Meet the finalists for Mentor of the Year
This award recognises those individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to developing female talent within their organisation and wider industry.
Angela Wiggins – Chief Counsel, BAE Systems Australia
Angela has made significant contributions and commitments to forging close relationships with multiple females at BAE Systems. She has provided guidance on navigating through these difficult and encourages other females to exercise courage to be bold, proactive, and authentic. Angela has shown great mentorship especially around two common issues for working women, being career progression and mental health. She has demonstrated true leadership behaviour in drawing from her own experiences. Over the year Angela has mentored numerous females and through that journey, has guided them to achieve their own version of success.
Christine Morris – Director Strategy & Performance, Komatsu Mining
For 10 years Christine Morris has been working for Komatsu as the Director Human Resource. She notices a lack of female presence during meetings and decided to establish a mentoring program. The program is called DIAMOND which ensure all female employees are connected and is developing individuals and mentoring opportunities notifying direction. Christine’s vision for gender diversity is to shift the current mindset of organisations away from looking outside of their immediate business and initially refocus on developing within. She plans to expand her program to a wider audience and share the idea with the industry. Christine has been a pivotal part of the success in her workplace.
Kylie Fraser – President of Consumer & Healthcare Group, Linfox
Kylie is a consistent role model of inclusive leadership and an active advocate for gender balance in operations. Kylie gives her time and passion to both her mentees’ professional growth and better gender equality in operational industries where female talent can thrive. Kylie has that unique natural ability to build rapport with her mentees, to listen and respond with empathy and the willingness to share her own experiences in supporting her mentees to achieve their goals. In addition to mentoring multiple women in NAWO’s Mentoring Circles since 2013, Kylie has supported the NAWO team by being a spokesperson on the power of mentoring, and last year attended and spoke at our inaugural Mentor Alumni networking event about her experiences and views on the benefits of mentoring.
Larissa Rose – Director Consultant, Glowing Green Australia
Larissa has been committed to forge strong relationships and opportunities for females in the industry. Larissa has mentored over 32 students over the last 4.5 years with 80% of those being women. During this time, she has curated an Internship and Mentoring Program through her company Glowing Green Australia. With her technical experience skill set needing to work in the waste management and environmental sector, she has given significant mindset mentoring experience to her mentees. Larissa has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership in mentoring young women to achieve personal and professional success.
Lidia Treharne – Software Engineering Manager, Bosch Australia
Lidia has an engineering degree and is currently working at Bosch Australia as a Software Engineering Manager. With her passion for engineering, she has been a mentor who encourages students across not only the engineering sector, but a range of sectors. Lidia actively engages with associates and students in a mentoring role, to further develop their skills and career development. From attending the Women in STEM Science Gallery event Lidia has been able to share her experiences as a woman in a male-dominates industry. Lidia hopes that by sharing her experiences with students and women in the industry, she can inspire women into STEM careers.