30+ SEQ women who beat the odds and stand proud on International Women’s Day
To honour International Women’s Day, we share the jaw dropping life stories behind more than 30 Queensland women that will leave you speechless. READ THEIR INCREDIBLE STORIES
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You see them in the cafe and pass them the supermarket — incredible women with stories you will never know, but if you heard them they would make your jaw drop.
Every woman carries with them an eye opening tale — be it heart warming; heart wrenching; heart breaking — but rarely do you hear it.
In honour of International Women’s Day, we have sought out more than 30 incredible women with life stories that will leave you speechless.
From cancer and abuse survivors who have turned their lives around to help countless others, to a little girl who spent nine years crawling to get around in a Cambodian village with undiagnosed polio, we celebrate the unbelievable strength and courage women carry.
Read the inspirational ways these women overcame staggering odds and hurdles in their lives to achieve great successes.
LEACHA OBONGO-KWOT, BURPENGARY EAST
The war in South Sudan is burned into Ms Obongo-Kwot’s memory.
At the height of the conflict between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army her father went missing for an entire year.
Her mother eventually found out he had been captured by the rebels and then escaped on foot to an Ethiopian refugee camp.
As a worker with the United Nation’s World Food Program, he was a target even in the camp.
The family had to flee once again, to Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia).
“I remember we fled at night in a truck and joined him there,’’ she said.
“The churches protected us until we could get to Nairobi (in Kenya) and stayed there until we could get into Australia.’’
The family started life all over again in Brisbane.
She had to trek from their home in Carseldine to Milpera State High School in Chelmer, which runs an intensive English language curriculum.
Ms Obongo-Kwot overcame huge hurdles to graduate with a Bachelor of Science and later a masters in mental health.
She said it was a challenging role. On top of that, she had three children including twin boys with autism.
“I cherish what I have and whatever is thrown at me I try to overcome and thank God for everything.’’
ANGELICA ALEN
After being diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at 38 years old, Angelica Alen “woke up” to a new way of being and living, eventually using her voice to coach others through their own cancer and health battles.
The Brazilian national from Belo Horizonte, in the country’s interior, moved to Australia with her husband seven years ago, but a year into their dream lifestyle in the sunshine state, cancer threw a massive spanner in the works.
Angelica said her entire family had struggled with obesity.
“In Brazil, we have a big focus on food, but food is pleasure. And when I look back at what I ate as a kid, it wasn’t very healthy,” Mrs Alen said.
“I was allergic to a lot as a kid, and my body kept giving me little signs that I needed to change something.
“I had an ectopic pregnancy where I lost a tube and an ovary, so half the chances of me having kids was gone, before I had even had any. It was devastating.
“I was very lucky to eventually fall pregnant naturally twice.
“But when I was pregnant with my second child, I had gestational diabetes, with diabetes having a history in my family”.
An epiphany during chemotherapy was the “final push” Angelica needed to tackle her health.
“It was quite apparent to me at the start of my chemotherapy that chemo was not going to be enough to save me,” Mrs Alen said.
“I thought, I can’t just keep turning up here and allowing my body to get weaker for 12 session, I need to do more than that.
“That’s when I started making some pretty drastic lifestyle changes alongside my family, my husband and our two kids, because I wanted to change the trajectory of their future.
“I left chemo feeling stronger than I did when I started.
“I’m now 44 and feeling the healthiest and happiest I have ever been”.
KAREN ALEXANDER
In 2014 Karen climbed Mt Everest with her 83-year-old father, who just missed out on climbing with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
Karen was also one of the first two females to ever complete a mechanical engineering degree QUT, among 800 other males.
She is a 30-year resources sector veteran and is Hastings Deering’s first senior executive sales business leader, first female fuels and lubricants product application engineer at Shell before leading Shell’s global technical business.
At the end of 2023 Karen completed a trip to Antarctica with Homeward Bound to mentor young women in STEMM.
She is a former Telstra Business Woman of the Year finalist and winner of the Exceptional Woman in Queensland Resources Award.
DEBORAH ALDRICK
Deborah is an adult intra-familial child sexual abuse survivor.
She grew up in the 70s and 80s on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
As a result of the abuse, Deborah developed health issues such as IBS, struggled with anxiety and depression at times and also panic attacks.
Deborah’s journey was one of not only surviving sexual abuse, but also being muted from saying anything as an adolescent and throughout most of her adult life.
