{"id":6,"date":"2012-09-08T11:33:17","date_gmt":"2012-09-08T11:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/girl-germs.com\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T02:57:12","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/girl-germs.com\/?page_id=6","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi! GirlGerms here. In the real world I go by Jess Dodson. I’m a Security\/Identity architect with over 20 years of experience, based in sunny Queensland, Australia. Mad keen Microsoft fangirl (unsurprisingly) an ex-Microsoft MVP (2016-2019), and a Microsoft CSA! I’m big on passing on information to others that’s technically relevant, as well as passing on information that, while not technical, is useful for those in system administration. Core skills (not soft skills!) for the win!<\/p>\n

I’m also the mum to a tiny human who is constantly evolving – Lil’ GirlGerms (as she’s not a baby anymore!) was born in 2017! Now running after an energetic kiddo, who loves to move all the time<\/strong> and is only still when she’s sleeping. Not surprising for an ADHD kiddo…<\/p>\n

In whatever spare time I manage to wrangle for myself, I play video games, read fantasy and sci-fi novels, collect and build *far*<\/strong> too much Lego (no, really, it’s becoming a problem, I’m running out of room for it all!) and I’m also a keen crafter of all sorts of things – current craze is chainmaille jewellery. I’m a genuine crazy cat lady with a 2 cats (soon to be 3…) that cause no end of terror…plus a hive of bees >.><\/p>\n

When speaking with me, please refer to me as Jess – I also respond to GirlGerms, GG and “Oi, you!”. I’m not a fan of Jesse\/Jessie\/Jessy and will not respond to being called any of them. Jessica is only for use when I’m in trouble…which doesn’t happen that often because I’m an angel \ud83d\ude07<\/p>\n

<arse-covering>All opinions\/thoughts\/ideas\/rants\/general snarkiness presented on this blog and on the following social media\/gaming sites are purely individual to lil’ ol’ me. They definitely do not<\/span><\/strong> represent my current or previous employers or any associations I’m a member of, unless explicitly stated. <\/arse-covering><\/p>\n

Primary contact for ALL THE THINGS:<\/strong> jess@girl-germs.com
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Social<\/span><\/h3>\n

The following social network accounts are my personal accounts – best chance of getting me to respond is to hit me up on Twitter or Discord, both of which are public. My Facebook is locked down – you need to work your way to the “inner circle” to get into that one and I don’t accept random friend requests unless I do actually know you.<\/p>\n

LinkTree: <\/strong>https:\/\/linktr.ee\/girlgerms<\/a> 
\nBluesky:<\/strong> https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/girlgerms.wtf<\/a> (public)
\nMastodon: <\/strong>https:\/\/infosec.exchange\/@girlgerms<\/a> (public)
\n<\/strong>Twitter<\/strong>: http:\/\/twitter.com\/girlgerms<\/a> (private – go to BSky)
\nThreads:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@jess_girlgerms<\/a> (public)
\nReddit<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/girlgerms\/<\/a> (public)
\nFacebook<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jess.r.dodson<\/a> (close friends and family only)
\nInstagram<\/strong>: http:\/\/instagram.com\/jess_girlgerms\/<\/a> (private)
\nDiscord: <\/strong>girlgerms<\/span><\/a> (does require us to be connected via a mutual server – ping me elsewhere and I might invite you to NerdFest…don’t know what NerdFest is? Ask me about it!)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Professional<\/span><\/h3>\n

The following are my professional social media accounts and include my professional accomplishments. Feel free to chat to me on any of these (though the private ones may take me a bit longer to see!). If you’re wanting to connect professionally, please do send through a connection request on LinkedIn with a message!<\/p>\n

Email: <\/strong>girlgerms@microsoft.com<\/a> (yes, it does actually work!)
\nLinkedIn:<\/strong> au.linkedin.com\/in\/jrdodson\/<\/a>
\nGitHub:<\/strong> https:\/\/github.com\/girlgerms<\/a>
\nMicrosoft Learn Credentials: <\/strong>https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/users\/girlgerms\/credentials<\/a>
\nMicrosoft Tech Community:
\n<\/strong>https:\/\/techcommunity.microsoft.com\/t5\/user\/viewprofilepage\/user-id\/141499<\/a>
\nSessionize speaker profile:<\/strong> https:\/\/sessionize.com\/girlgerms\/<\/a>
\nSTEM Women:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.stemwomen.org.au\/profile\/jess-dodson<\/a>
\n<\/a>Experts Exchange: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.experts-exchange.com\/members\/Jess-Dodson.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Other professional things<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For a list of my work history and how I got to where I currently am in IT & system administration, feel free to read the whole story!<\/a><\/p>\n