Western Sydney Women Awards 2022
The Western Sydney Women Awards is the only awards program representing women at all stages in their life, business & career across the Inner West, Greater West, North West & South West of Sydney.
It is also the only awards program that is free to enter and free to attend to ensure it is accessible to all women.
2022 Winners and Finalists
Western Sydney Woman of the Year Award
Wendy El-Khoury
As the winner of this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Wendy has a vast array of achievements in her business and her support of the wedding industry as a whole.
What many may not know is that Wendy is a true philanthropist at heart. Born in war-torn Lebanon, she attests her many successes to Australia, her homeland and first love and gives back whenever and wherever she can.
Just one of these ways is through the mentorship of thousands of business owners to help them establish, grow and scale their businesses online.
Many of her mentees have succeeded in launching products, businesses and brands through the opportunities and mentor programs she has created. The likes of Natalie Anne Hair, one of Australia's most sought after hairdressers, attests her online success to being mentored by Wendy.
Wendy has also played a large part in mentoring international brands, event planners and more from inception to launch, organising one-on-one sessions all the way through to masterclasses, workshops, seminars, online and offline sessions to drive her industry forward.
Sponsored by Women NSW
Western Sydney Community Woman of the Year Award
Stephanie Ingram
Stephanie has been a Child and Family Counsellor at The Shepherd Centre for over five years and the Regional Manager for South West Sydney leading a team of clinical specialists since 2019.
She has over 16 years’ experience in counseling, parenting support, child development and disability, case work and group work and is passionate about building capacity and creating change with individuals and communities and supporting families to navigate their grief and loss as a result of their baby being diagnosed with a hearing loss.
There has never been a specialised service for children with hearing loss in the Macarthur region. As a result of Stephanie’s drive and determination and with the help of her considerable efforts in project management, advocacy, fundraising and community and stakeholder engagement next year, a new, permanent, fully-equipped, state-of-the-art, $3.8 million centre to support deaf children and their families in Macarthur will open in Oran Park, with capacity for 200 children!
Sponsored by Heritage Bank
Finalists
Kirsty Parkes
Sabrin Farooqui
Mona Mahamed
Elizabeth Scully
Stephanie Ingram
Western Sydney Women Volunteer of the Year Award
Alexis Jayne Bowen
Alexis created The Bin Chicken in 2020 as a commitment to reducing the amount of Campbelltown’s recyclable material entering landfill by improving the ease of recycling and investing profits into the local community.
With collection points at Daycare centres, sporting clubs in the Campbelltown area as well as collecting from residents at their homes, they use the 10c refund from the containers to run the Community Pantry and Recycling Hub located in St. Andrews.
This hub is free for the community to access any time, for those in need of pantry staples and has improved access for “hard to recycle” items including used oral care items, blister packs, bread tags and even composting!
In 2021 alone, the program diverted over 30,000 drink containers from landfill.
Sponsored by Western Sydney Women
Finalists
Alexis Jayne Bowen
Kate Hoang
Louise Borg
Belinda Leonard
Western Sydney Young Woman of the Year Award
Betty Nguyen
Betty holds an Arts-Law degree and is committed to youth engagement, justice and advocacy as both a volunteer and employee. She is the passionately committed coordinator and lead investigator for the Youth Commission of the NHMRC Wellbeing Health and Youth Centre of Research Excellence and plays an integral part in the training and support and improvement of health outcomes for young people.
In an industry where young people are hardly involved in the decision-making processes that impact their lives, Betty’s work has made a notable impact on the research sector. She has spent the last several years advocating young people’s rights and engagement in our health system and in online safety.
She utilises every opportunity to share her expertise in youth engagement and young people’s rights to ensure that they are involved and heard at all stages of the research process.
Sponsored by Digital Age Lawyers
Finalists
Bella Merlino
Sabah Swade
Betty Nguyen
Karenza De Leon
Jean Marie Lewis
Western Sydney Women Small Business of the Year Award
Jennifer Harrison
Jennifer started out as a contractor to Kidspot, managing 6 babies and kids markets across several NSW locations until she took over the business transforming it into My Kids Market.
Now operating in 10 locations, the idea behind the markets is to assist families in recouping money on items they no longer need in a streamlined way, helping to reduce landfill whilst also enabling other families to purchase pre-loved goods at affordable prices.
Goods that aren’t sold at the market are donated to charity partners who are on hand at the end of the market day to accept the donations.
