Sydney School of Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Women NSW and The Exchange, Dubbo are delighted to facilitate a one-hour panel session with The Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC in conversation with 2020 NSW Women of the Year winners and finalist; Hannah Beder, Krystaal Hinds and Julia Weber.

They will share their insights into championing change in their communities, how we can #ChooseToChallenge barriers present today and provide practical steps to foster resilience in ourselves and others.

Be inspired by their stories and learn how together we can effect change!

Register today and join our virtual Women’s Week panel discussion. By registering for a Virtual ticket you will receive the link to join our livestream. This link will allow you to view the on-demand recording at your convenience.

COVID-19 Safety:

This event will follow COVID-safe procedures and adhere to NSW Government guidelines for business events for all participants.

About the Panellists:

The Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC

The Honourable Bronnie Taylor, MLC is the Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women. Appointed in March 2019, Bronnie brings a wealth of experience to this important and vital Ministry.

Before entering Parliament in 2015, Bronnie spent 20 years working in health as a registered nurse, specialising in cancer care and palliative care. Her work saw her become one of the first McGrath Foundation breast care nurses and then became the Director of Cancer Services in the Southern NSW Local Health District.

It was through her work as a cancer nurse where Bronnie’s political career began. Determined to improve services in regional NSW, Bronnie successfully lobbied for a local oncology service for the Monaro. The establishment of the Cooma Oncology Clinic ensured that they had access to the same quality health care as patients in the city.

Inspired to make more change, Bronnie entered local government serving as Deputy Mayor of the Cooma-Monaro Shire. In 2015 Bronnie was elected to the NSW Legislative Council, and a year later she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Southern NSW and Regional Communications. In January 2017, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier and Southern NSW.

Bronnie is passionately committed to our rural and regional communities, and in particular about health and education outcomes, local government and agriculture. As Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women Bronnie is working towards ambitious targets of Towards Zero suicides, providing more work opportunities for young people in regional NSW and supporting women building leadership and support networks.

Bronnie is married to Duncan and they have 2 daughters Hannah and Holly.

Hannah Beder

Hannah is a computer scientist and the 2020 NSW Young Woman of the Year. She is passionate about addressing the historical gender disparity in technology, and her visibility in the tech industry helps to combat the notion that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. She enables growth for others by mentoring young women to be successful while pursuing careers in technology.

Hannah has worked as a Software Engineer at both Google and Macquarie Group, and an educator with UNSW, Code Like A Girl, and Girls’ Programming Network. Currently, she’s combined her passion for programming and education in her role as Technology Lead with Creatable. Here, she develops and teaches technical projects to high school girls, which provide a creative and real-world context for STEM skills.

She has been awarded by NSW Women, Rotary the Darlings, and UNSW, for her contribution to society in terms of the benefits of computing for women.

Julia Weber

Julia Weber has always dedicated herself to contributing to the community, with the publication of her self-help book for teenage girls at age 14, anti-bullying campaigning throughout her high school years and becoming a financial literacy ambassador at university.

She is the Treasurer at Animal Therapies Limited, a not-for-profit organisation connecting those in need with animal-assisted services to help prevent or manage disability, illness and suffering. Julia also develops financial literacy content in the hopes of solving the foundational issues that create monetary struggles for all Australians. She has taught financial literacy to young people all over the Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast regions, as well as online content in collaboration with the Advocate for Children and Young People.

Her work in the financial literacy space saw her become a finalist for the NSW Young Woman of the Year award in 2020. She recently graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Business (Leadership and Management).

Julia works for the Newcastle Permanent Building Society, building organisational resilience and providing insights in the IT space.

Krystaal Hinds

Krystaal is Deputy Group Officer with the NSW Rural Fire Service and the 2020 Regional Women of the Year. A local from Gunning, NSW she started as a volunteer for her local Fire Brigade rising up the ranks from Captain and then Deputy Group Officer. Krystaal is heavily involved in the learning and development of the Volunteers in her District and those surrounding, delivering nationally accredited training to RFS members on leadership with a personal motivation of empowering women in firefighting.

She leads by example, demonstrating that women can succeed in traditionally male-dominated industries. Since being promoted to Captain 7 years ago, female membership in the brigade increased by 30%.

She is esteemed by the local agriculture industry and regional communities for her leadership in bushfire management. In 2020, she was named Upper Lachlan Shire’s 2020 Citizen of the Year, in recognition of her signification contributions to her community.

Together with her husband, they run a successful electrical company and raise their three wonderfully headstrong children.