ACLW Honours Roll

ACLW’s Honours Roll honours all the winners of ACLW’s Awards since 2006 whose achievements demonstrate their valuing of women in the Organisations and/or in the community.

Winners and Finalists of ACLW’s 2016 Diversity Award

2016 ACLW’s Diversity Champion Winners

• 1st place: Mariette (Mary) Cowley and Woman Benefiting, Winifred Nanala, both from Western Australia and Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe from NSW
• 2nd place: Roxanne Smith from Queensland
• 3rd place: Angel Owen from Queensland and Woman Benefiting Amelia Telford from Victoria

‘Empowers Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• 1st place: Cynthia Balogh and Woman Benefiting Catherine Cervasio, both from Victoria
• 2nd Place: Sonia McDonald from Queensland and Shelley-Anne Brace from Queensland
• 3rd Place: The Gender Equity in Science Committee (GEiSC) at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Victoria and Associate Professor Marnie Blewitt from Victoria

‘Empowers Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’

• 1st place: Hazara Women of Australia from NSW and Ansia Muradi from NSW
• 2nd Place: Tenneh Kpaka and Najeeba Wasefadost, both from NSW
• 3rd Place: The Olivetree Women’s Network from NSW and Indra Yanti from NSW

‘Empowers Women with a Disability in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• 1st Place: Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) and Samantha Winch from Victoria
• 2nd Place: Carly Findlay from Victoria and Kyrie Fuss from South Australia
• 3rd Place: Dagmar Jenkins from Victoria and a woman with a disability whose name cannot be released as the Woman Benefiting.

‘Empowers Older Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• Fay Hair and Kath Nelson, both from NSW

‘Empowers LGBTIQ Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• Rachel Nicolson from Victoria and Regan Barker from Victoria

‘Empowers Women Experiencing Disadvantage in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• 1st Place: Women and Mentoring (WAM) in Victoria and Juli Gansberg from Victoria
• 2nd Place: DVNSW and Woman Benefiting, Kay Schubach from NSW as well as Diversity Champion, Merredith Hillebrand and Peggy Maxwell. Both are from Victoria.
• 3rd Place: Natalie Scanlon from Victoria and Aarch Parekh also from Victoria

‘Empowers Rural, Regional and Remote Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• 1st Place: Lisa Kennewell from South Australia and Dr Nayana Parange also from South Australia
• 2nd Place: Robyn Bull from Queensland and Natalie McKirdy also from Qld
• 3rd Place: Energy Skills Queensland and Koorine Walker & Malvena Walker also from Queensland

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• Diversity Champion Mariette (Mary) Cowley and Woman Benefiting, Winifred Nanala, both from Western Australia are the Winners of this Category. Due to cultural reasons, Winifred Nanala was unable to accept her prize which was a $10,000 AILC Training Package Scholarship to attend Certificate IV in Indigenous Leadership or Certificate IV in Business Governance Including accommodation and flights to and from the course from participant’s nearest capital city. As such Woman Benefiting Finalist in 2nd place, Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe from NSW was presented with this prize. 2nd place Diversity Champion, Roxanne Smith from Queensland was unable to attend. In 3rd place is Diversity Champion Angel Owen from Queensland and Woman Benefiting Amelia Telford from Victoria.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• Winners of this Category are Diversity Champion, Cynthia Balogh and Woman Benefiting Catherine Cervasio, both from Victoria; Coming in 2nd Place for this category is Diversity Champion Sonia McDonald from Queensland and Shelley-Anne Brace from Queensland as the Woman Benefiting; Coming in 3rd Place for this category is Diversity Champion The Gender Equity in Science Committee (GEiSC) at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Victoria and Associate Professor Marnie Blewitt from Victoria as the Woman Benefiting.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’

• The Winners of the category, ‘Empowers Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ are Diversity Champion Hazara Women of Australia from NSW and Ansia Muradi from NSW as the Woman Benefiting. Coming in 2nd Place for this category is Diversity Champion Tenneh Kpaka and Najeeba Wasefadost, both from NSW as the Woman Benefiting. In 3rd Place for this category is Diversity Champion The Olivetree Women’s Network from NSW and Indra Yanti from NSW as the Woman Benefiting.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Women with a Disability in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• The winner of the Empowers Women with a Disability in a Community or Organisation in Australia category is Diversity Champion, Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) and Samantha Winch as the Woman Benefiting. Coming in 2nd Place for this category is Diversity Champion Carly Findlay from Victoria and Kyrie Fuss from South Australia as the Woman Benefiting. Coming in 3rd Place for this category is Diversity Champion Dagmar Jenkins from Victoria and a woman with a disability whose name cannot be released as the Woman Benefiting.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Older Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• The Winner of the Category, Empowers Older Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia Category is Diversity Champion, Fay Hair and Kath Nelson as the Woman Benefiting, both from NSW.