After a long road of recovery, the 51-year-old is soon publishing a book to help other survivors get through their own struggles from their past abuse, from her knowledge and lived experience.
The book is called ‘Circling the Wagons’.
Deborah also ran an event for Bravehearts Day last year in Samford, raising funds and awareness for the prevention of child sexual abuse.
PAT ARMITSTEAD
Pat said she became the world's first Joyologist in 2001 following a series of losses.
At the turn of the century she experienced a series of devastating events.
Pat lost her home and business twice in four years and relocated to another country owing $80,000, avoiding bankruptcy by paying that back in two years.
She had cancer, lost her first child, has been involved in 10 car crashes and endured a violent relationship.
She recreated herself as ‘The Worlds First Joyologist’ and began the pioneering journey which included touring with Patch Adams across Europe.
Over the last 22 years, leaders have often hired Pat to speak at their events when they want their people uplifted or some lighthearted entertainment.
A registered nurse for 20 years, Pat went on to found her own broadcast standard production studio, winning 11 advertising awards in 11 years.
Her unique personal perspectives, traumatic past, repeated losses and eventual mastery as a multi award-winning speaker, TV and radio host and exhibiting artist are a rare combination of talents.
RONNIE BENBOW
Ronnie is the Founding Director of The Carers Foundation Australia.
Starting out as a registered nurse with a degree in health science, and with a professional background in health care and personal caring circumstances, Ronnie knows both personally and professional the relentless demands and debilitating stress that family carers endure daily.
Without warning, as happens for many family carers, Ronnie took on the carer role when her husband Michael had a near-fatal accident that left him temporarily paralysed from the neck down.
She also cared for one of her four sons who had a debilitating medical condition, as well as her elderly parents.
Throughout all of these caring experiences, and as a result of them, Ronnie has had a burning passion to provide a healing, nurturing centre for family carers to rejuvenate and gain resilience tools to help them manage extreme stress and exhaustion.
After privately funding support for carers in crisis for over a decade, Ronnie established The Carers Foundation Australia in 2015 and now provides regular one- and three- day Carer Wellbeing Programs for unpaid carers who are at the point of health crisis breakdown. Along with her valued volunteers, she has seen thousands of carers leave these programs feeling empowered, more resilient and with a sense of hope.
With a goal to establish Australia’s first purpose-built Wellbeing and Education Support Centre for carers, Ronnie launched Unsung Heroes, a fundraising event where local community members, celebrities, sporting identities and business owners raise funds ahead of a live singing competition at Fortitude Music Hall.
This event will be held for the second time in 2024 after raising over $350,000 in 2023.
PETA BUTLER
Peta is a resilient and determined woman who has overcome significant challenges in her life.
At the age of 16, she experienced sexual abuse, a traumatic event that shaped her journey.
From the age of 18, she found herself navigating the world independently, residing in government housing in Wynnum.
By 25, Peta found the strength to report the sexual abuse to the authorities.
Throughout the court proceedings, Peta also received the diagnosis of two types of epilepsy, which were brought on by the high levels of stress she endured.
Despite these obstacles, Peta’s entrepreneurial spirit and determination shone through.
She established her own successful cleaning business eight years ago, demonstrating her ability to thrive and excel in the face of adversity.
In 2020, Peta faced another challenge when she became homeless due to the rental crisis.
However, she persevered and lived in her car until she secured a rental home in the southern Gold Coast.
Her dedication and hard work have not gone unnoticed, as she has been recognised as a finalist for the Gold Coast Girls in Business 2023 and has been nominated for the Beam Awards Australia and Gold Coast Girls in Business 2024.
Furthermore, Peta’s talents extend beyond her cleaning business.
She has a passion for building outdoor furniture, showcasing her creativity and craftsmanship.
Adding to her accomplishments, Peta is currently a Ms Oceania Finalist for her pageant participation in 2024.
SUZANNE BUTLER
Suzanne Butler from Loganlea has spend the last four years rebuilding her life after leaving an abusive relationship, transforming her experience as victim to victor and empowering women along the way.
This has included a change in career path from a professional administrator, to owning her own business as a Feng Shui Consultant.
Suzanne has undergone deep inner healing work, becoming certified as a Feng Shui Practitioner, and took life by the horns to empower others to live their own best lives with Feng Shui and mindset changes.
