“I value my team and often reward them spontaneously, not just because it’s a certain date in the calendar.” – Judy Morris.

Starting as a secretary in a legal practice, Judy Morris now runs one of the ACT’s fastest growing law firms. As a single mother of three, Judy worked her way up to become a paralegal and was encouraged by her employer to formally study law. In 2007, she established her own sole operator practice. Four years on, she employs eight staff and has delivered 50 per cent growth year-on-year growth since opening her doors. Judy attributes her success to great customer service and close communication with clients. A commitment to transparency led the company to launch a secure web interface so clients can "track" their conveyance throughout the process. Judy also promotes best practice in the legal community through her role as Chair of the ACT Law Society's Elder Law Committee and has developed an online course to educate legal and support staff on the "processes" of conveyancing.

“Being instrumental in assisting people achieve something they didn't think they could is our greatest satisfaction.” – Karen Nicholas.

When the training organisation she worked for went into voluntary administration, Karen Nicholas had the choice of abandoning more than 100 students or finding them alternative training. Karen established her company, Learning Options, initially operating from her home. Today, Learning Options is a registered training organisation that is experiencing rapid growth. It offers more than 40 nationally-accredited qualifications in management, business administration, leadership and project management for individuals, corporations and government. Her organisation annually helps 200 people achieve qualifications and takes pride in the fact that many of its successful students have not been in a classroom for years. Karen was honoured with a 2010 ACT training excellence award and attributes much of her business growth to participation in the joint Commonwealth-ACT Productivity Places Program. Through that program, Learning Options recently won a 14 per cent share of available funding for local industry skills development.

“I take great pride in the success of others and if I can have a part in that then it is all the more worthwhile.” – Anna Pino.

Anna Pino left a promising career as a manager in the public service to chart her own course and help small business. As CEO of Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre, Anna operates a company providing a wide range of programs to support start-up and growing companies. Small business is close to her heart; Anna grew up in a family that was active in the sector and operated her own companies while studying. Lighthouse provides free support services to more than 100 small enterprises each year and manages a network of 50 mentors. Its services include one-to-one business education, assistance and mentoring, administration of a capital angels program to help match high wealth investors with businesses, assistance in applying for grant funds and an interest free loan scheme for women on low incomes wanting to start or grow a business.

“Being a manager for the past eight years, I have learned to listen to what your staff are telling you, because they are usually right.” – Janine Yokom.

When a back injury forced Janine Yokom to close her nail technician business, it opened a new opportunity to become leader of a team now recognised as one of the best performing among its peers. Janine joined Westpac as a bank teller in 1997, working hard to win a management role in just three years. In 2006, she was appointed local bank manager for the Belconnen area, where she is now responsible for business management, employee training, community partnerships and retention, sales and risk management. With her team of 11, Janine has seen Belconnen become the seventh-best performing among Westpac’s 650 branches nationally. Janine cites her highly developed influencing skills, strong personal business development drive and staff management acumen as keys to achieving consistent strong results. Membership of the ACT Chamber of Commerce and involvement in bi-monthly women’s networking luncheons underline Janine’s commitment to local business.

“As a leader, I try to know the whole person, not only professionally through goal setting, feedback and performance appraisal, but also personally, by taking the time to talk to them.” – Jennifer Heymans.

There are many achievements in Jennifer Heymans’ 30-year Royal Australian Navy career but arguably none more important than her work promoting the lot of other women. In 2010, Jennifer developed a model for a new strategic advisory role, reporting to the Head of Navy People and Reputation and advising on female employment and participation. She now fills that position and manages a range of initiatives to support women's leadership development and advancement, improve gender balance and promote understanding among senior leaders and managers. Within a year of her position being established, 11 per cent of Navy women have now participated in leadership and mentoring programs. In April 2010, Jennifer was tasked with producing an education program addressing workplace relationships and behaviour. Passionate about advancing women in the Navy, Jennifer is both a mentor and an in-demand speaker.

“The most important lesson is that executives never achieve anything on their own - you might be lucky enough to 'create an environment' but it’s teamwork that achieves the best and sustainable successes.” – Barbara Reid.

With experience as a registered nurse and midwife, a degree in health science and a Masters degree in health management, Barbara Reid has risen to the most senior ranks of ACT Health. Currently the head of Surgery, Oral Health and Imaging at Canberra Hospital, Barbara has worked to enhance patient care standards, service delivery and the reputation of the Territory's health system. She has responsibility for 900 nurses, 135 doctors and 47 dental staff across the health service and at the hospital, which has 60,000 emergency patients a year and 1300 in surgeries each month. Barbara’s achievements include turning a culture of blame in Canberra Hospital's Emergency Department to one of teamwork and high engagement. In less than two years, Barbara’s collaborative approach to entrenched problems boosted staff retention, heightened morale and dramatically improved public perceptions of the local health system. Patient care has been Barbara’s number-one priority in a 29-year career.

“I believe you should not ask your staff to do something that you would not do yourself. There needs to be a team approach in dealing with crises and as a leader you need to guide.” – Dr Robyn Walker.

As Director-General of Health for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) with broader responsibilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Dr Robyn Walker is scaling dizzying heights. A Navy officer for 20 years, Robyn has been responsible for supporting the health of operational Defence personnel in Iraq and East Timor and directly manages a budget of $40 million. A specialist in underwater and submarine medicine, Robyn is leading a $270m revamp of the ADF’s health capability. Robyn’s career highlights include a commendation for her role in the post-tsunami humanitarian mission to Banda Acheh and an Order of Australia for exceptional service to the ADF. Robyn was the first woman to achieve the rank of Commodore. She will reach another career milestone in December 2011 when she takes on the job of Surgeon-General and becomes the Navy’s first female to be promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

"I have a strong commitment to mentoring other women, and in sharing my skills and knowledge with them. I have been lucky enough to work with marginalised women to find ways to empower them to achieve.” – Marcia Williams.