Finalists of the ‘Empowers LGBTIQ Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• The Winners of this Category are Diversity Champion, Rachel Nicolson from Victoria and Regan Barker from Victoria as the Woman Benefiting.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Women Experiencing Disadvantage in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• Winners of the category, Empowering Women Experiencing Disadvantage in communities and Organisations in Australia is Diversity Champion, Women and Mentoring (WAM) in Victoria and Juli Gansberg from Victoria. There is a tie in 2nd Place for this Category – Diversity Champion DVNSW and Woman Benefiting, Kay Schubach from NSW secured 2nd place as well as Diversity Champion, Merredith Hillebrand and Peggy Maxwell as Woman Benefiting. Both are from Victoria. Coming in 3rd Place for this category is Diversity Champion Natalie Scanlon from Victoria and Aarch Parekh also from Victoria as the Woman Benefiting.

Winners and Finalists of the ‘Empowers Rural, Regional and Remote Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia’ Category

• The Winners of this Category are Diversity Champion Lisa Kennewell from South Australia and Dr Nayana Parange also from South Australia as the Woman Benefiting. Coming in 2nd Place for this Category is Diversity Champion Robyn Bull from Queensland and Natalie McKirdy also from Qld as the Woman Benefiting. Coming in 3rd Place for this Category is Diversity Champion Energy Skills Queensland and Koorine Walker & Malvena Walker also from Queensland as the Women Benefiting.

Winners of the 2015 SWECO Award

• Carol Hanlon – WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia

Carol Hanlon is recognised for her work establishing the BPW Business Incubator Women in Business Online Training & Mentoring Project and in developing the business skills and business growth potential of women in new or existing small businesses.

• Maternity Choices Australia: WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia

Maternity Choices Australia is recognised for enabling women to become effective and informed maternity consumer advocates and developing a Consumer Representative Training Program to achieve this.

• Antoinette Braybrook – WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia

Antoinette Braybrook is recognised for her work ensuring excellence of operational service delivery to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victim/survivors of family violence and for raising awareness amongst key stakeholders for early intervention and prevention programs to curb family violence in Aboriginal communities.

• Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre (AILC) – WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in a Community or Organisation in Australia

The Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre is recognised for its ‘Governing Girls Master Class’ series which provides knowledge and skills that help Indigenous women transition from entry and middle-level organisational roles to more senior leadership roles.

• Tracey Sawyer – WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Women in a Community or Organisation Overseas

Tracey Sawyer is recognised for her work developing and facilitating the Permaculture Training Project to empower Massai women in Tanzania to become first-time farmers, improve family nutrition and enter the local economy.

• Matthias Tomczak – WINNER OF CATEGORY: Empowering Women in a Community or Organisation Overseas

Matthias Tomczak is recognised for his work developing SAWA-Australia and enabling SAWA-Australia to empower women in Afghanistan through education, training and funding.

2015 SWECO FINALISTS

• Jessica Barlow is recognised for her work to curb unnecessary digital alteration of images of women in magazines and in the media.
• Lindy Chen is recognised for her work developing stronger trade ties between Australia and China and empowering women entrepreneurs in their businesses.
• Dr Jackie King is recognised for her work in founding and establishing Project Deborah to empower Jewish Women through professional and personal development capacity building opportunities.
• Kath Mazzella OAM is recognised for her work in breaking down the barriers and stigmas associated with gynaecological and sexual health of women and in establishing the International Gynaecological Awareness Day (IGAD).
• Carole Shaw is recognised for her work empowering African refugee women and building their capacity to represent themselves, their families and their communities in relevant socio-political contexts in Australia.
• Australian Women’s Sport and Recreation Association (AWRA) is recognised for its e-Mentoring Program to assist women in sport to achieve their identified leadership aspirations and goals.
• Safe From Harm by Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre and Moonee Valley Legal Service is recognised for its achievement to raise awareness about family violence amongst CALD communities in public housing estates in Flemington and Ascot Vale and to build trust between cultural groups and legal services.
• Dr Ruth Mirams and Mikaela Jade are recognised for their digital story telling projects through Digital Rangers which enables inter-generational cultural narrative mapping, training of Indigenous youth and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in the digital economy.

