Western Sydney Women Awards 2022: Penrith nabs five finalists

Proving the future of Penrith is female, five outstanding women of the Nepean region have been selected as finalists in the Western Sydney Women Awards.

Proving the future of Penrith is female, five outstanding women of the Nepean region are doing their postcode proud, being selected as finalists in the Western Sydney Women Awards across categories spanning business, volunteering and education.

The awards, which started in 2019, represent women at all stages in their life, business, and careers across western Sydney and honour those who demonstrate excellence in their work and contributions to their communities.

The nominees representing the Nepean region this year are finalists in the following categories.

Belinda Leonard – Western Sydney Women Volunteer of the Year Award

Belinda Leonard, picture: Supplied

Belinda Leonard is a champion of change and driving force behind improving the standard and quality of health care services in the Nepean region.

Ms Leonard volunteers to give “community concerns a consolidated voice” and to make sure “this voice gets heard in the right places”.

She says she believes in “equitable health outcomes for all, regardless of location or background”, most recently has been heavily involved in the redevelopment of Nepean Hospital’s new emergency department, advocating to separate paediatric patients from the general emergency population.

In addition Ms Leonard has also been campaigning for improved palliative care services in the Nepean region with her involvement helping to fastrack redevelopment in this sector.

Jen Wester – Western Sydney Executive Woman of the Year Award

Jen Wester. Picture: Supplied

Jen Wester is a community and business minded individual who has the honour of being nominated in both the Executive Woman and Small Business of the year categories, in recognition of her outstanding work as the CEO of psychology provider Mind Flare.

Ms Wester’s practise has been operating for three years with the team just recently opening up a second office in Oran Park to accommodate their growing client base, specialising in both disability and general mental health care for adults and children.

Determined on making a difference in a crowded market, Mindflare’s mission is to spark change through evidence-based research, technology and fun, using methods incorporating virtual technology and gaming.

“Our aim is to spark change by being the trigger point that catapults our clients into achieving levels of self motivation,” Ms Wester said.

Ms Wester says she is also passionate about maintaining a positive workplace culture for her employees.

Debbie O’Connor – Western Sydney Women Small Business of the Year Award

Debbie O'Connor. Picture: Supplied

Not only does nominee Debbie O’Connor know how to run a successful enterprise herself, she helps other local businesses thrive by sharing her business acumen to establish a creative co-working space in Penrith known as The Creative Fringe.

Ms O’Connor says she dreamt up The Creative Fringe while expanding her design agency White River and realised how many obstacles exist for local businesses to grow their operations.

“I was looking to lease office space and everywhere was a five year lease which is very intimidating for a small business, and just the costs of fitting out new premises is significant,” she said.

After securing premises for White River, Ms O’Connor decided she wanted to share the space and use it to foster other creative small businesses.

“We (White Ribbon design) didn’t need the whole pie, we could have just a little piece of it because there’s enough for everyone.” Ms O’Connor said.

“I wanted to take the pressure off others and give them a leg up by establishing a self sufficient hub of creative individuals and businesses that support each other.”

The Creative Fringe co-working space is now at full capacity with nine private offices and shared desk spaces accommodating various small businesses. The premises are pet friendly and on the weekend the space is used to hold creative workshops.

Lauren Walters – Western Sydney Women Educator of the Year Award

Lauren Walters. Picture: Supplied

Maths teacher Lauren Walters from St Agnes Catholic High School has been nominated for her dedication to the teaching profession and remarkable contribution to her school during Covid lockdown.

Ms Walters, who is in her fifth year of teaching, is a firm believer in “flipped” learning methods which favours contemporary teaching practices over the traditional.

So far Ms Walters has uploaded more than 100 instructional maths tutorials to YouTube so her students can watch condensed versions of maths classes online. She says the practice has resulted in remarkable improvements in her students numeracy skills.

“It’s about making maths accessible to all my students, rather than me just talking at them for 40 minutes and expecting them to keep up,” Ms Walters said.

“They can rewatch the video and take however long they need to feel comfortable with the content, then they come to class armed with questions so we work through it together.”

Ms Walters also played an integral part in executing her schools remote learning strategy over Covid lockdown, helping students navigate the online system by creating 500 individual timetables in just three days.

The high school teacher is also on the intensive committees for her schools Numeracy and Writing support groups and is a co-ordinator for university students completing their practical placements at the school.

While doing all this Ms Walters has been undertaking a master of Educational Leadership of which she is almost complete.

Robyn Taylor – Western Sydney Women Indigenous Change Maker Award

Nominee Robyn Taylor is dedicated to volunteer work in Aboriginal communities, giving over 20 weeks a year of her time to help out various causes including Closing the Gap.

Ms Taylor also facilitates free fitness challenges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members involving personal training, eating plans and gym memberships, all of which are fully supported by the committee.