The confernce, now in its 10^th year, will present an amazing line up of speakers of all ages and interests.

The conference is not only about listening to but also provides many opportunities to interact with speakers.

This year’s conference will be held on Thursday May 3 at the Bomaderry Bowling Club commencing at 9am and continuing until 3pm.

Tickets are $75 which includes morning tea and lunch.

Tickets can be purchased via the web site www.shoalhavenwomensconference.com.au

This year’s speaker line up is:

Key note speaker Jane Caro

Jane Caro is an author, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, columnist, advertising writer and media and social commentator.

She has published five books and has recently published ‘Just a Queen’ a sequel to her earlier work ‘Just a Girl’ and ‘Plain speaking Jane’.

A regular on the Gruen Transfer she has also appeared in the media including weekly spots on Weekend Sunrise, and Sunrise.

Jane has created, written, presented and co-produced for ABC Radio and Television.

She has also appeared on The Drum, Q&A, The Project, Daily Edition, Mornings on 9, Studio 10 and Today. She writes regular monthly columns for Mt (Management Today) Magazine and the Sun Herald’s Sunday Life.

Deborah Lawrie: The first female airline pilot for a major airline in Australia. Deborah’s journey has be controversial and her story is full of the challenges presented to women who are determined to succeed in a male dominated field. Her first commercial flight was in 1979 and she has been flying ever since both in Australia and overseas and is one of the longest flying female airline pilots in the world. In July of 2012 Deborah joined Tigerair and is currently an A320 check and training Captain based in Sydney.

Macinley Butson: Macinley comes from Wollongong and is the 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year. At just 17 she is a rising star in the world of science and achieved international success in 2017 when she received the First Award in the category of medical science at the prestigious INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Each year, more than seven million high school students develop original research projects for the world’s largest international science competition. Macinley’s idea, ‘Smart Armour’, is a shield that can be used by breast cancer patients to protect their non-treated breast while undergoing radiotherapy treatment. 

Nicole Fetchet: Nicole as a science communicator, facilitates workshops, encourages exploration of the sciences with Questacon in Canberra. She is a scientist and female leader within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math sector who grew up in Nowra and attended both Nowra Public School and Nowra High School. In 2017 Nicole was one of 80 women chosen to represent Australia as part of Homeward Bound, a global program for women in science. The program included a three-week expedition to Antarctica in February 2018.

Carmel Krogh: Carmel’s current role (since 2007) is the Director of Shoalhaven Water, a business of Shoalhaven City Council. She is responsible for the leadership and management of the Shoalhaven Water Group to provide competitive, best practice service delivery, customer service, maintenance and capital works of the City’s water and sewerage infrastructure, with assets valued at over $1 billion. Carmel is currently on the Board of AWA and received a Minister’s Award for Women in Local Government in NSW in 2013 and was awarded the NSW Water Professional of the Year in 2017. 

Q&A Panel: Returning at this year’s conference will be the lively Q&A Panel. The theme will be ‘women succeeding in what has been traditionally male dominated fields’. Four of our speakers, Deborah Lawrie, Macinley Butson, Nicole Fetchet and Carmel Krogh will form the panel and be joined by a fifth panellist Denise Lofts, Principal Ulladulla High School. Denise was awarded the Premier’s Leadership Scholarship and Department of Education Leadership Fellowship which enabled her to continue her deep interest in educational research by travelling to visit outstanding educators in China, US and Korea. Denise is a strong advocate and encourages young women to be involved in the field of science.