Women Honoured
Every year International Women’s Day is celebrated by State MPs who nominate their electorate’s Local Woman of the Year.
CASTLE HILL: MELISSA MONTEIRO
Melissa Monterio was chosen for the award by Castle Hill MP Mark Hodges for her leadership skills and the transformative nature of her work.
Melissa is the CEO of the Community Migrant Resource Centre, a not-for-profit organisation offering settlement services and transition programs to refugees and humanitarian entrants in Western Sydney.
With a master’s degree in social work, Melissa has over 27 years of experience within the community sector and this shines through her role as CEO. Melissa even found the time to write an Amazon bestseller in her 2021 published novel; The Girl From Mumbai: A Migrant Story.
Through her hard work in transforming the lives of her local community, Melissa reflected on what the award meant to her; “Recognising local contributions at International Women’s Day is very significant as it has fuelled my passion to serve in my local community even more.”
KELLYVILLE: KYLIE TZAVARAS
Kylie Tzavaras, President of the Baulkham Hills Shire Netball Association, has been chosen as Local Woman of The Year by Kellyville MP Ray Williams.
Kylie’s continued efforts to empower young women in the community was also recognized with the ‘Dot McHugh OAM Administrator of the Year’ award in 2020. This award presented by Netball NSW, is a demonstration of Kylie’s outstanding leadership in both management and administration, going above and beyond to enhance the game of netball.
In 2021, Kylie was also announced as Runner Up as a ‘Local Champion’ in the ‘Her Sport Her Way Awards’, an annual NSW government presentation recognising the achievements of leaders in women’s sport.
Kylie reflected on her love for netball saying: “We don’t do this for any reward, we do it because we love netball. We have a passion for it and I’m truly honoured.”
HAWKESBURY: FIONA GERMAINE
Fiona Hermaine’s advocacy for future fire management was why MP. Robyn Preston selected her as Hawkesbury’s ‘Local Woman of the Year for 2024.
After moving to Hawkesbury in 2020, during the Black Summer Bush Fires and flood season; Fiona joined the Hawkesbury Blue Mountains Community Bushfire Alliance to improve community infrastructure and management of fires. As part of future prevention, Fiona also spoke at the 2021 ‘Parliamentary Flood Inquiry’ to lobby the government for better resource investment for future disasters.
As an international fashion designer with Vivaldi Flora and owner of the Italian luxury label Allegra Lombard, Fiona has great expertise in the fields of marketing and fashion. She said the IWD award was a “surreal moment of accomplishment and inspiration”.
Her message to young women is: “Please back yourself and do not underestimate your abilities and your power to affect change. There are many men who do not stop for a minute to think about half the barriers that women do, so please put yourself forward, get in there and get going.”