Jennifer supports each of her stallholders every step of the way to make their day a success through social media posts, weekly newsletters and vlogs and is affectionately known as the “Mother Hen” to all stakeholders involved.
Sponsored by Dreamstone HR
Finalists
Sheetal Bairamadgi
Lisa Agius-Gilbert
Debbie O’Connor
Jennifer Harrison
Jen Webster
Western Sydney Women Leader of Change Award
Dr Sabrin Farooqui
Dr. Sabrin Farooqui is a passionate advocate for human rights, social justice and cultural diversity.
Born in Bangladesh, Sabrin came to Australia as an international student and has worked for both the private and public sectors, in higher education, research and policy.
She is a Founding Member and the current President of Cultural Diversity Network Inc. (CDNI) that reaches out to newly arrived migrants and refugees in settlement programs and to those who are vulnerable and in need, including women who suffer violence here and abroad.
As a catalyst for social change, Sabrin voluntarily works for women’s development, empowerment and domestic/family violence intervention, prevention and awareness. Her vision is to facilitate a harmonious, multicultural Australia where all immigrants can be recognised as valuable contributors to the community and the economy.
Sponsored by Bright Print Group
Finalists
Maryam Zahid
Nasreen Hanifi
Dr Sabrin Farooqui
Stephanie Ingram
Western Sydney Woman in Trades Award
Sheree Bounassif
Sheree is the Director of Kitchens by Emanuel, a certified Cabinet Maker Tradesman & Interior Designer, who has been renovating kitchens & completing full house fit-outs of custom joinery for over 15 years throughout Greater Sydney.
Starting off as an apprentice, Sheree was the only female in the team and, after only a few years of gaining valuable practical experience she ended up being the factory foreman.
Working in the factory during the day, and meeting with clients at night, designing their kitchens, completing the onsite check measures, and inspecting the kitchen installations,
Sheree combined her knowledge of interior design & cabinet making to ensure each kitchen that she designs & manufactures is built exactly to suit her clients wants & needs, paired with outstanding customer service.
When Sheree purchased Kitchens by Emanuel in 2012 from her father, it was a small factory at her family home in Kellyville. Sheree has grown the business to the point where she was able to purchase a larger factory in Castle Hill, invest in new machinery & build a bespoke kitchen showroom for her clients.
Sponsored by The NRMA
Finalists
Isabella Turrise
Bianca Clark
Sheree Bounassif
Bethany Mercieca
Western Sydney Women Educator of the Year Award
Roset Rawa Khair
Roset is a teacher and coordinator of Business Studies, Legal Studies, Economics and Commerce at a school in Southwest-Sydney. She has spent the last 10 years developing innovative learning programs that replicate real-life business scenarios to inspire and educate students to make confident financial and legal decisions with engaging and skill-based learning relevant to real-life.
She also educates other teachers to do the same through her volunteer work as Director with the Economics Business Educators NSW where she has run countless courses for teachers in her field to teach them how to create project-based-learning and improve literacy and assessment for her subjects.
Roset proudly advocates on behalf of teachers all over NSW to improve education in business.
Sponsored by Bankstown Sports
Finalists
Roset Rawa Khair
Catherine Goodwill
Noelene Callaghan
Lauren Walters
Western Sydney Women Indigenous Changemaker Award
Robyn Taylor
Robyn is the Team Manager at Burbaga Burawa where she volunteers for over 20 hours per week. Funded by Wentwest Primary Health Network, her support of Aboriginal communities has helped to drive healthier lifestyles and close the gap.
As an Aboriginal health practitioner earlier in her career, Robyn saw the high obesity rates and how adversely it affects Indigenous Australians’ futures.
She runs free 10-week challenges twice a year for 120 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members that include free 10 week gym memberships, personal training, eating plans, guidance and full support.
Robyn has won the NSW health challenge for 3 years for Western Sydney thanks to the right resources and a program structure that has seen participants turning up year-on-year and a successful participant completion rate of 95-98%.
Sponsored by Bartier Perry Lawyers
Finalists
Vicki Bowen
Robyn Taylor
Charleene Mundine
Racquel Manning
Western Sydney Woman in STEM
Kristy Robledo
An early career researcher working as a biostatistician at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney, Kristy designs, monitors and analyses clinical trials, particularly in neonatology, gynaecological oncology and cardiovascular research.
Kristy has published over 80 research articles in top tier international journals, has been cited more than 4 times more than other researchers in her field and has been awarded over $4 million in research grants in the past 5 years.