Explains Suzanne “It doesn’t matter to me what a woman wants to do with her life, be it an astronaut, teacher or healer, there are so many things we can do to get them there.”
“The world is your oyster and I’m going to get me some Pearls.”
AMANDAH CHANCE, LOGANLEA
On June 13 last year, Logan psychologist Amandah Chance rescued her neighbours from a burning house overnight after hearing a smoke alarm and seeing thick, black smoke.
Four men were woken up as smoke engulfed their home and after neighbour Amandah Chance banged on their door and yelled at them to evacuate.
Ms Chance said she did not think of it as heroic, but her actions likely saved the lives of nine people as another house and adjoining duplex were also evacuated.
“I went to grab the garden hose but the flames grew very large.
“There was a strong, strange smell of burnt fabric and I realised I had to get everybody out.
“I banged on the door loudly and yelled for everybody to get out and then did the same with the house next door and adjoining duplex.”
The house was destroyed, however, and Ms Chance took her neighbours in overnight while firefighters cleared the debris next-door.
KAT CREWS, ELIMBAH
Kat grew up in poverty and abuse but is now the proud owner of Hive Progressive Fitness Caboolture and Media and Marketing Officer for BPW Caboolture.
Kat has founded a charity to provide children going through forensic investigation with a care pack (blanket/teddy bear/colouring items and a torch), after discovering how clinical the investigative process can be for children who may have been hurt by the very people that are supposed to love them the most.
She moved here to Australia with her family and eventually settled into life in Elimbah.
Shortly after moving here, which is now five years ago, she joined a gym and fell in love with it and the community of people that trained within it.
Sadly the gym was due to close, so in just two weeks she decided to buy it.
Excited to improve the business and came up with the name HIVE to keep focus on the community it held.
Never having worked in the fitness industry she had a lot to learn very quickly but drew on her experience as a gym client to curate a completely client focused experience.
Six weeks later, Covid hit which forced the closure of the gym along with most of Australia.
Six months after that she found herself struggling to walk, concentrate or even form sentences.
Kat was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition called Sjogren's Disease.
The same condition that almost ended Venus Williams’ tennis career.
It didn’t stop her — with a recently reopened gym, she pushed on, taking classes from a wheelchair or on crutches for quite some time.
This year HIVE was awarded APAC’s Best Boutique Group Fitness Facility in Queensland.
DONISHA DUFF, REDLAND
Redland woman Donisha Duff received one of the greatest accolades an Australian can receive when she was named in this year’s Australia Day honours list and received a Medal of Honor for outstanding service.
Ms Duff, who is currently the chief operating officer for the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, has played a huge role in shaping policy for indigenous women across southeast Queensland.
In her role as adjunct Associate Professor with Kurongkurl Katitjin, Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research at Edith Cowan University, she has played a major role creating awareness about indigenous issues.
She is also the director and chair of Stars Foundation, which provides support programs and mentoring to young Indigenous girls and young women.
Redland mayor Karen Williams paid tribute to Ms Duff, who said Ms Duff had dedicated many years to local public service, selflessly helping others and not for public recognition.
“Her contributions, dedication and commitment to Redlands Coast and wider society are truly inspiring.”
She has more than 20 years’ experience in health and Indigenous affairs, working in the Federal and State governments and the non-government, community-controlled health sector.
Ms Duff, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, also served as co-director of the Metro South Hospital and Health Service in 2016 and was a council member with the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies between 2015 and 2020.
She also worked with the Indigenous Education Foundation, where she served as director from 2012 to 2016, and was a foundation fellow at Harvard University in 2014.
DESLEY DUNN
Desley spent a significant part of her childhood homeless and separated from her parents.
Despite being a high school dropout, Desley made her way to university and paid her way through whilst working three jobs to pay degree fees, bills and get a mortgage while studying full time.
Desley started in law soon after leaving high school and was often peddled as a lawyer although she was “only” a paralegal.
Graduated as an Australian solicitor, she has worked at big law firms and now heads up Dunn Right Legal.
Desley is also a survivor of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
In addition to her work, Desley can be found speaking at events, providing marketing and business advisory services, or volunteering.
CATHY FOXE
Cathy suffers from a crippling rare neurological pain disorder called Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is said to be off the charts on the pain scale.
Despite this, she volunteers regularly at Bray Park State School, even though her children are in high school now.
Cathy helps out at the tuckshop, uniform shop and helps organise some events.
She also supports children in need.
