Canberra’s changemakers and rule breakers: 26 women to watch in 2026
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Meet some of the women making (and breaking) the rules in the Canberra community.
In 2015, HerCanberra published a series called Women to Watch, profiling some of the capital region’s inspiring local changemakers, entrepreneurs, advocates, and leaders.
More than a decade later, we’re proud to say that women still play a key role in shaping Canberra’s community, business, and cultural landscapes – making changes that not only better the city but help it thrive. But many are unsung heroines and have untold stories.
Every year on 11 October, International Day of the Girl celebrates girls everywhere, amplifying their voices, actions and leadership. According to the United Nations, it’s a day that belongs to everyone who cares about girls and their rights, highlighting the barriers that they still face.
To mark the day, we’re shining a spotlight on 26 of Canberra’s female changemakers and rule breakers who are shaking things up around the city. They’re activists, creatives, athletes, designers, leaders, and survivors. They’re mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. They’re Canberra’s women to watch – and it’s time to meet them.
AJ Green
Since she started The Girls Club Canberra in 2025, AJ Green has been changing the way women connect. Building friendships, confidence and a sense of belonging through social walks and sport taster sessions, she has grown a community of over 7,400 women in their 20s and 30s. Removing the awkward small talk and pressure of networking, she’s giving confidence back to people in Canberra.
Ana Anzani
As an Iranian refugee and partner at Nicholls Anzani Family Lawyers, Ana Anzani is passionate about protecting children.
Born in Iran during the war and reign of the Ayatollah Khomeini – where she witnessed murders, stoning, and rape – she moved to Sydney in the ‘90s, where she experienced racial discrimination and bullying. She always knew that she wanted to be part of something that allowed children a childhood free from fear, pain and struggle.
Anna-Lise Brink
This Jerrabomberra mum is changing the game when it comes to baby sun protection, with an award-winning invention that has sold over 10,000 units worldwide. In fact, it’s seen her take home Best Baby Essential of the Year and place third for Innovation of the Year at the 2026 She-Com E-commerce Awards for female-founded brands.
As the founder of Bebe Trek, her goal is to help families keep their babies sun safe.
Anke Maria Hoefer
Fondly known as “The Froglady,” Anke Maria Hoefer is the FrogWatch Coordinator and the winner of the 2025 ACT Environmental Educator of the Year.
Sharing her passion for frogs with schools, community groups, and countless individuals across the region, through her work she has inspired thousands of locals to become involved in citizen science and care for amphibians. Most recently, she has just taken home the Australian Government Landcare Innovation Award for her community-led project using saunas and salty spas to bring the green and golden bell frog back from extinction.
Ashlee Berry
The recipient of the Excellence in Industry Award at the 2026 ACT Women’s Awards, Ashlee Berry is known for her leadership in the property sector as the ACT & Capital Region Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia.
Her achievements include advancing housing policy, championing women in industry, and volunteering and fundraising for community initiatives – all in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Bomikazi Zeka
An Associate Professor in Finance and Financial Planning at the University of Canberra, Bomikazi’s research aims to fully appreciate the different shades of poverty resulting from socio-economic inequality.
She’s taught in Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa, and she hopes that her research can address the consequences of economic inequality on families, communities, and social structures.
Emma Pei Yin
As an award-winning writer, editor and literary advocate, you might already know the name Emma Pei Yin.
Not only has her debut novel When Sleeping Women Wake been published internationally and translated into multiple languages but she is also the founder of yinfluence – an agency supporting PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers. Working to connect them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins, she is passionate about supporting those whose voices are often lost in the traditional publishing industry.
Eryn Marshall
Eryn Marshall is known for creating beautiful artwork that not only tells stories, but sparks conversations about eating disorders and mental health. Donating five per cent of every sale she makes to the Butterfly Foundation – the organisation that helped her through her own experience – she hopes that her work builds understanding, reduce stigma and foster hope.
Gabrielle De Ramos
With over 230,000 followers on Instagram and an international reputation for her Muay Thai, Gabrielle is worth knowing about.
With the goal to inspire people – whether they’re stepping into the ring for the first time or just looking to push their limits in life – Gabrielle fights professionally in the Australian Women’s Muay Thai League flyweight division and says that her journey is proof that “if you commit to something fully – whether it’s Muay Thai, fitness, or any passion – you can carve your own path and make it work for you”.
Harriet Farlow
As the CEO and Founder of Mileva Security Labs – Australia’s first AI security company – Harriet’s passion for security comes from her firsthand experience seeing the vulnerabilities in AI systems and the growing complexity of AI advancement.
Along with a career that has spanned roles at Deloitte Australia (where she specialised in Defence portfolio projects as a Senior Consultant), the University of Sydney (as a Data Scientist), a tech education start-up in New York City (as Senior Delivery Lead), and the Australian Government (as acting Tech Director), she also has a PhD in Machine Learning Security and is working on an upcoming book.
Heather Reid AM
Have you heard of Heather Reid AM? As the former Australian football administrator and an advocate for gender equity, diversity and inclusion in sport, she has made it possible for thousands of women to play football, both in the Australian Capital Territory and around Australia.
Named the 2026 ACT Senior Australian of the Year, she may be happily retired on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, but her legacy in Canberra and the surrounding regions still impacts women today.
Jahna Lugnan
Proud Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr dancer, choreographer, and model Jahna Lugnan is making waves in the creative arts. Gaining national and international attention as the sole Indigenous model walking in the Flying Solo runway for Australian label Buluuy Mirrri at New York Fashion Week in 2023 – since modelling at Country to Couture and the National Indigenous Fashion Awards – she is also one of the women behind First Nations fashion agency Indigenous Kultural Creations.
