Inspirational Women's Breakfast 2021
Celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary!
A rare opportunity to hear from inspiring and motivating women about overcoming the challenges faced in life, family, workplace and modern Australian society.
Wednesday 3 March 2021
7am - 9am
Tea Rooms, QVB
Inspirational Women’s Breakfast is Special Olympics Australia’s annual networking breakfast celebrating the inspirational and powerful women from Australian society. Join us to meet and hear from iconic women who will share insights on their life and our times and help us raise funds for people with intellectual disabilities.
Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympics-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Guest Speakers
Professor Jennie Hudson
Professor of Clinical Psychology
As a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, Professor Hudson has made distinguished contributions to understanding the factors that contribute to young people’s mental health. She has worked to improve the services available to young people experiencing anxiety and depression through the development and validation of innovative, accessible interventions.
Before starting at the Black Dog Institute, Jennie was the Director of the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University and was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship (2013-2016), and a Visiting Fellowship, University of Oxford (2015-20).
Photo: Brendan Esposito
Nastasia (Nas) Campanella
Disability Affairs Reporter with the ABC
Nas Campanella is totally blind and lives with a neurological condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) which means she can’t read Braille. After completing a Communications degree at the University of Technology Sydney, majoring in journalism she started with the ABC as a cadet. Nas has worked as a regional reporter in south eastern New South Wales and then as a triple j newsreader for seven years. In taking on this role, Nas became the first blind newsreader in the world to read and operate the studio for herself live to air. In 2020 she was appointed to the senior national Disability Affairs role.
Nas travels the world to speak at events, helping to motivate students, teachers, parents and industry on issues ranging from inclusive education, adaptive technology, accessible travel and the importance of empowerment and leadership for women. As well as working in the area of policy development in Australia and across the Pacific, Nas has volunteered abroad creating disability awareness training programs for the United Nations and has held several board positions in the disability sector.
Janet Whelan
Social work educator and researcher, and community advocate
Janet hails from Toowoomba, QLD, where she was the recipient of a rather restrictive 1950/60’s Queensland education. She benefitted, however, from encouragement from mostly female teachers and a working class family who recognised the importance of education for girls, as well as boys. She enrolled in Social Work at University of QLD and benefitted from strong female role models. Hence, she was never hampered by concerns that women could not achieve or make progress in their careers.
Janet moved to Tasmania where she worked in social work for over 40 years. She completed a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Charles Sturt University and a post-graduate course in Ageing and Social Planning at UTAS. She was actively involved with Australian Association of Social Workers throughout her working life, acknowledged by the award of life membership.
Master of Ceremonies: Peter Overton
Presenting Partner
Principal Partner
Can't Attend? Make a donation in lieu
