Courage

Amanda Waghorn

Aurizon

Amanda’s courage and vulnerability to share her story openly and honestly are a testament to both her character and her unwavering drive to do the right thing and be an advocate for others to do the same.

Alexandra Newton

Hatch

I come from a strong supportive family background and a life that revolves around regular family engagement, Alex has walked a different life in that she had to overcome adversity in that she lost her father in a motor vehicle incident pre covid; this same incident left her brother unable to walk for some time, Alex had lost her mother years earlier and she needed to step in and support her family. Alex does not share this story often but has since found the courage to explain her career choice, she wants a career where she feels she can make a real difference in looking after others and the impact to mental health that comes with loss.

Alanna Ball

Women In Safety / The Safety Team

Alanna, you have no idea how inspirational and incredible you are and this nomination is genuine as you need light shone on you while you shine on others too. Your ability to create community, to give valuable industry support and knowledge, to build business models worthy of investment and all while being a mother who is juggling all the things.

Amireh Amirmazaheri

PMO Solutions

Amireh Amirmazaheri embodies resilience, vision, and leadership. Migrating from Iran in her twenties, she built a life and career in Australia from the ground up. Against all odds, she established PMO Solutions in 2016, leading it through major crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and today’s volatile project environment. Despite competing against global multinational giants, she refuses to downsize her team—instead, she invests in innovation, new products, and people. She is a true trailblazer, among the first leaders to boldly combine AI with PMO practice, bringing creativity and innovation to an industry often resistant to change. Her courage lies not just in survival, but in building a brand that has become a recognised voice in PMO leadership across APAC and the Middle East.

Claire Wright

Wright Training

Claire has built RTO Wright training from the ground up - literally. With a passion for Safety in Wind construction and industry Claire has broken every mold and glass ceiling there is. Claire has build a successful business mentoring and training workers in this industry about key high risks and safe work practices. Claire has advocated and lobbied for in-turbine training, practical skills for practical experience and real work scenarios and is on the verge of opening a first of it's kind training facility in Goulburn NSW to achieve this dream.

Amy Morris

Bega Group

Amy Morris exemplifies courage in the field of safety through her fearless commitment to challenging the status quo, daring to innovate, and relentlessly pursuing outcomes that protect the people exposed to the risks in the workplace. As a Senior Safety Systems and Standards Manager, Amy has consistently demonstrated the kind of bold leadership that drives meaningful change in complex environments.
Amy’s courage is evident in her willingness to question long-standing practices and advocate for smarter, safer, and more effective systems. She does not settle for “how things have always been done”, rather she leads with conviction, pushing boundaries and encouraging others to think differently. Amy won’t let others make knee-jerk reactions or add on ever increasing layers safety bureaucracy, instead she challenges these often ingrained systems and takes a risk-based and people-centric approach to keep our workers safe, even if she is the only one speaking up.
Whether navigating resistance, leading cross-functional initiatives, or introducing new standards, Amy remains focused, resilient, and aligned to her values. Her ability to stay the course, even when the path is difficult, inspires those around her and sets a powerful example for women in safety and broader industry. Where she may start as the only voice speaking up, it never stays that way long as she brings others along on the journey with her, encouraging them to find their voice and have the courage to speak up and seek out what matters most.
Amy’s story is one of courage in action, of a professional who dares to lead, dares to innovate, and dares to prioritise the wellbeing of others. She is an inspiring leader of Courage in Safety.

Crystal Libreri

Beaumont Safety Solutions

Crystal entered the role of WHS Coordinator as someone new to the industry. Rather than seeing this as a barrier, she embraced the steep learning curve with determination and curiosity. Her proactive approach to understanding the Work Health and Safety Act and industry best practices demonstrates her resilience and drive for professional growth.

By engaging openly with customers, clients, and colleagues, Crystal shows that safety is not just about compliance—it’s about relationships and trust. She inspires those around her by asking thoughtful questions, listening carefully, and applying her knowledge in practical ways that make people feel both supported and safe.

Crystal models the kind of courage and humility that motivates others. She shows that you don’t need decades of experience to make a difference—you need passion, willingness to learn, and the confidence to engage with people. Her ability to grow quickly in a demanding role inspires both new entrants to the industry and seasoned professionals alike.

Crystal’s journey reflects the power of continuous learning and dedication. In just a short time, she has transformed challenges into opportunities, inspiring her peers to see the value of persistence and a positive attitude. Her story is a reminder that with the right mindset, anyone can contribute meaningfully to workplace safety and culture.

Emily Bosca

Theiss

Emily worked for me 4 years ago as a HSEQ Advisor. In her role she was compliance driven with great attention to detail yet, made genuine personal connections with the teams. A restructure meant that her role was made redundant. It was devastating at the time for both of us. Emily dusted herself off and started applying for jobs with my support and reference. In the end she had two to choose from. One at a project site we were very familiar with and local or one on a mining roster 7 on 7 off and totally out of her comfort zone. Emily had the courage to take that leap! In the last three years she has blossomed and after several promotions and two sites is now a HSET Manager championing her own team. I couldn't be more proud of her achievements.

Jacqui Woodall

SafeHandsSA

Jacqui inspires me because she is a living example of courage, resilience, and lifelong impact. After an accomplished career as an emergency nurse, instead of slowing down in her 60s, she chose to begin something entirely new—building one of the best bespoke first aid training programs I have ever seen. That kind of reinvention at a stage when many people step back is a powerful reminder that passion and purpose have no age limit.

Her dedication doesn’t stop at delivering exceptional courses in South Australia; she goes above and beyond by travelling to regional and remote communities to ensure people everywhere have access to lifesaving knowledge. This willingness to step outside her comfort zone and extend her reach shows not only her professionalism but also her deep compassion for others.