Passionate about celebrating First Nations talent, creativity, culture and fashion, she is young, but she is mighty.
Katherine Berney
Katherine Berney has a simple belief: that everyone should have the opportunity to recover from violence they had no choice in experiencing. Working as the Prevention of Gendered Violence Director at the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, she is known for being a published commentator on sector reform, funding dynamics and public discourse.
She believes that “when we have less violence, women and children are safer, families and communities are stronger, and we are a better country for it.” We agree.
Katy Gallagher
Whatever your politics, you cannot dismiss the impact of the record-breaking $792 million women’s health package announced last year by Finance and Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher.
Also known for her work on the landmark federal health reforms and community safety initiatives, she is passionate about making women’s equal opportunity an economic and social priority of government.
Lavinia Tyrrel
For Lavinia Tyrrel, it really is personal. Experiencing firsthand the institutional, normative and organisational barriers that women face in self-determining their pre- and post-natal pregnancy experience, she joined Karinya House as the Chief Executive Officer in 2022.
Helping around 200 women each year by providing supported accommodation, transitional housing and outreach services, her own experiences drive her passion at work.
Lucy Ridge
As a self-described “recovering chef and food sovereignty activist”, Lucy Ridge is battling the misogyny she encountered across various well-known Canberra kitchens she worked in as a young chef.
Embarking on a food journey around Australia, the result was her debut novel Fed Up and various published articles in Canberra media about food sovereignty, ethical food systems, and environmental issues.
Maddalena (Maddi) Easterbrook
Maddi Easterbrook is the founder of Future Swirl, a frozen dessert brand making climate-conscious food mainstream.
Launching her business in late 2022 – and operating out of a soft-serve food trailer – Future Swirl has evolved into a commercial plant-based manufacturing business, scaling production to Melbourne following Maddi’s MS diagnosis. Today, Future Swirl products are available in supermarkets across Sydney, Melbourne, and the ACT.
Nishi Puri OAM
Nishi Puri OAM is a prominent Canberra community leader and advocate who received the Medal of the Order of Australia in June 2023 for her extensive service to the Indian and multicultural communities.
Also named a finalist in the 15th annual ACT Multicultural Awards, she has spent a large portion of her 35 years in Canberra in community service.
Rose Chursuwannachai
At only 24 years old, Chef de Partie at Rebel Rebel Dining, Rose Chursuwannachai is shaping Canberra’s culinary scene.
Growing up in Chonburi before moving to Canberra, she has earned national recognition at the 2026 Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award, Australia’s longest-running culinary competition for young chefs.
Robyn Smith
You might recognise Robyn Smith for running the City2Surf topless in 2025, baring mastectomy scars across her chest, with the slogan ‘Flat out of Funding’. A year later, she took home the Gender Equity and Social Change Award from the ACT Women’s Awards.
A national advocate recognised for improving education, psychosocial support and policy outcomes for people living with inherited cancer risk, she says of the run that she “wanted to challenge societal norms and show that women can be fit, strong and happy without breasts”.
Professor Rose McGready
Professor Rose McGready has devoted her life to improving the health of vulnerable people. Spending three decades providing health services to displaced people in the border region between Thailand and Myanmar, her work has saved thousands of lives.
Named the 2026 ACT Australian of the Year, when asked how she started helping some of the most vulnerable communities in the world, she says that “somehow a six-month volunteer adventure turned into 32 years working in healthcare with refugees and migrants at the Thailand-Myanmar border.”
Simaima Taufa-Kautai
She might be signed to the Raiders, but Simaima’s influence is equally impressive off the field as it is on.
As well as volunteering at a homeless shelter, she mentors and supports hundreds of Aboriginal children and young people, seeing her nominated for the Veronica White Medal (awarded to the NRLW player deemed to have made the most outstanding contribution to volunteering and engagement with their local communities) and named in the 2026 NRLW Community Team of the Year.
Dr Sujatha Shanmugasundaram (Dr Suja Shan)
With at least five fellowships, three certifications, and 15 awards, you can bet that Dr Suja Shan knows her stuff when it comes to nursing education and gerontology.
Her 35 years of research, teaching and professional leadership have strengthened dementia and aged care practice, and led to her being named the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for the ACT Women’s Awards. To her, nursing has never just been a career – it’s been a “privilege and a purpose.”
Sunita Kotnala
As the founder and CEO of the Women’s Shed, Sunita Kotnala has been empowering local women since 2020.
Named the 2025 Citizen of the Year, the Women’s Shed is the result of her love for ‘kerbside shopping ’, restoring, refurbishing, and upcycling combined with her experience, knowledge and skills as a social development professional. She’s built (pun intended) a welcoming and transformative space where women can develop practical skills, grow in confidence, and find community.
Tiffany Karlsson
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Tiffany Karlsson has upheld a 50-year legacy from one of Canberra’s most long-lasting specialist sexual violence services.
Every day she worked towards creating a community free from sexual violence, providing 365-day-per-year crisis support, counselling, advocacy and education. We’re excited to see where her career takes her next.
Woro Larasati
Canberra-based mum of three, Woro Larasati is the founder of The Good Energy Club – a wellness community helping local mums take a moment for themselves through mindful movement, transforming not only their physical wellbeing, but their entire outlook on daily life.
Hosting Pilates, walk clubs, yoga events and more, Woro believes that wellness is not about perfection – instead, it’s about creating small rituals that mothers can do through every season of life.
