Conversations With Wāhine
Join our hosts are we interview inspirational guests who are leading change in their fields within the country, and the globe.
We champion the work Wellington women are achieving in their respective fields and amplify their voices in the community.
This podcast is brought to you by the National Council of Women Wellington Branch.
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Conversations With Wāhine
Episode 191: The Cybersmarties scam: Aisling Waldron and Shari Brewer
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Aisling Waldron is a Senior policy Advisor at Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention Center and serves on the Governance Board of ECPAT Child Alert. She previously led Prevention and Education initiatives at the Department of Internal Affairs tackling online harms, including child sexual exploitation and terrorist and violent extremist material online. In 2025 she accepted a role as Global Director of Monitoring for Cybersmarties, an Irish based education social media platform. After failing to be paid for 6 months, Aisling resigned and is now one of the key whistleblowers against CyberSmarties Ltd and its founder Diarmuid Hudner, acting on behalf of a victim group spanning multiple countries.
Shari Brewer is an Australian based content strategist with a background in education and digital business development. She has built and managed multiple online platforms across content marketing and e-learning, with a strong focus on supporting small business owners with their authentic voice in an AI-centric world. In 2024 she and a business partner invested their savings in an Australian Cybersmarties franchise to introduce the platform into Queensland schools. Things did not go to plan, and despite a signed contract guaranteeing the return of their deposit and countless empty promises to return the funds, she remains out of pocket more than 12 months later.
Together Aisling and Shari are pressing the authorities to investigate the company and founder. They have secured a front page story in the NZ Herald as well as in the Irish Mail on Sunday formal investigation and accountability. They continue to work tirelessly to ensure that companies and systems set up to protect children are themselves held to account.
They are continuing to raise funds for their legal case in the Irish courts, which has the extra layer of challenges since Aisling and Shari don't live in Ireland. Every donation and share helps bring them one step closer to justice:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-should-be-within-everyones-reach-fairness-matters
