Coleena McCarty, a Georgia-born and now based in Jindabyne, moved to the Snowy Mountains town eight years ago.

Once an American and now proud Australian citizen, she swapped the rolling farmlands of Georgia, USA, for the mountain peaks of Jindabyne.

Her journey to the Snowy Mountains is based on professional ambition, a quest for cooler climates, and a deep appreciation for small-town community.

Ms McCarty, originally from a hot, agricultural region in Georgia similar to Queensland, with sugar cane and Vidalia onions, moved to Australia 12 years ago, a career-driven re-location for a pharmaceutical start-up company.

After a company downsizing prompted her to seek opportunities abroad, she started looking into positions available in countries she had visited previously.

“Australia came through first with the offer letter,” Ms McCarty said.

She was the second person hired to establish the software development implementations for the new venture on Australian soil starting in Melbourne, Victoria.

While Melbourne offered a vibrant start, its warmth didn’t quite suit her.

“Originally hoping to stay in Victoria I explored the colder climate towns including those close to the snowfields but found they lacked the summer environment I was looking for,” Ms McCarty said.

Jindabyne, however, offered the perfect blend of winter sports and thriving summer activities, cementing her decision to re-locate eight years ago.

Today, Ms McCarty is a solution architect for the global software company ServiceNow.

Her expertise extends to delivering training across the Asia Pacific and Japan region, but her proximity to Canberra often sees her involved in federal and government contracts.

Professionally, Ms McCarty is continually pushing boundaries and always on the lookout to learn something new.

She is currently undertaking a demanding, six-month Certified Master Architect program – a prestigious qualification held by only 21 individuals in Australia.

Her goal is to hold this advanced expertise to contribute at the board level, having already signed up for the NSW boards registry.

“I want to move into being on the board, focusing on “C-suite conversations” with top executives,” Ms McCarty said.

“This includes being in discussions with CIO, CFO, COO’s helping them with their organisations from a board level.”

Beyond her high-level tech career, Ms McCarty is a deeply ingrained member of the Jindabyne community.

She is the president of the Jindabyne Lions Club and eagerly participates in local initiatives like the Lake Light Sculpture event.

At home, she enjoys gardening and hopes to rekindle her passion for acrylic painting.

Her constant companions are her two unique Bergamasco sheepdogs, an Italian breed.

“Zed, my dog, was the fourth one brought into the country, there are fewer than 80 of his breed in Australia,” Ms McCarty said.

“Zed is a great-grandfather to the majority of the dogs running around in the dog shows, with his descendants consistently competing at events like the Melbourne Royal Show.”

She is often seen walking her beloved dogs twice daily, a sight loved by many because of the rarity of the breed.

Though from a non-snowy part of Georgia, Ms McCarty learned to snowboard in her late 20s in Ohio and Denver.

Now, she embraces each winter season by jumping on her snowboard as much as possible.

While in the summer months she spends a lot of time at the lake, and occasionally fly fishing.

“What keeps me in Jindabyne is definitely the community, I really like small town community. I like the fact that you can talk to your neighbours,” Ms McCarty said.

“Everybody in Jindabyne is friendly and outgoing.”

She finds parallels between Jindabyne and her agricultural hometown, right down to the number of grocery stores.

After 12 years in Australia, and eight in Jindabyne, Ms McCarty has found her forever home.

“Jindabyne’s home now,” she said.

“I bought a house, and I am here for the long haul, you guys are stuck with me now.”

With her global expertise and local heart, Ms McCarty is an integrated and much-loved part of the Jindabyne community.