Winners of the 2014 SWECO Award

• Women’s Health Goulburn North East (WHGNE) in Victoria for developing a No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) specifically for disadvantaged women exiting family violence and for assisting financially disadvantaged women since 2009 through mentoring women to regain their financial confidence and capability, and reduce their financial dependence on abusive ex-partners.
• Raise Foundation in Sydney for the Bump Program for young mums aged between 13 and 23 that brings women together across the generations, challenges stereotypes, empowers with education and inspires girls to be the best women they can be, hence breaking the cycle of social, economic and emotional disadvantage.
• Women’s Legal Service (Tasmania) Inc for their Girls Gotta Know, an interactive mobile website app and an Australian first for the delivery of legal information and resources to young women aged 14-24.
• The Jewish Taskforce Against Family Violence (JTAFV) in Victoria for their book WILL MY RABBI BELIEVE ME? Will He Understand? that provides culturally appropriate and sensitive ways for the clergy and professionals to respond to disclosures of family violence, abuse and sexual assault. This book is being used as an educational tool in by Police chaplains, rabbis, educators and social workers across Australia, England, Canada, the USA and South Africa.
• Nasiba Akram for sponsoring Afghani refugee women and children in the camps of Pakistan and India and empowering female members of the Australian Afghan community to do the same as well as for strengthening educational opportunities for boys and girls within war torn Afghanistan.

Winners of the 2013 SWECO Award

• The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress) is commended for establishing gender equity as a founding principle in its Constitution and for implementing this principle in its management and governance of the Congress.
• Angela Yin is commended for her self-appointed leadership, commitment and dedication to raising awareness and celebrating the achievements of women through the establishment of Queensland Justices Association International Women’s Day project.
• Julie Verner Mackay is commended for her self-leadership, and for designing and developing a program in response to stakeholders needs. Her motivation to give women the opportunity to access a leadership development program that focuses on self-leadership and enables women to recognise their capacity to lead using their innate strengths, are exemplary.
• Sarah Patricia Valentine is commended for her self-appointed leadership and shaping her desire to empower other women personally and professionally in Bellarine, Victoria through the Bellarine Business Women venture.

Winners of the 2012 SWECO Award

• Kat Armstrong in recognition of her sustainable community initiative, Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN)
• Ludo McFerran in recognition of her sustainable community initiative for the introduction of domestic violence entitlements to periods of paid leave and other rights in industrial instruments
• Karen McFadzen in recognition of her sustainable organisational initiative to achieve gender diversity at the executive level in Cisco Technical Services Team across Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China
• Yolanda Vega in recognition of her sustainable community initiative for establishing the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI). In recognition of their sustainable organisational initiative, Women Take the Wheel to encourage women to pursue a career in the Transport and Supply Chain industry
• Transport and Logistics Workforce Advisory Group (TLWAG-Q) team: Bill Potter, Sal Petroccitto (Chair), Roz Shaw, Peter Garske, Skye Naismith, Louise Perram-Fisk, Peter Biagini, Rick Ralph, Vince Aisthorpe, Tom Wiltshire, Greg Muscat, Michael Thirgood, Jo Hammond, Tim Maloney, Hal Morris, Col McKenzie
• Transform Team in the Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland: Louise Perram-Fisk (Director), Monique Ricci, Callum Fraser, Nicole Holyer, Megan Kelly, Robyn Francis, Siobhán McCarville, Tess Baxter, Kathryne Phillis, Ally Reilly, James Southwood, Kylie Fennell, Linda MacDonald, Cara FitzGerald, Sara Kursius

Advancement of Women in the Workplace Award (AWWA)

Winners of the 2010 AWWA Award

• Radmila Desic from Construction Skills Queensland for her outstanding initiatives to attract, recruit, retain and train women in the construction industry.
• Louise Perram-Fisk whose Inspiring Women Series, designed to support women to develop their careers and empower their lives within the Queensland Public sector is now an ongoing program for the Queensland Government.
• Commander Jennifer Wittwer for her Navy Women’s Leadership Program, designed to provide Navy female leaders with the opportunity to attend, and participate in, various external leadership development events in support of the Navy’s Leadership and Values Cultural Reform Strategy now named, New Generation Navy.
• Commander Michelle Fyfe and Acting Senior Sergeant Erica Silwood from Western Australia Police for establishing the Western Australian Police Executive Committee for Women (ECW) and its Women in Leadership Strategy.
• Inspector Nada McDonald of New South Wales Police Force for supporting and developing women within the Force through implementation of strategies aligned to achieving workplace goals.

