º«¹úAV

Celebrating 10 years of Women of Spirit

Last Friday, the º«¹úAV Alumnae Committee hosted the 10th Women of Spirit Breakfast at Luna Park, raising vital funds for the means-tested º«¹úAV Alumnae Scholarship and Awards Program.

Dr Scott and º«¹úAV Alumnae President, Mrs Jennifer Mildren (Stiel, 1987), welcomed an audience of approximately 200 guests, and Ms Michelle Sloane OAM (1977) was an inspirational guest speaker at what was the 10th anniversary of this very special event.

Currently the Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs for Sydney Trains, Michelle has a background in psychology, but pursued a career in human resources, specialising in people, strategy, diversity, inclusion and policy development.

As former Head Prefect for the Class of 1977, Michelle shared fond memories of her school days at º«¹úAV and her journey since leaving school. She spoke movingly about her father, who was taken by the Nazis, and the motivating force that was º«¹úAV Principal, Miss Barbara Jackson, who encouraged her to be ambitious and brave and to embrace every opportunity in life.

Founded in 2010 by Mrs Marie Soghomonian (Seferian, 1992) and the º«¹úAV Alumnae Committee (then known as WINC, Wenonians Incorporated), the Women of Spirit Breakfast is the º«¹úAV Alumnae Committee’s key fundraising event each year.

Over the past decade, the event has grown considerably, bringing together a highly engaged audience of alumnae, current and past parents, Board members, º«¹úAV staff, and Year 12 students.

Each year, guests hear from inspirational alumnae who share their personal stories of their journey during and since leaving º«¹úAV.

Previous inspirational guest speakers who have shared their stories include:

Catherine West (1986)
Lawyer, Board Member and º«¹úAV parent
Friday 4 May, 2018
Crystal Palace Ballroom, Luna Park

Catherine West (1986) entertained and inspired us all, as she shared her stories of how she successfully coped with being a woman, wife and mother working in a corporate world. Catherine challenged us to tell our stories and to speak out proudly, and a little LOUDLY! 112 Alumnae were amongst the 222 º«¹úAV community audience at this sell out event raising a record amount towards our scholarship and awards programs.

Kate Obermayer (Locke, 1997)
Global Customer Engagement Coordinator, Cochlear Ltd / Recipient of the Australian Human Rights Community Award
Friday 12 May, 2017
Crystal Palace Ballroom, Luna Park

Notes of resilience, hope, humour and success were shared by Kate Obermayer (Locke, 1997) with an audience of 196 from the º«¹úAV community. She explained what life with hearing loss is like and spoke of how her family’s support, friendships at º«¹úAV and experiences as a young girl shaped her future. Diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss at age 11 and profoundly deaf by age 21, Kate has gone on to advocate successfully for media accessibility for people with hearing loss and is currently the Global Customer Engagement Coordinator at Cochlear Ltd.

Sophie Hamley (1989)
Non-fiction Publisher, Hachette Australia
Friday 14 October, 2016
Crystal Palace Ballroom, Luna Park

Sophie Hamley (1989) delivered a moving presentation about her life’s journey, including how her successful writing and publishing career started with her English teacher at º«¹úAV. Sophie has worked in the print and online publishing industries as a bookseller, editor, writer, literary agent, and interactive TV producer.

Alexandra Green (2005)
Paralympic Cyclist, London 2012 / Previous World Champion in the C4 3000m individual pursuit / Mechanical Engineering Graduate UNSW
Friday 8 May, 2015
Crystal Palace Ballroom, Luna Park

Alex captivated º«¹úAV's community with her story. Alex is a Paralympic cyclist and has represented Australia around the world in both track and road cycling. Alex truly exemplifies what it means to be a woman of spirit.

Mandy Chang (1981)
Commissioning Editor at the ABC
Friday 21 March, 2014
Grand Ballroom, Kirribilli Club

Alumnae and friends gathered for breakfast to hear Mandy Chang (1981) deliver an inspiring address about her career as a multi award-winning documentary producer/director and film maker, and the journey she has taken to get where she is today.

Edwina McCann (1990)
Editor-in-Chief, Vogue Australia
Friday 31 May, 2013
Grand Ballroom, Kirribilli Club

Guest speaker Edwina McCann (1990) Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Australia spoke about life behind the scenes of the magazine and some of the challenges facing the Australian fashion publishing industry. 

Lou Pollard (1984)
Sydney Clown Doctor, The Humour Foundation
Friday 4 May, 2012
Grand Ballroom, Kirribilli Club

Guest speaker Lou Pollard (1984) shared highlights from her career as an author and clown doctor with the Humour Foundation.

Lyndey Milan (Hall, 1971) 
Chef, Author, Businesswoman
Friday 20 May, 2011
Rydges Hotel

Lyndey spoke of her achievements since leaving school and provided a sneak peak of her SBS ONE food, wine, travel and adventure show, Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece. Money was raised for scholarships to help share the benefits of a º«¹úAV education, and guests were also pleased to support the Leukaemia Foundation in honour of Lyndey’s son Blair, who died suddenly earlier that year from acute myeloid leukaemia.

Natalie Isaacs
CEO of Climate Coolers, 1 Million Women Campaign
Friday 17 September, 2010
Rydges Hotel

Although not an alumna, Natalie was an inspirational speaker for the inaugural Women of Spirit Breakfast which was attended by approximately 80 Wenonians, staff, parents and friends of º«¹úAV. Natalie spoke about how many little things we do in our homes with our family can make a difference to help halt climate change.