BERNIE HAYNE
Bernie has just finished her second children’s book which she will releasing in order to aid children’s hospitals and charities across Australia, Asia and America.
She was raised in Sydney by a single father and was able to complete her final years of schooling with the help of government funding Austudy.
After school, Bernie wanted to help the community and worked in community service roles including law, health and aviation.
After living overseas in Indonesia and America due to her husband’s work relocations, she gained further skills and obtained a barber’s licence in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Upon returning to Australia she assisted not for profit organisation, the Jack Reed Foundation, offering complimentary haircuts to the disadvantaged in Brisbane.
This is where Bernie’s interest in positive psychology began, and she decided to write my first Children’s book Smile Your Way to Happy.
Bernie has donated more than 200 books to Ronald McDonald charities across Australia, along with donations to children’s hospitals and libraries across Australia, Indonesia and America.
Her second book Learn Your Way to Happy has also been published in Bahasa Indonesia language, to assist the children of Indonesia as Covid has reduced the learning and development of young children and there is greater benefit for more Indonesian children with the book being written in their primary language.
CHRISTINE INNES
Christine Innes is a visionary entrepreneur, storyteller, and the CEO and founder of The Corporate Escapists, a renowned media company that harnesses the power of storytelling to help entrepreneurs attract their ideal clients.
With a deep understanding of the profound impact stories have on human connection and consumer behaviour, Christine has revolutionised the way entrepreneurs communicate and sell their products and services.
Christine was diagnosed with adult asthma in 2015, a severe case that has resulted in multiple hospital admissions and impacts her daily life.
Christine has also left a “toxic” relationship and previously had to file for bankruptcy.
After her own not-so-gracious exit from the corporate world, Christine shared her own personal story and realised she had a natural gift for storytelling.
In founding The Corporate Escapists, Christine recognised that stories have the unique ability to create emotional resonance and forge deep connections with audiences.
She firmly believes that “stories sell, and facts tell”.
Through The Corporate Escapists, Christine provides entrepreneurs with a platform to share their stories and amplify their voices.
JACKIE HOLYOAKE, MOOROOKA
The long-term Moorooka local’s involvement in the area began in 2004 when she was instrumental in organising and running the Moorooka Street Festival, through her work with the Moorooka Lions Club.
But that was only to be the beginning of her community service.
She was a key organiser during the 2011 and 2022 floods which smashed the area and has been a stalwart at Moorooka Lions.
In 2022 she took time off from her job as a teacher aid to volunteer and co-ordinate the Rocklea Community Hub in the wake of the floods.
She provided comfort and emotional and support to flood-affected families, meeting with volunteers, media, and army personnel, handing out meals and more.
She has also been the principal of local dance school JS Dance for many years.
Moorooka Councillor Steve Griffiths and neighbouring Tennyson Ward councillor Nicole Johnston honoured her with a Local Heroes Award.
BETTY JENNINGS, STONES CORNER
Greenslopes Private Hospital’s longest-serving volunteer, the Diggers’ Dozen president has served with the group for more than two decades and is determined to keep volunteering.
The group has raised over $300,000 in its 32 years of operation for researchers studying medications and treatments for veterans and the broader community.
It also helped just by having chats and providing companionship.
“I’ve met some beautiful people here. You sit and talk to patients — often they have come from out of town and they have no visitors,’’ she said.
“Just having a chat or giving someone a hug could make a huge difference to them.’’
Greenslopes hospital had a special connection for her as her father served in Papua New Guinea during WWII and Mrs Jennings has laid wealths at its Anzac Day ceremonies.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner praised her dedication in serving seven years as Diggers’ Dozen president and 23 years in total with the group, which provided a vital support service for patients and families.
Among other activities, Mrs Jennings organised bookfests, trash ‘n’ treasure events and raffles at the hospital.
ALISI JACK KAFUSI
The 31-year-old is on her fourth stint of cancer and is sadly terminal.
In 2017 at the age of 24, Alisi Jack Kaufusi was diagnosed at stage three with a combination of two different ovarian cancer subtypes: low-grade serous and high-grade serous.
She underwent intense treatment that involved chemotherapy and major surgery, which included a full hysterectomy and partial bowel resection.
Alisi completed treatment and went into remission at the end of 2018, but she has since faced two recurrences and disease progression.
She hasn’t let her health stand in the way, raising a lot of awareness on ovarian cancer, even heading to Canberra to speak on the issue.
