Atlassian alumna Tash Keuneman had a dream run at Australian software giant Atlassian, working on early-stage Confluence templates that are now accessed by a quarter of a million companies. But she has some advice for aspiring changemakers like herself.
“If you’re trying to get a job at Atlassian, go for it, but also [look for] a gig at the next Atlassian! There are so many great start-ups that need excellent talent,” Keuneman, who also did stints at Shippit, The World Bank, and Domain, tells SmartCompany.
“Take a leap of faith.”
It was this forward-thinking vision that prompted the savvy software designer to take her own leap of faith in starting her climate philanthropy foundation, the Keuneman Foundation, which invests in short and long-term projects that are working towards the net zero deadline.
She launched the not-for-profit with her partner Wendell — who is also ex-Atlassian and now works at Australian-US venture capital firm Tidal Ventures. Coincidentally, the pair both grew up in Sri Lanka — ten years apart — before both emigrating to Australia.
During trips back to her homeland, Keuneman recalls her parents giving her a small amount of pocket money “because they knew I’d give it away to the first person I thought needed it”. This benevolence has stayed with her well into adulthood, she says.
“Inequality and injustice strike a chord with me,” she says.
Keuneman, who was hired at Atlassian as a technical writer in 2012 before moving into product design after she “fell in love with the craft”, says the global male-dominated tech scene can be the backdrop of the occasional “horror story”.
“But here’s the thing, even in boys clubs, there are always advocates,” she reveals.
“If it’s women who have a seat at the table now, we should be looking around and asking ourselves, ‘Who else isn’t here? How can I pull out a seat?’.”
It’s with this in mind that Keuneman’s focus shifted onto the climate crisis, and the very daunting prospect of climate refugees, strangled food resources from dying livestock, and the mass extinction of animals ill-equipped for a rapidly changing climate.
“In the latest report by the Australian Environmental Grantmaker’s Network (AEGN) which I joined to help fund climate change at scale, climate change impacts so many other areas that people interested in social change care about — be it gender equality, health or justice for First Nations peoples,” she says.
“Eventually, I realised that we must stop the actions that lead to extinctions, otherwise, it’s like trying to plug a leaky bucket.”
It might seem like a change of pace for the tech boffin, but Keuneman says a lot of the systemic change she works on in encouraging businesses to act on their environmental responsibilities is “applying what I’ve learned in scaling software companies to scaling climate action”.
Her advice for business leaders looking to make their operations more green is twofold. First of all, join the Work for Climate community, which offers straightforward courses, tools and coaching for employees looking for climate impact, no matter the workplace.
“Secondly, add a climate filter to your work. The Climate Lens tool from the AEGN is a great resource for leaders that don’t know where to start when it comes to getting a read on the issues.
“We can’t wait for the super-rich to take action, it’s up to all of us.”
These days Keuneman balances her foundation with her role as head of design at Sonder, a digital wellbeing platform where employees and students can access health experts for a range of physical and mental health issues.
“Once I figured out that everything I do should relate to easing human or earth suffering, life became simpler, more joyful,” she says.
Emma Elsworthy is Climate Editor at Crikey, SmartCompany, and The Mandarin, and writes daily morning newsletter the Worm. Before joining Crikey in 2021, Emma was a breaking news reporter in ABC’s Sydney newsroom, a journalist at BBC Australia, and a journalist in Fairfax Media’s regional network. She was part of a team awarded a Walkley for coverage of the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfire crisis, and won the Australian Press Council prize in 2013.
