Rachel Perkins
Australian film and television director, producer and writer
Australian film and television director, producer and writer
Leanne Miller has made significant contributions to the welfare of Aboriginal communities in Victoria, Australia.
Yorta Yorta elder and community worker
Worimi bushranger Mary Ann Bugg was one of several female bandits documented as being active in mid-1800s Australia.
Gunditjmara elder Aunty Laura Bell has been a leader in Aboriginal education in Victoria, Australia.
One of Victoria, Australia’s leading Aboriginal consultants, she chairs Aboriginal organisations at state and national levels and is the director of a mainstream water corporation.
Karen has led the way in business and supports women to find their leadership prowess and harness their inner strength with combined empowerment through culture and sisterhood. Karen demonstrates impartiality and kindness in all that she does. She has shown incredible tenacity while operating under sometimes difficult conditions to deliver cultural awareness and immersive experiences for the non-Aboriginal sector.
Karen has recently co-developed and delivered an intensive, one-of-a-kind First Nations women’s leadership program called ECHO – Empowering Connections, Healing Ourselves that went through rigorous co-design with Victorian First Nations women of all ages and from all walks of life. She has diversified her reach into the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal space and as the chair of Kinaway, took a team to Milan in early 2022 to promote First Nations fashion at the Milan fashion show. Karen believes in supporting her community and educating the broader community to understand First Nations issues.
In the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours, Karen was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia, ‘for significant service to Indigenous advocacy, and to reconciliation’.
Jodie Ryan is a leader and role model for young Aboriginal people across Ballarat and the Western Region of Victoria.
Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin is a Wurundjeri Elder who has demonstrated significant community leadership throughout her life.
Professor Julie Andrews led the development of La Trobe University’s Gabra Biik, Wurruwila Wutja Indigenous Research Centre, of which she is now Director.
Gunditjmara woman Aunty Jill Gallagher works to develop the capacity of her community to achieve their full potential.