Alisi has started a GoFundMe page to help raise money so she can tick things off her bucket list.
She started her adult working life as a flight attendant and moved into human resources when she was diagnosed.
Alisi has also studied two diplomas while going through chemo as well.
ESTEE LEE
For Estee, not being resilient has never been an option. Since her family was in a devastating car accident when she was five, which resulted in the death of her father and left her in a wheelchair, Estee has had to overcome life changing setbacks and obstacles which have become pieces of the puzzle and made her life what it is today.
Having spent her career as a secondary teacher and in higher education, her passion is working with people and helping them to realise that they have the choice to steer their life in the directions that they choose.
Estee now has her own business “Tae Tae” that empowers people to live their best life by building their resilience and taking control of their mindset.
Tae’s lets you see life through her eyes by telling her stories with humour and conviction, and when facing a challenge you just gotta ‘own it’, ‘roll with it’ and value the people that guide and support you to be you.
Estee has still managed to enjoy a lot of travel in her life and has skydived and skied.
Estee is also doing some work at Griffith University as an Adviser for Disability and Accessibility.
RUTH LIMKIN
Local businesswoman and leader Ruth Limkin is using her lived experience with breast cancer to encourage other women to be proactive in looking after both their physical and mental health.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago.
After ignoring the warning signs because she was “too busy”, Ruth went on to have treatment for the cancer and is now fully recovered.
Working regularly with female leaders from both Brisbane and abroad, Ruth knows first-hand just how challenging it can be to prioritise your health when balancing multiple responsibilities.
As Founder of The Banyans Healthcare, Ruth is changing the way women – and men – can receive mental health and addiction treatment.
Ruth says that being able to receive cancer treatment while still tending to her work and other responsibilities helped to keep a sense of normality during this challenging time.
This experience, combined with stories of working women struggling to access health treatments that worked in with their other responsibilities, led to the creation of flexible mental health, addiction, anxiety and performance programs.
Now, Ruth is calling for workplaces to be explicit about being supportive of women being able to access crucial mental health and addiction services, without needing to put their life on hold.
TAMARA LYNAM
Tamara Lynam from Forest Lake has navigated serious illnesses and health roadblocks to then go on to transform the lives of countless men and women across the country and support them on their health journeys.
In 2009, Tamara became seriously ill and ended up in hospital five times that year with her haemoglobin dangerously low and the doctors believing she would suffer a heart attack at any moment.
With her health plummeting, and her body in immense suffering, she set out to make some significant changes and regained her health slowly but surely.
She eventually went on to manage her weight through the inspiration of a friend who used the 1:1, leading Tamara to becoming a consultant there and transforming the health of others.
However, Tamara is more than just a consultant.
In fact, her clients have called her their ‘guardian angel,’ their ‘sister,’ and their ‘best friend.’ Although Tamara herself has faced many-a hardship, she is often the invisible guardian angel behind many women and men overcoming serious weight-related medical issues including insulin dependent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol, fatty liver, protein leakage from kidneys, to name a few.
She also won a State Champion award for Business Development as part of her work with The 1:1.
MELINDA MCINTURFF, YERONGA
A 2023 Lions Community Champion nominee, she has worked tirelessly at Community Plus and the Yeronga Community Centre (YCC) to help locals and create a stronger sense of community spirit.
YCC was set up in the wake of the 2011 floods which devastated large parts of the suburb.
But since then it has become a vibrant hub for residents, including gardening, a play group and a source of useful information.
Ms McInturff has lived and worked in the inner south for more than 30 years.
She led disaster responses in 2011 and 2022 and led the team which set up YCC.
A “craftivist crochet maker’’, she has also used her hobby to get the community out walking.
“We have done a lot of craftivism in our community: putting up flowers on light posts and on signposts around the neighbourhood and poppies for Anzac Day. We put 1000 poppies out at the Cenotaph at Yeronga,” she said.
She and her team have also crocheted rainbows to get locals out and about.
Her team was a finalist in the Resilience Australia Awards.
As well as the flood crisis, she co-ordinated the centre’s kitchen which made meals for those affected during the pandemic.
She was once praised in state parliament as an “indefatigable and resilient, never-give-up community champion”.
KAREN MEWES, BRIBIE ISLAND
Karen has had Multiple Sclerosis for over 30 years with long slow progression of the disease.