Leadership Achievement Award for Women (LAAW)

Winners of the 2009 LAAW

• Dr Jill Tomlinson, Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW) for empowering medical women with leadership skills and improved networking and mentoring opportunities
• Julie Gale, founder and Director of Kids Free 2B Kids for her work in raising the issue of the early sexualisation of children in advertising and the media.
• Stephanie Taylor for creating the Learning &Development Professionals Forum
• Kath Mazzella for her vision in Gynaecological/Sexual issues
• Melissa Hughes for creating an ongoing support group for women and families
• Dr Cathy Kezelman for addressing the needs of adults surviving child abuse in the Australian community
• Margaret Hardy for developing the Significant Women of the CentralCoast books to record women’s stories
• Lynne Schulz for raising awareness about the problems faced by multiple birth loss families and for surviving multiple birth children
• Justine Kelly for promoting eco friendly fashion in less developed countries
• Stacey Irving and Terania Shanahan for co-founding AWARE, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness in the local community about global humanitarian issues, promoting equality and sustainable development.

Winners of the 2008 LAAW

• Sarah Elston and Caitlin Grigsby for turning around a small scale Blue Stockings university event to a community celebration of women’s achievements within Gippsland to fund and encourage the education of women from diverse backgrounds, particularly students from Monash Gippsland and VCE Latrobe Valley schools.
• Juliet Bourke for being the driving force behind the Taskforce on Care Costs (TOCC) since its inception in 2003. The Taskforce on Care Costs was a strategic alliance between business and community organisations to investigate the relationship between work and the cost of care and to advocate reforms.
• Helen Anne Clarke for initiating support for women in drought affected areas of NSW through the “Hand to the Land” and “Renewal for Rural Women” Programmes
• Paula Curotte in founding the “Soufflé Sisters,” a choir for women, singing uplifting music for the community
• Danielle Ecuyer for founding the Women for Change Alliance to create awareness about climate change and sustainability
• Rhonda Obad for founding the Bridge Back to Life Foundation to help children and youth who are at risk.
• Margaret Mary Gurry was awarded the Highly Commended Award for founding and co-ordinating for eleven years the Friday Night School for students of non-English speaking backgrounds.

Winners of the 2007 LAAW

• Emma Kirkwood for her tremendous effort in raising awareness and funds for the silent issue of Stillbirth through founding the Stillbirth Foundation
• Jessica Brown for her achievements to break the cycle of abuse and suffering in Australian teenage girls by giving them a positive role model and having them attend a twelve month personal success program called the SISTER 2 sister Project.
• Indu Balachandran who developed for Youth Challenge Australia a Program that provides exchange and development opportunities for young people in Australia and India.
• Liz Everard for the Body Esteem Project in Western Australia for women affected by eating disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa and body image problems.
• Gainore Atkins for developing the Hobsons Bay Women’s Referral Service in Victoria for women experiencing domestic violence or other abuse situations.
• Celia Bray for the Festival of Dreams Project in Tasmania for helping young people realize their potential and move beyond obstacles posed by lack of jobs, lack of support and services.

Winners of the 2006 LAAW

• Hélène Gonski for what she achieved on a grand scale in relation to raising and working on the issue of grandparenting, that up till then had not been given any mainstream focus.
• Melanie Mumford for influencing change in refugee and asylum seeker policy by sending a clear message that Australians support the fair treatment of refugees.
• Louise Bannister for creating the six month Well and Able program that aimed to be an inclusive, fun, affordable fitness and social inclusion program in the form of a weekly fitness class with an individual program developed for each woman followed by social activities.
• Christina Borisavljevic for establishing a Counselling and Support Service in Boambee East, NSW where she together with others, provide free counselling for members of the community and the disadvantaged.
• Mary Hollingworth for reviving the Glen Innes Show Society Ladies Auxiliary committee of forty-five years standing and achieving outstanding outcomes for the catering/hospitality needs of the Show.
• Kathryn Keen is being recognised for providing an online Ozark and Ozbird communications and information network for wildlife carers across Australia.