Her statistical work on surgical treatment options for cervical cancer patients with colleagues has changed four different international guidelines, changing clinical practice in the field and she leads her own research methodology, developing new methods for the analysis of biomarkers and their application in clinical trials.
Sponsored by Western Sydney Airport
Finalists
Kristy Robledo
Linda Truong
Keshavi Jagdish Charde
Daniya Syed
Madeline Wu
Western Sydney Woman in Performing & Creative Arts Award
Charity Mirow
Charity is the owner of Fusion Boutique - a producer, promoter and event management business presenting premier live music in a wide range of venues in the Blue Mountains.
For over 13 years she has provided high calibre live music experiences to local audiences ‘in their own backyard’, while providing artists with wonderful, respectful opportunities and bringing vital overnight tourism to the region.
This work is driven by her passion for sourcing and presenting national and international performers, and local talent. Special attention has also been placed on regional development, the reinvigoration of existing venues, and the creation of new live entertainment spaces and community events.
This long-term dedication has contributed to the vitality of the creative arts sector in the region; one that has struggled for some time. The ongoing patronage to Charity’s events by not just locals but also visitors that have specifically travelled to the region, demonstrates how she has raised the profile of the Blue Mountains creative live music arts industry, and the Blue Mountains as a live music destination.
Sponsored by Panthers Penrith
Finalists
Maria Tran
Charity Mirow
Erin Fenech
Amanda Brisot
Western Sydney Executive Woman of the Year Award
Jen Webster
Jen is the CEO of MindFlare and leads with emotional intelligence, flexibility and positivity to make a significant impact to both their company culture and local communities.
Launching with a team of 3 in 2019, MindFlare has since grown to a team of 17 internally and, since taking on the role of CEO, Jen has taken the lead and excelled in creating a thriving environment that people are excited to work in.
She has also successfully utilised their team to further support the wider community by actively engaging them with mental health and community based program initiatives, especially in light of such devastating times of late.
Some of the many examples include; a pitch to the NSW government for a state-wide solution to the burnout problem the Psychology industry is facing and leading and co-facilitating a free online mental health discussion panel in partnership with Hawkesbury Women in Business with MindFlare Psychologists that included tools and a practical resources pack for residents of the Hawkesbury region to support them as they rebuild their community.
Sponsored by KPMG
Finalists
Lori Modde
Jess Griffin
Jen Webster
Western Sydney Sporting Woman of the Year Award
Elizabeth Anne Hole
Elizabeth’s commitment to her sport of archery knows no bounds with some of her current roles including Club President, NSW Olympic Delegate, Archery Australia Club Official and Archery Australia Event Judge.
Elizabeth was a key member of the volunteering task force for the Invictus Games and just returned from the National Championships in Brisbane where she claimed the title of National Champion in two events and the highest score in the NSW State Barebow team.
As the President of one of the largest clubs in Australia, the Sydney Olympic Park Archers (SOPA) Elizabeth engages with everyone and creates a friendly, fun and safe place for people to enjoy the sport of archery. She welcomes all archers of all skill levels and abilities to join the club and currently has a number of archers on the National Recurve and Para Squads.
ELizabeth has just negotiated with the NSW Institute of Sport and Archery Australia to make her club the home for our Para Olympians.
Sponsored by Turbans4Australia
Finalists
Elizabeth Anne Hole
Kerrye Katz
Josephine Ng
Western Sydney Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Wendy El-Khoury
The Founder of Wedded Wonderland, Wendy is often attributed to reinvigorating the wedding and event market in Australia and has amassed a following of more than 2 million social media followers, 250,000 Unique Visitors at its peak to her website and led the wedding and event industry through the pandemic as the go-to spokesperson for many small businesses and couples, even lobbying the government for fairness and equality for weddings and hospitality venues.
Wendy brought Australia's largest luxury wedding events, Wedded World and The Bridal Bazaar to life, orchestrated the INSPIRE wedding and event conferences to drive education, growth and networking for the industry and has presented keynotes at conferences in Venice, Florence, Phuket, New Orleans, Mexico and Dubai.
She has hosted celebrities and influencer brands such as Jeff Leatham, Vera Wang and Berta Bridal, was the resident wedding expert on Studio 10 from 2016-2020 and is still the go-to spokesperson for the industry by the media.
Sponsored by City of Canterbury Bankstown
Finalists
Wendy El-Khoury
Karin Lee
Cassandra Kalpaxis
