Ashley Smith is an automation engineer at CGI, meet-up organiser and Quality Advocate. She’s a familiar face at testing meet-ups, always on the hunt for “what good looks like,” and passionate about making quality a whole-team priority. She has over 12 years of experience in testing, and has been in a leadership role in some form for the last 8 years. She is super happy to admit that she’s always learning and loves finding out more about new topics and tech developments, but it’s not her whole life! Ashley is also the co-founder of Women in Tech York, a meet-up that was recently named the “Best Women In Tech Community Organisation 2025 - North East England” by the UK Enterprise Awards (now, Women in Tech York is pretty much her whole life!).

Known for her colourful hair, curiosity-fuelled questions, and slightly chaotic energy, Ashley brings warmth, humour, and real talk to every stage she steps on. Her talks are equal parts insightful and entertaining, and she firmly believes that with a bit of empathy, a dash of knowledge, and maybe a role-swap day or two, we can all make tech a better place to work!