THE 12 finalists for the 2016 NSW Women of the Year have been announced with voting open until February 28.
Minister for Women Pru Goward encouraged people to head online to vote in the three categories: Rex Airlines Regional Woman of the Year, A. H. Beard Community Hero Award and Harvey Norman Young Woman of the Year.
“Each and every one of these amazing women has made immense contributions to the community,” Ms Goward said.
“Individually, they are volunteers, founders of not-for-profit organisations, up-and-coming medical researchers and community leaders. Collectively, they represent the very best examples of women within our state.
There were 250 nominations for this year's awards.
The finalist are:
2016 Rex Airlines Regional Woman of the Year
Kelly Foran
Kelly created Friendly Faces, Helping Hands following the diagnosis of her own brain tumour and a relapse of her son's cancer. Friendly Faces, Helping Hands is a charity that assists regional families to access health services and provides support to families in hospital.
Jodie McRae
Jodie is a single mother who owns five successful small businesses in the Lismore and surrounding area. Jodie was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of triple negative breast cancer in May 2013. After being told she was cancer free in December 2013, Jodie was subsequently diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in September 2014. Jodie continues to fight the disease to this day. Despite a poor prognosis she founded Jodie's Inspiration, a not-for-profit organisation. She raised over $100,000 from her first fundraiser and purchased two cold cap therapy machines for a local oncology unit so that patients were given the opportunity to prevent chemotherapy hair loss.
Karol O'Brien
Karol is the General Manager of the Willing and Able Foundation in Port Macquarie and has worked with people with disability for more than 15 years. Starting as a volunteer in disability support, Karol has since set up several innovative businesses to support work for the intellectually disabled, including a second-hand clothing shop, a recycling business and a recycling building materials business.
These businesses have helped support employment in this regional community.
Annette Steele
Annette became CEO of Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council in 2010 and has grown Council services from $130,000 per annum to $3 million per annum. Her tenure has resulted in employment of 30 Aboriginal people, 39 student placements, four community services and welfare student places, and 10 conservation land management student places. Annette has also assisted in the development of successful tripartite partnerships with Broken Hill Land Council and Deniliquin Land Council to conduct the Ability Links Program for Aboriginal communities funded through Aging Disability and Home Care Services. Annette was successful in securing the tender for Going Home Staying Home package for Adults and Families, funded by Family and Community Services.
2016 A.H. Beard Community Hero Award
Professor Fadia Ghossayn
Fadia founded the Australian Lebanese Foundation in 2001 at The University of Sydney. The Foundation provides scholarships that require multi faith membership. Additionally, Fadia heads another Foundation that runs an Academy that annually calls for 15 young people from Australia to go to Lebanon to train on how to be a responsible Australian citizen. Fadia has made achievements in inspiring and mentoring young Lebanese in Australia to reach their full potential and strive for their goals while embracing Australian values.
Kathy Kelly
Kathy is the co-founder of the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation (TKYF), a charity fostering a more responsible drinking culture through education and initiatives targeting youth, families, sporting groups, and the broader community, as well as through strong advocacy to local, state and federal government.
Take care is what we say to our loved ones when we say goodbye. Building on this, and using Thomas’ initials, Take Kare is the Foundation’s central platform to instigate behavioural and social change around alcohol and drinking habits. The TKYF raised $1.4 million for a Safe Space in Sydney’s CBD and Darlinghurst on Friday and Saturday nights. Take Kare volunteers in high-vis jackets assist in defusing conflict, stopping sexual assault and helping intoxicated young people. Since December 2014 there has been over 20,000 preventive interactions to support the vision of ‘getting all of our children home safely’.
Brenda Miley
Brenda has changed the face of women's surfing in Australia. As an ex-champion surfer she pioneered her Learn to Surf School from a Kombi van on Bondi Beach in 1995. Brenda founded the Bondi Girls Surf Riders Club in 1999 and over time has mentored hundreds of women. She continues donating her time to community surfing programs, volunteering her time and resources across NSW by organising and delivering community learn to surf and beach safety programs. These include Vets GO Surfing and Indigenous programs such as Weave Youth and Community Services.
Cate Turner
Cate has also served as treasurer for some fifteen years for the Lane Cove Residents for Reconciliation in recognition of the first peoples of this country. As a resident of Lane Cove she served for some years on Lane Cove Council Cammeraygal Festival Committee. She has been a past Convenor of the Women’s Electoral Lobby and a member for 25 Years.
2016 Harvey Norman Young Woman of the Year
Dr Dharmica Mistry
Recipient of the 2015 Young Scientist Award, Dharmica is an inspiration to young women considering a future in medical research and microbiology. Dharmica is an researcher who is involved in implementing life changing medical research around early breast cancer detection that will impact upon women around the world. The core focus for Dharmica’s work is to commercialise a universal ground-breaking breast cancer screening test in collaboration with the University of Kentucky.
The partnerships and research driven by Dharmica have proven 90 per cent accurate in detecting the presence of the most common form of invasive cancer. Dharmica’s dream of significantly transforming women’s health worldwide through medical innovation is fast becoming a reality.
Laura O'Reilly
Laura co-founded Fighting Chance in 2011, a not for profit organisation focussed on creating employment and vocational opportunities for people with profound and severe disability. The organisation today supports more than 120 adults with disability in Northern Sydney. Fighting Chance has raised over $3 million dollars and created 12 employment opportunities for job seekers, 50 participation opportunities for people with profound disability and well over 100 work experience opportunities for young students with disability.
In 2014 Laura and her brother co-founded Hire Up, an online platform giving people with disability the power to find, hire and manage their support workers to maintain a more holistic quality of life.
Annie Walsh
Annie is a researcher with the Liverpool Diabetes Collaborative Research Unit and a senior podiatrist at Liverpool Hospital. The Research Unit is finding better ways of treating diabetic foot disease and Annie is currently leading new research on the effectiveness of wound technologies for this condition.
In addition to her professional role, Annie volunteers with Eastern Respite and Recreation, working with disabled and special needs teenagers.
Dr May Wong
May organised the first showcase for other junior doctors to present projects on patient safety, and is on Australia's first roundtable for emerging leaders in patient safety. She was awarded NSW Junior Medical Officer of the Year in 2014.
Within her local Chinese community she organises Lion's Club health talks to help improve understanding of common medical conditions. May sits on the Lion's Nurses Scholarship Foundation Board and speaks at her local council citizenship ceremonies to welcome new citizens. May was Strathfield’s Australia Day 2014 Young Citizen of the Year and a finalist for the Young Leader Pride of Australia medal. May has collaborated with the CSIRO for the Scientists in Schools program and implemented a classroom lesson program to nurture the interests of primary school children in medicine.
Go to www.women.nsw.gov.au to learn more about the finalists and to vote
Online voting ends Sunday February, 28 at 11.59 pm. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in NSW Parliament House on March 9.