Drawing on sales and service skills from retail and policy experience from the public service, Marcia Williams has grown the Women's Centre for Health Matters (WCHM) into a significant player in health and women's policy in the ACT. WCHM is a community-based not for profit organisation that advocates for improvements in women’s health and wellbeing. At the heart of its work are the people who are most marginalised. When she assumed the executive director role, Marcia set about developing stronger external partnerships, introduced regular strategic reviews to make WHCM’s research focus more flexible and built the reputation and visibility of the organisation. WCHM is renowned as a key agency in collecting and providing health information in the ACT and its representation of marginalised women was recognised at this year’s ACT International Women's Day Awards.

“My commitment is both as a team-player and to the organisation as a whole and its "people". I also use my positive outlook and sense of humour to succeed." – Dr Loretta Zamprogno.

Leading a busy life as the ACT Government’s first female Deputy Chief Solicitor, Dr Loretta Zamprogno takes special satisfaction from giving back to the community. One of her career highlights was negotiating the Territory’s purchase of the land for the National Convention Centre for just $1.10. Starting with the ACT Government Solicitor (ACTGS) in 1997, Loretta was recognised for outstanding legal advice and services to government and its agencies in the inaugural Commissioner for Public Service Awards. Loretta was promoted to Deputy Chief Solicitor in 2004, managing the Property and Commercial team. Following a six-month secondment as Acting Deputy Chief Executive of Justice last year, she returned to ACTGS to assume fresh responsibilities in financial management and management. Apart from being an Adjunct Professor to the University of Canberra – an honorary position – participation in the Law Society and mentoring are other ways in which Loretta is contributing to the community.

“I am motivated by the changes that have been implemented over the years to improve the role of women and remove practices that affect advancement.” – Jennifer Heymans.

With a commitment to helping women advance in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Jennifer Heymans set about developing and implementing the Navy Women's Leadership Program. Using a partnership with Women and Leadership Australia (WLA), the program aims to address gender imbalance and leadership inequality. Initially funding 28 women in 2009 to participate in external leadership events, the program has since been expanded to include a 20-week management development program for 10 women and a mentoring program for another 50. More than 135 Navy women are now participating and the program is playing an important role in their career development. Jennifer says the program is unique in the way it stands alone in supporting women's leadership development while complementing the Navy broader professional leadership training continuum. Jennifer has also developed an education program to enhance the culture underpinning workplace relationships and behaviour.

“While the recurrent cost to run SAPU is $3.6 million, the cost benefit is significant and for the patient it is immeasurable.” – Barbara Reid.

There are no short cuts in building a better health system but Barbara Reid has played a part in significant improvements. Drawing on her mix of practical nursing experience and administrative expertise, this ACT Health executive director has launched a new unit to reduce waiting times in Canberra Hospital’s Emergency Department. While non-critically ill, surgical patients traditionally waited in the emergency department for initial assessment, the Surgical Assessment and Planning Unit (SAPU) expedites their transfer to a specialist surgical assessment unit to avoid bottlenecks before they form. Developed as part of the ACT Government's “Your Health – our priority” infrastructure program, SAPU dramatically improves the patient experience and makes the system more efficient. This innovative approach has freed emergency beds, enabled patients to access emergency surgical care in a more timely manner and reduced emergency department length of stay for surgical patients – in an environment where resources are short.

“I have loved being a teacher since the minute I stepped into my first chaotic classroom. I didn't see disaster when chairs went flying across the room; I saw a challenge – a challenge to show these children that an education is the key to their own success.” – Anna Beaver.

With a deep desire to inspire students along the road to a better education, Anna Beaver has been an English teacher at Campbell High School in Canberra for seven years. The 33-year-old was acting head of English and acting Literacy coordinator, managing a team of five full time staff and two relief teachers. Mentoring both students and teachers, Anna is part of the school improvement committee and the teaching and learning team, where she has personally administered innovative strategies to help improve students’ literacy results. She aims to guide staff through continuous professional improvement and lifelong learning. Encouraging her fellow teachers to take risks in their lesson delivery, Anna is also the English as a Second Language and International Students coordinator. She views her role as vital in giving students the skills required to succeed in mainstream education. In 2003, Anna was nominated for ‘National Excellence in Teaching’ by a group of unsuspecting students at her previous school.

“I have learned that the key to inspiring people is to ensure that they understand the vision of the organisation and feel that their contribution is valued and is central to the achievement of the objectives of the organisation.” – Julie McKay.

Combining a passion for organisational change, gender equality and international relations, 28-year-old Julie McKay is the Executive Director for non-profit organisation UN Women Australia. Julie aims to achieve gender equality for women globally and her work ranges from developing and implementing strategy, to representation at local, national and international levels. Recognising a need to diversify UN Women Australia’s income sources, Julie launched a corporate partnerships strategy that draws on corporate human resources departments. Julie has increased her operational budget from $200,000 to more than $1 million. Prior to joining UN Women Australia, Julie was communications manager at Homelessness Australia. She is also a board member on YWCA of Canberra, the United Nations Association of Australian and Australian’s Helping Abroad and sits on the Advisory Council for the Australian Institute of Management (ACT) and the Steering Group of the Equality Rights Alliance.