Pia Andrews (née Pia Smith, also formerly known as Pia Waugh), born 1979, is an

open government Open government is the governing doctrine which sustain that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state and ...

leader and the ''Special Advisor, Digital & Client Data Workstream Lead'' for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Andrews spearheaded the growth of the Australian open government community by organising events such as GovHack, GovCamp and other events that bring together a diverse range of citizens who want to see government data made open for reuse. Previously, Andrews was known for her work as an Australian

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

advocate. Her past positions include presidency of

Software Freedom International Digital Freedom Foundation (DFF) is a non-profit organisation, non-profit organization established in 2004. The group is the lead organizer of Software Freedom Day, and Hardware Freedom Day, as well as other "freedom days". History The orga ...

; and presidency and vice-presidency of

Linux Australia Linux Australia is the national, Australian Free and Open Source Software Community organisation. It was founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in New South Wales as a non-profit organisation in 1999. Linux Australia aims to represent Australian ...

Career

Andrews was employed by IT services company Volante for several years. In 2005 Andrews was appointed Research Co-ordinator of the Australian Service for Knowledge of Open Source Software (ASK-OSS) project. From 2006 Andrews, with her then-husband

Jeff Waugh Jeff Waugh (also known as "jdub") is an Australian free software and open source software engineer. He is known for his past prominence in the GNOME and Ubuntu projects and communities. Career In 2004, Waugh was hired by Mark Shuttleworth as ...

, was a director of Waugh Partners, an Australian Open Source consultancy. Waugh Partners won the 2007 NSW State

Pearcey Award The Pearcey Awards are a set of prizes presented annually since 1998 by the Pearcey Foundation for achievement in the Australian ICT industry. Pearcey Award Categories Each year, the Pearcey Foundation presents 3 categories of award: ;Pearcey ...

for Young Achievers for their work promoting Free Software to the Australian

ICT ICT may refer to: Sciences and technology * Information and communications technology * Image Constraint Token, in video processing * Immunochromatographic test, a rapid immunoassay used to detect diseases such as anthrax * In-circuit test, in ...

industry. She was the project leader and a member of the Board of Directors of the One Laptop Per Child Australia program, launched in 2008. Andrews is a self-taught computer specialist, and has also studied

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

at a

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

level. She has been involved in several projects and events promoting ICT careers to children and women. In April 2009 Andrews announced her appointment as a policy advisor to

Kate Lundy Kate Alexandra Lundy (born 15 December 1967) is a former Labor Party member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Capital Territory. Lundy served as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and the Minister Assisting for the Digi ...

, and announced that in this role she was stepping aside from leadership and advocacy roles in community groups, and that she would no longer work for Waugh Partners. In November 2012 Andrews joined th
Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)
She was Director of Coordination and Gov 2.0 in the Technology and Procurement Division of Finance (under John Sheridan, the CTO of Australia) and in charge of Australian national open data site http://data.gov.au/ In 2014 Andrews was recognised for innovation and named one of Australia's 100 Women of Influence 2014 in The Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards. Andrews was included in the 2018 list of the world's 100 most influential people in digital government, by Apolitical Group. In August 2018 Andrews was appointed Executive Director of Digital Government in the New South Wales Department of Finance, Services and Innovation. In February 2020 Andrews was appointed ''Special Advisor, Digital & Client Data Workstream Lead'' for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Free software community and volunteer positions

Andrews has held several positions in the Free Software community: * Judge at the inaugural

New Zealand Open Source Awards The New Zealand Open Source Awards celebrate open source developments in New Zealand at a biannual awards ceremony, held since 2007. The awards are run by the New Zealand Open Source Society The New Zealand Open Source Society is an incorporate ...

, 17 October 2007 * President,

, the organising body of

Software Freedom Day Software Freedom Day (SFD) is an annual worldwide celebration of Free Software organized by the Digital Freedom Foundation (DFF). SFD is a public education effort with the aim of increasing awareness of Free Software and its virtues, and enc ...

, 2006–2008 * Member, organising committee for

linux.conf.au linux.conf.au (often abbreviated as lca) is Australasia's regional Linux and Open Source conference. It is a roaming conference, held in a different Australian or New Zealand city every year, coordinated by Linux Australia and organised by lo ...

2007 * Second recipient of the

Rusty Wrench Linux Australia is the national, Australian Free and Open Source Software Community organisation. It was founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in New South Wales as a non-profit organisation in 1999. Linux Australia aims to represent Australia ...

award for Service to the Australian Open Source Community at

2006. * Vice-president of

, 2005–2007 * President of Linux Australia, 2003–2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Pia Living people 1979 births Australian computer specialists People from New South Wales Australian bloggers Australian women bloggers Australian Zen Buddhists Linux people