12 March 2021

For International Woman's Day, we are celebrating some of the amazing women who make our community so great!

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International Women’s Day – Sarah Steel

For years women have been underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) university courses and occupations. Great efforts are being made to counter this, and we feel it is important to show that not only are there amazing women in STEM, but women who are passionate about the field.

We have one such woman here at Colony, The Astley. Sarah Steel only joined us recently but her passion for her work was immediately apparent. We really enjoyed learning about her experiences and the ground breaking work she does.

A bit about Sarah

As a scientific consultant I work with companies at different stages to apply neuroscience to the development of products and processes. This usually involves sourcing and reviewing scientific research, working closely with their R&D teams to drive technological innovation and help them create products / services that deliver more effective outcomes for their users. In my most recent role, I lead the R&D of a virtual reality concept for elite athletes, advising on the application of different brain analysing technologies like eye-tracking and EEG to enable them to analyse professional athletes in real time. Most of the companies I work with are in the emerging technology space and usually interested in human performance and how to optimise cognitive function.

My other time is spent delivering high performance consultancy on a 1-1 basis to help individuals optimise their cognitive function. Some of the cutting-edge systems I utilise include brain-computer interface technologies (training using brainwaves and EEG data), immersive reality and non-thermal low-level laser. It’s common for me to be working with clients with ADHD, specifically training attention and executive function processes using non-invasive technologies.

What does it meant to be a woman in your field?

I’m incredibly proud to be a woman working in the neuroscience/tech fields, especially as a neurodiverse entrepreneur. My vision is to raise awareness and drive the paradigm shift enabling more women, especially those who are neurodiverse, to set up their own businesses and pursue their passions. Being a female entrepreneur and working in male-dominated industries has been a blessing, I quickly realised I’d need to develop a strength of character and resilience to pursue opportunities, take risks, speak my mind and make tough decisions with integrity.

If you had the knowledge you have now, what would you say to your younger self?
That the things that make my brain unique (my ability to generate ideas, think outside the box, hyperfocus on things I’m passionate about) are my most valuable assets, they’re what the foundation of my ability to innovative and make me so good at what I do. When I was younger I felt like I never fit in, I dropped out of University twice, because I didn’t understand then that I’m wired differently. It took a lot of grit and going against the grain to understand how I learn and think, how to tap into my cognitive skillsets to get to the point where I achieved student of the year for my thesis and was offered a PhD position. I’ve learnt to harness aspects of my ADHD wiring to achieve academic and businesses success, but that was only possible when I let go of trying to follow ‘normal’ pathways and started doing things my own way. I do wonder if I’d have been diagnosed earlier, what I could’ve accomplished, so raising awareness of neurodiversity and the ways it presents differently in women is close to my heart.

We will be publishing more profiles everyday this week to celebrate IWD and our amazing female members. Make sure you check out our website and social media each day to read their incredible stories!