Founder Stories - Laura O'Reilly, Social Entrepreneur
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| Laura O’Reilly is one of Australia’s leading social entrepreneurs, who is working tirelessly to build a brighter, richer future for Australians with disability. Inspired by her experiences as a sibling of a young man with cerebral palsy, and deeply moved by the failure of the Australian disability system to meet her brother Shane’s needs, Laura launched her first non-profit organization, Fighting Chance, in 2011, at the age of just 24. From the humblest of beginnings in a suburban Sydney garage, Fighting Chance has grown significantly over the past 12 years, and today supports over 1,200 young adults with disability in across four States, to access the opportunities Shane was denied; including to work and live independently. In 2015, Laura also co-founded Hireup, an online platform connecting Australians with disability with support workers who fit their needs and share their interests. Since launch, Hireup has facilitated more than 100,000 support connections, provided more than 9 million hours of support, saved the users of Hireup around $120 million in support funding, and has revolutionized the way that more than 10,000 people with disability access support in the community on a daily basis. Laura is a graduate of Cambridge University and the University of New South Wales, where she studied history and law respectively. In September 2014 Laura was awarded the Australian Woman’s Weekly Woman of the Future, was a finalist for both the NSW Young Australian of the Year 2016 and NSW Woman of the Year 2019, and was a Westpac Social Change Fellow in 2018. Laura was awarded an OAM for services to the disability community in 2021, as well as the NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year. |
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