Jacqui inspires me because she proves that one person, with skill and determination, can create a ripple effect of confidence, safety, and empowerment in countless lives. She is a role model for perseverance, service, and making a difference well beyond expectations.

Justine Youl

SiteSherpa

Justine’s story is one of courage and determination. Entering the male-dominated world of construction and mining safety, she faced significant resistance early in her career but refused to be sidelined. Instead, she turned challenges into opportunities, earning respect through her deep expertise, persistence, and ability to connect with people at every level. Her courage grew again when she left the security of corporate roles to establish SiteSherpa, a consultancy and technology platform designed to transform how organisations manage WHS. By taking this leap, she has given businesses and workers across Australia access to innovative tools that make compliance simpler and safety more human-centred. Justine inspires because she shows that courage is not about the absence of fear—it’s about moving forward despite it, and bringing others with you.

Melissa Sanders

JLL

I am putting myself forward. I recently had some feedback from a team that I work with that included: Mel is tremendously generous with her time. She has endless patience for the team and is relentless in offering her support to projects, attending sites, organizing and delivering trainings and facilitating events to help the team" and another "The shift in our team capability, culture and behaviors is noticeable as a result of Mel's ongoing efforts". Sometimes it's hard to show up everyday and sometimes it feels like we aren't making the difference we want to see in safety, but these comments made it all worth it.

Negin Vaez

Modus Transport and Traffic Engineering

Negin has an amazing backstory, which is truly inspiring after migrating to Australia from Iran as a young woman with little money, support, but the courage to pursue a dream of making a difference.

To now lead Modus with the same drive to build Deep Cultural Alignment of "Why" we share this common goal of "Solving Traffic & Safety Challenges - Protect People"

Negin truly inspires the next generation of both Women and Men by demonstrating the "Courage" to face one of the greatest fears for many people of public speaking (not in her native language, mind you), to share both her story and that of Modus with Safety Professionals across the country.

After breaking the ice to present recently at the Local Government Networking Session for OHS Coordinators & Advisors in the following Local Council regions (see below)

Hepburn Shire
Moorabool Shire
Pyrenees Shire
Central Gold Fields
Campaspe Shire

The knowledge and expertise are supporting both the government, business, and communities to tailor traffic engineering and safety solutions that mitigate risk and protect lives!

Therefore, by inspiring our Team every day at Modus by demonstrating the "Courage" to get outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself daily, this is why Negin Vaez is the perfect candidate to celebrate a woman who shows up every day and makes an impact in the workplace in the health and safety field.

Nicole Turnbull

Neon Shed

I had the privilege of working alongside Nicole at icare, where she exemplified everything you'd want in a colleague - thoughtful, kind, and consistently delivering exceptional work that set the standard for excellence. But what happened next revealed her true character.

I witnessed firsthand how the very organisation Nicole poured her heart and soul into systematically destroyed her wellbeing. She became a shadow of herself, her physical and mental health deteriorated, and despite the company's rhetoric about caring for people, she was ultimately pushed out. The psychological injury was devastating. The kind of workplace trauma that breaks careers, relationships, and spirits permanently. Most people would have walked away defeated, choosing to protect themselves from ever being that vulnerable again.

Not Nicole!

What makes her journey so extraordinary is that she didn't just survive the very workplace harm she now fights against, she chose to immerse herself in it professionally. While others might avoid anything that reminded them of their trauma, Nicole courageously stepped directly into the space where her deepest wounds were inflicted. With extraordinary resilience, she embarked on a journey of complete reconstruction—rebuilding her mind, body, and professional identity from the ground up.
Over six years, she transformed her lived experience of workplace psychological injury into Neon Shed, a thriving consultancy that has become a powerhouse in psychosocial health and safety. Her personal understanding of what it feels like to be crushed by toxic workplace systems gives her work an authenticity and urgency that can't be taught—it can only be lived.

What inspires me most is Nicole's unwavering commitment to ensuring others don't suffer as she did. She didn't just heal—she created a movement. Through her Psychosocial Safety Summits, "Under the Rug at Work" podcast, and comprehensive training programs, she's preventing workplace harm on a national scale. Her work with organisations from government agencies to local councils demonstrates the real-world impact of her mission. Every policy she helps develop, every leader she trains, every workplace culture she transforms—it all stems from her intimate knowledge of what happens when these systems fail people.

Nicole's courage isn't a moment, it's a daily choice to confront the same toxic systems that once destroyed her, armed with the unshakeable belief that her lived experience can prevent others from walking the same devastating path.

Ria Chapman

Milwaukee Tools AU/NZ

Ria prioritises the people she works to keep safe, leading with care and courage. She isn't afraid to try something new and challenge the status quo, truly listening to workers and speaking up on their behalf.
Ria is a courageous and passionate advocate for the safety and wellbeing of others who inspires me to ask questions and speak up.

Emma Wood

Ventia Rig & Well Services

Emma took a stand in an environment that had a significant amount of sexist behaviour. She acted with integrity and addressed the issues within the structures available to her.

Patrice Corcoran

Vulcan

Patrice is an amazing Safety Lead who is actively seeking to share positive learnings and culture with the greater steel industry. Patrice has a passion for learning and is always looking for new enhancements that will support her teams and her employer.

Katie Siemsen

Empower Business Solutions

Katie inspires me because she has the courage to speak up when others stay silent. In industries where women are often expected to “just put up with it,” she calls out unsafe practices and cultural blind spots without hesitation. One moment that stands out was when she challenged leadership about the lack of basic facilities for women onsite a conversation many avoided, but one that started real change.