Wattamondara's Fee Jennings was recently named in the 2023 NSW Rural Women in Leadership Scholarship Program.
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The program aims to help women living in rural and regional NSW to become leaders in their communities.
Fee decided to apply for the program after seeing a media article on Facebook when former Minister for Women, Bronnie Taylor said, "Whether you're a small business owner, farmer or one of our wonderful healthcare workers, this program is for you".
"I realised I ticked all three of those boxes. And then Paul Toole said 'There are so many amazing women leading communities, leading businesses and leading critical conversations in the bush - and we want to encourage those wanting to step up and do the same', so I applied."
"It was pretty exciting when I was accepted," Fee said.
The one-year scholarship program began with the recipients attending a Future Women Leadership Summit in Sydney on March 6 and 7, as part of the 2023 NSW Women's Week celebrations.
"I think I quickly realised how big of an opportunity it was once I got to the summit and met a lot of women achieving all kinds of amazing things in a variety of industries and sectors. I'm very grateful to be selected and have the opportunity to participate in the program over the next 12 months," Fee said.
"In addition to attending the summit, the scholarship includes a 12 month program that supports ongoing professional development, career planning, networking, leadership skills, mentoring and the support of a large group of women in various phases of their careers.
"Through the program I hope to enhance my skill set and expand my network of enthusiastic, motivated and successful women who are out there kicking goals. I feel like the skills and learnings are transferable across my employment, small business operation and community service work. I was also really keen to see how other women manage the work/life balance, maybe learn how to be less over committed.
"I currently work in healthcare, I'm part of the Western NSW Remote in Home Monitoring team. It's a relatively new and emerging field of virtual care, I really enjoy working in this space and get a lot of job satisfaction.
"I'm really passionate about advocating for access and equity of health care - particularly for vulnerable populations and people living in rural and remote areas. I'm hoping to fine tune these skills over the next 12 months.
"In addition to this, my husband, two daughters and I have our own agri-business and stud cattle operation - King Angus.
"I'm also very invested in community service, in particular the Wattamondara Recreation Ground where we recently secured funding for and built a community hall.
"Now we've built the local community hall, I'm really keen to work on some community engagement activities and put the hall to good use. I'm a big believer in building social capital - so much of what happens in our rural communities is delivered through a large amount of volunteer hours, hard work and good will." Fee said.
Former Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said the program is designed to connect driven and passionate women from all ages and backgrounds, and help them in developing leadership skills as they progress to the next stage of their career.
Twenty four women have been selected to take part.
"The cohort is made up of small business owners, farmers, teachers, artists, engineers, and women working in health, disability, community development, transport, property and real estate. These women will have a unique opportunity to connect and learn from each other in a setting that actively supports and encourages women to achieve their goals both personally and professionally," Mrs Taylor said before the state election.
Future Women Managing Director and Founder Helen McCabe said the breadth and calibre of this year's intake will have a big impact on the Future Women community.
"The number and quality of applications were exceptional and we look forward to working with them throughout 2023. I know Future Women members from across Australia will learn as much from these incredible women as they will learn from our leadership and training programs" Ms McCabe said.
Not only do the winners get access to the coveted Future Women Platinum+ Emerging Leaders Program, valued at over $6,000 each, but all 213 of the women
