The finalists for the Third Sector Awards have been announced to honour the most notable leaders of the not-for-profit sector.
The finalists for the Third Sector Awards have been announced, celebrating Australia’s most notable executive leaders and decision-makers in the sector.
The awards are an opportunity for leaders and volunteers to demonstrate leadership and innovation within their organisation and the community. They were judged based on their social impact, outcomes, collaboration and leadership.
Katherine Raskob, CEO of the Fundraising Institute of Australia and one of the judges, said: “The best candidates demonstrated significant areas of innovation within their organisation and were the ones who stood out.
“All candidates were so good that trying to find one area where they were above the others was really difficult. But there were a couple that were able to demonstrate quite significant innovation, either in the way that they approached new business roles or new partnerships or in new systems of thinking.”
The awards, put together in partnership with Centre for Social Impact, judged sector leaders on Emerging Leader of the Year, CEO of the Year, Board Director of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Campaign/Marketing Executive of the Year, Young Leader of the Year and Influencer of the Year.
Each of the winners from the group of finalists will be awarded in recognition of the significant impact they have made either as individuals or as part of an organisation.
Raskob said the challenge in voting for Volunteer of the Year was due to each of their commitments to the organisation they were a part of: “I really loved all the stories and the entries were so inspiring and motivating. That was challenging for me to judge because they were all so impressive in many different ways.”
The awards night is part of the upcoming Third Sector Live, the conference that brings together sector leaders in a unique opportunity for Australia’s not-for-profits.
Attendees will hear from industry leaders about the role of the third sector, including the Commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, Gary Johns. Other speakers include Shadow Minister for Charities and Not-for-profits, Andrew Leigh, and CEO of National Aids Trust UK, Deborah Gold.
Winners will be announced on the Awards Night on September 25.
The award finalists are:
Emerging Leader of the Year
Charlotte Sangster – Muscular Dystrophy NSW
Madeleine Gates – Sylvanvale Foundation
Malinda Wink – Good Pitch Australia _ Shark Island Institute
Sarah Walker – Third Sector Australia Ltd
Tim Robertson – Third Sector Australia Ltd
CEO of the Year
Brendan Lonergan – Beehive Industries Cooperative
Brian Hewitt – Carbal medical Services
Jacques Stap – New Haven Farm Home
Jonathan Nicholas – Reach Out
Nigel Fidgeon – Merri Health
Board Director of the Year
Carolyn Clark – Sacred Heart Mission
Christine Pope – ATMS
Greg Nairn – Dandelion Support Network (DSN)
Kim Jones – Hear For You
Iris Cloud – Community Vision
Volunteer of the Year
Bernie Macken – Sacred Heart Mission
Katie Parkes – Settlement Services International
Noreen Vu – Orange Sky Canberra. Org
Pat Pedicini – Sacred Heart Mission
Sally Hetherington – Human and Hope Association Incorporate
Social Entrepreneur of the Year
Cassandra Treadwell – So They Can
Dr Pool – The Healthy Strides Foundation
Josh Ross – Humanitix
Jessica Brown – TLife Changing Experiences Foundation
Tania de Jong AM – Creativity Australia and the With One Voice
Carmel Molloy – The NonProfit Alliance
Campaign / Marketing Executive of the Year
Alix Pearce – Cities Power Partnership, The Climate Council
Craig McMillan – Australian Childhood Foundation
Dion Pretorius – Science Technology Australia (STA)
Jessica Pagano – The Charter Hall
Viviana Rosas – Merri Health
Young Leader of the Year
Anyier Yuol – SSI
Jobeth Winton – Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre
Khushi Shelat – ChangeMakerHer
Janelle Graham – Shepparton Diversity Group
Shadeene Evans – John Moriarty Football and The Nangala Project
Influencer of the Year – Judge’s Choice
Donna Law –
Dr Matthew Turnour
Julie Garland
