jaffar, Director-Lead Technology and Innovation, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Malaysia 
Ts. Norazlina Md Sani, RTTP, Lead of FutureTech, Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) 
YBrs. Ts. Dr. Fazidah binti Abu Bakar, Deputy Director General (Information and Communication Technology), Jabatan Digital Negara (JDN), Malaysia

Norway 

Liv Marte Nordhaug, Secretariat CEO, Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), Norway

Serbia

Marta A. Tomovska, Commissioner of EXPO 2027 Belgrade, and Advisor to the President of the Parliament, Republic of Serbia

Singapore 

Andrea Phua, Senior Director, National AI Group and Director, Digital Economy Office, Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Singapore 
Ang Kar Min, Consultant, Cybersecurity Engineering Centre, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) 
Adjunct Associate Prof Ranjana Acharya, Senior Consultant, Department of General Internal Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Singapore 
Bernice Khoo, Director, Technology Office and Director (Research), National AI Group, Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Singapore 
Bindu Sukumaran, Senior Assistant Director, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore 
Catherine Lian, General Manager & Technology Leader, IBM ASEAN, Singapore 
Carina Lim, Product Designer, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Charmaine Lee, Senior Product Manager, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Cheryl Tan, Deputy Director, AI Masterplanning, Governance, AI Central, HTX, Singapore 
Chia Wan Yin, Director Systems Engineering and C3 Centre, Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), Singapore 
Christine Ang, Director, Data Analytics & AI-Services Planning, Synapxe, Singapore 
Denise Wong, Assistant Chief Executive and Deputy Commissioner of PDPC, Strategic Policy & Operations, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore 
Dr Savitha Ramasamy, Principal Scientist, Machine Intellection Department, A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research (A*STAR I2R), Singapore 
Dr Zhao Wanting, Assistant Director, Lead of Data Scientist, National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore 
Elizabeth Pan Dai Dee, Assistant Director, Digital & Smart Health Office, Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI), Singapore 
Esther Lin Shuzhen, Assistant Director (Hospital Without Walls), Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI), Singapore 
Goh Hanyan, Director, Smart Nation Strategy Office and Director, Policy & Strategy, National AI Group, Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Singapore 
Goh Siew Hong, Deputy Director, Smart City Technology Division, GovTech Singapore 
Jillian Wood, Chief of Staff, Asia Pacific, ServiceNow, Singapore 
Kendra Wong, Senior Product Operations Specialist, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Ling Su Yuen, Chief Architect, Synapxe, Singapore 
Liyana Muhammad Fauzi, Principal Product Manager, Government Digital Products, GovTech Singapore 
Loh Woon Sien, Cluster Director, Infrastructure Planning & Facilitation, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore 
May Chew, Chief Information Officer, Agency of Logistics and Procurement Services (ALPS), Singapore 
Ng Wee Wei, Senior Managing Director and Southeast Asia Market Unit Lead, Accenture 
Ngiam Siew Ying, CEO, Synapxe, Singapore 
Ong Mei Xi, Deputy Director AI Lab, Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), Singapore 
Patricia Zhao, Director, Government Digital Products, GovTech Singapore 
Pauline Ng, Deputy Director (Investigation), Investigation Systems, Policing Programme Management Centre (PPMC), HTX, Singapore 
Reshma Vasu, Senior Product Manager, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Shermaine Wong, Senior Manager, Smart District Division, JTC Corporation, Singapore 
Sintia Teddy-Ang, Director, Planning and Operations, AI Singapore 
Siti Nur Farhanah Binte S. Hussin Bagharib, Assistant Director, International Cyber Policy Office, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) 
Sofia Wong, Cyber Security Consultant, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) 
Sonya Chan, Deputy Director, Strategy and Planning (Emerging Technology), Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) 
Stephanie Siow, Deputy Director, Innovation & Transformation and Workforce Transformation, Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Singapore 
Suranjana Sengupta, Senior Product Operations Specialist, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Sylvia Wong, Director, Digital & Integration Services, Synapxe, Singapore 
Tan Shui-Min, Chief Information Technology Officer, National University of Singapore (NUS) 
Tan Jie Yin, Senior Product Operations Specialist, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore 
Tan Lee Chew, Group Chief Commercial Officer for Market Development and President of Smart City & Digital Solutions, ST Engineering 
Teo Li Li, Director, Digital Business Enablement, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore 
Vanessa Wilfred, Deputy Director, AI Governance, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore 
Veronica Tan, Director, Safer Cyberspace Division, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) 
Yeo Beng Huay, Director, Digital Transformation Governance, GovTech Singapore 
Yve Xu, Deputy Director, Future of Building and Infrastructure Division, JTC, Singapore

Slovenia 

Emilija Stojmenova Duh, former Minister of Digital Transformation, Slovenia

Thailand 

Dr Apivadee Piyatumrong, Senior Strategic Project Expert, Big Data Institute, Thailand

The Philippines 

Gladys De Ocampo, Deputy Division Chief, CIECSD, Cybersecurity Bureau Department of Information and Communications Technology, The Philippines 
Louise Sky T. Olaguer, Program Head/National Coordinator, Digital and Frontier Technologies for Health Program, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Philippines 
Yesly Corazon, Director of Internal Audit, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Philippines

Togo 

Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation, Togo

Turkey 

Dr Merve Ayyüce Kizrak, AI Specialist, Digital Transformation Office (DTO) of the Presidency of Turkey 
Hanife Gülin DİZER, Expert, Digital Transformation Office (DTO) of the Presidency of Turkey

Uganda

Doreen Gift Bujjingo, ICT Infrastructure Engineer, Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Uganda 
Shirley Gladys Nakyejwe, Senior IT Officer & Intellectual Property Specialist, Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Uganda

United Arab Emirates (UAE) 

HE Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister for Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, UAE

United Kingdom 

Annina Wersun, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer, OpenCRVS, United Kingdom 
Emma Gawen, Managing Director, Public Digital, United Kingdom

United States 

Adrianna Tan, Founder, Future Ethics, United States 
April Feng, CEO, Ameelio, United States 
Caitlin Gandhi, Director, Digital Corps, United States 
Cynthia Lo, Program Manager for Social Impact, GitHub, United States  
Hanna Kim, Director of Login.gov, Technology Transformation Services - General Services Administration, United States 
Julia Vieira de Andrade Dias Emendabili, Digital Innovation Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United States  
Justyna Orlowska, Manager, Department of Innovation and Technology, City of Boston, United States  

Laura Galante, Intelligence Community’s Cyber Executive and Director of the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC), Office of the Director for National Intelligence, United States
Laura Stanton, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Information Technology Category, General Services Administration, United States 
Sunita Grote, Lead, UNICEF Ventures, UNICEF, United States 
Persis Howe, Content Lead, Digital and Data Services, City and County of San Francisco, United States