She was a very active person and wasn’t formally diagnosed until 2020.
In 2021 karen had three major relapses or flares which left her in a wheelchair, completely unable to move her left leg or foot, limited use of right leg and both hands.
At that time several physiotherapists told Karen that she just had to accept that she had MS, she was in a wheelchair, would never walk again and wasn’t safe to even try.
Karen was in the wheelchair for 18 months and it was only after moving to Bribie Island that she meet her current amazing physiotherapist, Daniel O’Connor at Bribie Island Physiotherapy.
Karen said, “every morning just walking to the end of my bed is a huge struggle and can take me several minutes.
“Everyday is a constant battle with disability, pain and fatigue.”
She now runs the local parkrun for five kilometres every Saturday, carrying a folding walking stick in a backpack which she leaves at the finish line because once she stops moving, Karen may not be able to get the left leg working again.
She is running her first event on International Womens Day, the Pink Run to raise money for breast cancer.
Karen will also be doing the MS50 in May and Bridge to Brisbane.
VICKY MIAN
For over two decades, Vicky has served as a dedicated Queensland Ambulance Officer, demonstrating an unparalleled level of professionalism, skill, and empathy in her role.
Her leadership has been instrumental in bringing about positive change within the organisation, ensuring that ambulance officers are equipped to provide the highest standard of care to those in need.
Her passion for helping others has been evident in every call she’s answered and every life she’s touched throughout her illustrious career.
As the head of unions for the Queensland Ambulance Service, she has been a staunch advocate for the rights and wellbeing of her colleagues, tirelessly fighting for better working conditions and fair treatment.
Despite facing her own challenges, including the loss of her mother to brain cancer, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to serving others.
MAI NGUYEN, WESTLAKE
Born in Vietnam, she tried to escape with her husband and some relatives after the war but was captured by the communists, before escaping again in a perilous three-day boat voyage to Malaysia.
“It was the storm season. There were big waves and no one else on the ocean and we were very frightened,’’ she recalled.
“We landed on an island but the Malaysian government would not let us land, so we were anchored for a week.
“We were one of the first Vietnamese to arrive in Australia, in 1975, in a Boeing (jet).
“We were taken to the Wacol Migrant Centre. I knew no one and had little English, it was my third language.’’
At first they unsuccessfully tried farming on Cape York, before her first child was born and she moved back to Brisbane.
Her family ran a takeaway in Kangaroo Point for a few years before moving to Nerang and then opening a hardware store before Ms Nguyen went back to complete her studies.
She later worked in senior roles in the State Government for 33 years.
Although now retired, she was still involved with the Vietnamese Women’s Association which she helped found in the 1980s during the second great wave of migration from her home country.
“A lot of women had lost husbands, family, or been raped. The needs are different now, domestic violence and mental health,’’ she said.
KELLY PINK, DAYBORO
Kelly grew up in a domestic violence household and her eldest sister had severe mental health issues, dying at 52 from an alcoholic related disease.
Kelly was estranged from her father at the age of seven and her mother died when Kelly was 21.
She took on her sister’s four children in her 30s, in addition to raising her own three-month-old and two-year-old, all the while working part time in domestic violence prevention.
She became a police officer when her mother died because she wanted to make a difference.
The Dayboro woman is now a 32-year veteran police officer, 14 years of that in domestic violence prevention.
Kelly has also done volunteer work and fundraising for the domestic violence charity RizeUp for over 10 years.
MONA RYDER, BRISBANE
Mona’s art, which explored themes of domesticity, social and political structures and memory, has been widely exhibited.
She taught at QUT, Griffith University, Curtin University and Claremont School of Art in Perth over three decades and was an assessor for honours and master’s theses.
She said her dining room table was one of her work spaces, so often work was pushed to the end of the table at meal times, but family and friends were used to this.
Her work included several major public art commissions and projects such as Say it with Flowers, a large public art project for Brisbane City Council in 2018.
In 2020, Ryder was awarded a Creative Sparks Grant by the State Government and Council.
Ryder’s installation, Fragile Gardens, was exhibited at The old Ambo in Nambour and featured as part of the Fabric Program on the Sunshine Coast.
In 2022 she had a major exhibition of her works at QUT spanning her 40-year career including print, s paintings, watercolours and installations which drew a large crowd.
She was involved with arts body Artworkers Alliance in the 1990s.
