We’re highlighting our business’ strongest asset: our wonderful team!

Here at the Canberra Innovation Network, we’re passionate about innovation and are here to help you make an impact and change the world. Our team is full of clever, connected and creative people and we’re excited to introduce you to our new Collaborative Innovation Manager, Kelly Cruz.

Explain what you do at CBRIN in 25 words or less.

I design and facilitate CBRIN’s hackathons, thinktanks & Collab Labs, etc. where “out of the box,” collaborative thinking is utilized to help solve and delve into focused challenges, questions and problems.

Tell us about what you are working on at the moment.

Currently, I’m working on College Hack, a hackathon bringing some of Canberra’s young and curious minds together for 2 days of innovative ideas focused on making the Canberra of the future (2040) a better place to live, work, move, learn and play!

 Who or what inspires you?

People who keep moving forward, no matter the setback. You are allowed to fall down and even fail, but it is the people who get up, brush themselves off and try again that inspire me.

One of my all time fav quotes:
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

What’s your favourite book or podcast?

Podcast- NPR’s, How I Built This with Guy Raz

If I want to escape into a fascinating world, I love the series called, A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness.

What are you most passionate about?

Travelling to new places, film, the arts in general and of course delicious food!

What’s your poison?

AM: Flat white | PM: Gin & tonic or an Old Fashioned

What do you work towards in your free time?

Finishing my Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management…. two more semesters!

What is something that never fails to make you smile?

Looking up at the stars, cheezy but it always works!

What are you currently watching on Netflix?

I never watched Game of Thrones when the rest of the world did, so I have been going through those.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that we may not know

I’ll try anything twice, the first time it may have been presented poorly-
Except for skydiving, the plane needs to be crashing!… why jump out of a perfectly good flying plane?! Hard no! Oh and I have a strong obsession with gold panning.

If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?

Black with glitter

Thanks, Kelly! You can connect with Kelly on LinkedIn or meet her at our office in the city.