Joanna Allen

Joanna Allen has been nominated for the Digital Volunteer Award as she carries out many roles within the Scottish Tech Army, managing projects and is a key liaison person between teams within the Scottish Tech Army. Joanna is one of the ‘first responders’ to any requests that come from organisations looking for technical support during Covid-19. Swiftly and professionally, Joanna reviews each request and identifies the best resources required to get each STA project up and running. 

She is also a programme manager for one of their biggest projects, working with the team in Scottish Government that works to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls, where she manages a high volume of requests from the team and sources and manages the resources needed to deliver the best possible solution. With a deep-rooted desire to help and give back during this challenging time, Joanna is also a volunteer NHS Covid responder at St John’s Hospital, where she works as a ‘ward helper’ one day a week.

The Triage Team plays a vital role in how the Scottish Tech Army operates and how projects flow through its system. Joanna has a critical role in managing a high number of requests that come through from organisations needing technical support and guidance. 

With the third sector being one of the key communities that is benefiting from the work of the Scottish Tech Army, Joanna takes pride and joy in working with a number of different charities across a broad spectrum of sectors, including mental health, healthcare, victim support and charities tackling homelessness. She is passionate about bridging the skills gap and helping charities overcome technical issues at a time when many are having to take all of their services online.

Joanna has made a significant impact on very many of the organisations that has come to the Scottish Tech Army for technical support. She has played a crucial role in helping them achieve their goals during extremely challenging times and has built up trust and rapport with everyone that she has worked with. She has approached every request with passion, commitment and dedication and works tirelessly to ensure that she delivers the best possible service. Pragmatic and approachable, Joanna has also made a significant impact on those that she has worked with internally in the Scottish Tech Army.

Pete Jaco, co-founder of the Scottish Tech Army said: “Joanna was one of our early volunteers who immediately helped in a number of different areas. She joined the project management team and became the lead for the Challenging Violence Against Women project. She has been complimented by the charity and the Scottish Government for her incredible work on the project. She is a great supporter of the Scottish Tech Army community and plays a crucial role in helping on board new volunteers and set up the project management facility within the Scottish Tech Army.”

Alistair Forbes, co-founder of STA said: “Choosing the most appropriate and impactful projects is critical for the success of the Scottish Tech Army – ensuring that they are relevant, and can be delivered quickly and sustainably. Joanna is absolutely vital to the whole organisation and is a key player in a small team. The team has received requests for over 175 projects, of which over 75 are now active thanks to her and her colleagues. She is a tremendous exemplar of what the STA sets out to do and epitomises both the spirit and the professionalism of our community. She is very actively engaged in helping the Scottish Tech Army in the development of internal operations and is the bridge to many other parts of our team.”