This weeks PBA Change Maker is Michelle Wong (AKA Wongy), the Chief Disruptor and Chair of Disruptive Force, the Not-For-Profit organisation behind GoSHackathon (GoSH).
Wongy founded GoSH in 2023, frustrated by the lack of large-scale innovation and future tech-pathway opportunities that accommodated neurodivergent talent or were delivered in regional Western Australia. GoSH has since grown into WA's largest youth innovation movement, with over 3,000 regional young people participating in the face-to-face innovation showcase and hackathon events. As a woman with ADHD, Wongy is comfortable rocking the boat and her work sits at the intersection of inclusion, disruptive innovation and systems change. She champions 'disruption for good' as a catalyst for innovation breakthroughs and building youth-led environments that challenge traditional models. Wongy's high-energy presence and disruptor profile are not gimmicks; her work is intentionally designed and evidence-based. Wongy's research contributes to the field of Self-Determination Theory and the behavioural mechanisms that support motivation, engagement and sustained participation for Autistic Youth.
Additionally, Wongy consults on organisational Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging processes and was formerly the Manager of Innovation and Operations at Creative Tech Village, one of WA's State Innovation Hubs. Her professional career and passion for supporting the underdog began as a teacher in Victoria, before mobile phones and when TV had commercial breaks.
Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position.
Upon reflection, my career trajectory is representative of undiagnosed ADHD and grit. I have never been able to ignore injustice, I've just developed far more effective strategies for addressing it. I still ruffle feathers, but I rarely get kicked out of classrooms anymore. I have always loved kids and was able to naturally recognise their talent. This skill set led me to teaching where I could help identify and build on the capabilities of young people. I didn't realise my aptitude for understanding and connecting with youth was my own unique talent until I started observing other people's interactions with young people and wondering why they weren't responding to what I saw as obvious? This realisation prompted me to start mapping my own systems, develop models for engagement and strategies to support challenging behaviours within the classroom, and different thinkers within the curriculum. I moved with my husband and son to WA to start my own business, ‘Bust-a-Burpee’ a school incursion that taught maths through movement.
The phenomenal Prof.Lyn Beazley saw what I was doing and recommended I apply research to my programs. COVID hit, Bust-a-Burpee shut down overnight, and I embraced life as a post-grad student. My volunteer work running a coding club for regional autistic youth (AKA ninjas), was at odds with my professional work involving metro STEM platforms. I could not ignore the disadvantages (geographic, socio-economic, disability access), or keep thinking about the talents of my incredible ‘ninjas’ and how they would never shine in these traditional delivery models. GoSH was born and I’ve been disrupting (for good) ever since.
What drives you to do the work that you do?
What drives me is inequity. My inability to overlook injustice, especially when I can see a clear solution, fuels my frustration as I strive to find ways to educate others and showcase the power of inclusive environments. I am a glass half full thinker, which shelters me somewhat from the impact of the horrific statistics and outcomes of disadvantage, allowing me to see a silver lining in negative situations. I passionately believe that the greatest innovation is born from people facing the greatest challenges and this belief is evidenced in the outcomes of GoSH. The lived experiences of our regional and neurodivergent youth sees them develop adaptive problem solving skills as second nature. Many extraordinary thinkers and visionaries have overcome extreme disadvantages and changed the world, and I can’t wait for our GoSH alumni to drive regional and global outcomes.
At its core, my work is about shifting the lens from difficult to advantage and proving that disruption for good unlocks entirely new pathways for innovation.
If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?
15 year old me: Don’t drop Math Methods
Founder me: There is so much support and funding available to startups, particularly those who are innovating. I built everything from the ground up, didn’t pay myself and often used my own savings because I wanted every cent to go into resourcing for the participants. I’m still telling myself this as the guilt of drawing income from a not for profit organisation still gets to me. It’s thanks to my incredible board of directors who are constantly reminding me to value my worth, that has seen us reach new funding milestones and scale our delivery.
Secondly, I would prioritise sustainability from the start. In purpose-driven work, it’s easy to believe that every resource should go directly to impact, overshadowing planning for long-term impact measures, future scale and ongoing operational requirements. I would build project management into funding pipelines and commercial pathways earlier.
Ultimately, I would remind myself that impact at scale requires both vision and infrastructure, you need both to last and there's plenty of resources to support these.
Any words you live by every day?
ADHD life - Check your calendar.
I'm really big on inspiring quotes that resonate with me personally. My favourites are:
"They didn't know it was impossible so they did it." Mark Twain
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." also Mark Twain. I love this as it resonates with my strong sense of purpose underpinning all of my work, and also my ADHD which sees me forget a lot of things!
And finally, my favourite from from Albert Einstein: "To punish my contempt for authority, Fate has made me an authority myself."
What are you currently watching / reading / listening to?
I’m a big rereader and will reread my entire bookcase multiple times. It’s how I stop my brain and reset. I revisited the magic of Harry Potter over Easter and am currently rereading Nineteen Eighty-Four.
I love the Knowledge Project podcast with Shane Parish. He has incredible guests and he's a talented interviewer. I also like that each episode is long.
Finally, I can't recommend enough listening to your favourite albums of your youth on Spotify. A long drive, singing along word-for-word, it's very cathartic. My go to albums are Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette, Nevermind and Unplugged in New York - Nirvana, and Smash -The Offspring.