RAVY LEANG-SLATTERY
Ravy was born in the small village of Prey Veng, Cambodia, December 1982 and contracted polio between birth and 1984.
With no diagnosis and no hospital, she crawled until she was nine, starting school on crutches and a fitting of two leg braces at 14.
After high school Ravy worked full-time in a bag and scarf shop in Phnom Penh and studied at university part-time.
She met her husband in 2010 and married in Australia in 2011.
Ravy graduated with an accounting degree in 2013.
Ravy and husband Wayne co-founded Mekong Disability Employment & Mobility Trust in 2014, to collect and distribute wheelchairs/walkers to disabled Cambodians and train PWDs to get employment.
In 2015 they co-founded Dream Come True Community Education Center NGO in Cambodia.
In 2017 the husband and wife began teaching Cambodian village kids English and computer skills.
After a three year forced Covid break, they resumed in 2023, two teachers with 240 students.
Ravy birthed twins in 2017 in Cambodia, before they moved to Bribie Island in 2019.
ALICE TAIT, SOUTHSIDE
Dubbed a hero after winning gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 4 by 100m freestyle relay, since then she has been a behind-the-scenes “hero’’ in her second career as a pediatric theatre nurse at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
She has also taken time out of her busy life to talk to schoolgirls about body image.
Tait (nee Mills) has also been an ambassador for the Australian Transplant Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.
She said her work as a nurse made the issues she thought significant in her swimming career now seem “completely insignificant’’.
“Most of all, it’s made me realise how fortunate I am to have never had my body fail me. A lot of the time we take our health for granted,’’ she said at the time of the Transplant Games.
She used many of the life skills she developed during her swim training in her job.
“It requires intense focus and a very singular goal, immense organisation and teamwork, an ability to control your emotional response to intense situations and to remain calm under pressure,” she said.
Tait has joined with four-time gold medallist Libby Trickett to support the Growing Up In Lycra program which tackled the pressures faced by young female swimmers as they entered adulthood.
DONNA THISTLETHWAITE
Donna Thistlethwaite is a speaker, training and mental health advocate.
In 2012, Donna was a competent and well-regarded human resources professional with a loving family and many friends.
No-one could have predicted the mental health crisis that she experienced in response to a workplace challenge.
Unfortunately, she didn’t reach out for help and those around her were not prepared or equipped for the possibility that she had become suicidal.
Donna has gone on to speak about her experience, founding her business Mentally Wellthy through which she facilitates Mental Health First Aid Training in-person and online.
She is an award-winning entrepreneur committed to helping people thrive so that they can lessen the likelihood of experiencing a mental health problem.
Her extraordinary story of survival, recovery and hope was featured in an Australian Story episode entitled ‘The Bridge’ in August 2017.
HELEN YEATES, NEW FARM
The daughter of an aviation weather forecaster, she forged a career as a filmmaker and QUT film and creative studies academic after “escaping’’ from the dullness of post-war suburbia in the darkness of cinemas.
Part of the student revolutionary movement in her youth, she was a leading feminist.
She has led a colourful life including surviving a devastating car crash in 1963 which left her with memory loss, has mixed with stars such as French actor Isabelle Huppert and hosted legendary parties and “salons’’.
One of her films, Do Look Now, which meshed together famous sex scenes from 23 movies, featured at the Brisbane International Film Festival in 2012.
She also had an autobiography of the same name published in 2022 by Oxlade Salon Press.
As well as award-winning films, she contributed to nurturing a new generation of filmmakers while working as an adjunct professor at QUT for more than a decade.
In 2011 she received a lifetime award at the Village Roadshow Studios 25th Queensland New Filmmakers Awards, for dedicated service to the film industry.
She was one of the directors of the innovative Cinema Ventures, has collaborated with the West End Film Festival and helped develop the film curriculum for Queensland schools.
SELENA WOOL
Selena Wool was born half blind and was forced to undergo 24 operations as a child.
Her challenging start to life was further met by a tumultuous, domestically violent marriage which saw her tragically lose multiple pregnancies.
Ms Wool said she kept on battling to achieve the career she wanted and now has a happy, supportive family she can be proud of.
“I never gave up, I went back to university last year to complete my Masters in education,” she said.
“I have had so much thrown at me to make me give up on life, but I didn’t. And now I’m a guidance counsellor, a teacher and most importantly a mother.
“I don’t like to blow my own trumpet, but I am often told that my level of resilience is right up there.”
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