AWE Newsletter - July 2022

Promote Support Recognise

Welcome to the July 2022 edition of the AWE Newsletter

The Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List saw more than 45 per cent of awards in the General Division granted to women. Women recipients of honours in the emergency management and disaster resilience sector for 2022 include:

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)

Fay Gleave
Margaret Mitchell
Elizabeth Newstead
Peta Townsing

Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM)

Krystaal Hinds
Debra Luke
Dr Kamarah Pooley

Ambulance Service Medal (ABSM)

Julie Appay
Taleaha Dawson
Wendy Price
Catherine Wright

Emergency Services Medal (ESM)

Tammy Bennett
Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan
Dr Natalie Hood
Josephine Hunter
Caron Parfit
Kylie Trott

AWE Member and Operational Officer at NSW Rural Fire Service Krystaal Hinds (below left), received an Australian FIre Service Medal. Krystaal said,”It is very humbling and a great honour to be receiving the Australian Fire Services Medal and would like to sincerely thank the amazing teams I work with at every level. I really value the guidance and advice I receive from my family, friends and mentors and I hope to one day provide that support to others as they choose their path in emergency management.”

AWE member and Assistant Commissioner at NSW SES Nicole Hogan (above right), received an Emergency Services Medal and said, “I am honoured to receive the emergency service medal for the work I have undertaken in community preparedness and response. I am humbled by the extraordinary women who have come before me and provided a pathway, and hope I have been able to provide some level of inspiration to the future women in emergency management.”

AWE thanks all award recipients for their extraordinary contributions to the sector, and congratulates them for being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List.

AWE News

AWE recognises the extraordinary efforts of all members and others in the sector during another rain and flooding event in NSW.

Connect at a conference!

A range of AWE members will be attending the Disaster and Emergency Management Conference which takes place on the Gold Coast from 25-26 July. AWE members presenting include:

Elly Bird, Councillor, Lismore City Council and Coordinator of Resilient Lismore
Georgie Cornish, Deputy Chief Officer, South Australian Country Fire Services
Renae Hanvin, Corporate2community
Associate Professor Valerie Ingham, Charles Sturt University
Rachel Treeby, VicSES

If you’re attending either of these conferences and would like to connect with any of these presenters or other AWE members, email us and we’ll make sure you connect. Don’t forget to wear your badge!

Mentoring – Call for South Australian Mentors!

We have an AWEsome member who is seeking a mentor based in their state of South Australia. If you live in South Australia and have leadership experience and skills in SA government or the emergency management sector more broadly which might assist a new and upcoming leader, please reach out to Lisa Marie Jackson, Mentoring Coordinator at [email protected]

Positions vacant

Looking to build skills, enhance your resume and contribute to something AWEsome? We currently have vacancies for AWE Chapter Lead and/or Co-Lead positions in New Zealand, Victoria and Tasmania. These one-year volunteer roles provide opportunities to:

Build skills in leadership, events coordination, and communications
Promote, support and recognise the AWE members in your local area
Build relationships and networks with some truly AWEsome members
Contribute to AWE’s success

We encourage all members to consider taking up a Chapter Lead role. For more information, or to arrange a chat with one of our existing Chapter Leads to find out what’s involved, please email us.

AWE Women in Emergencies for Climate Action

We had a great group attend the AWE Conversation on Climate Change in June and we now have more women joining the AWE Women in Emergencies for Climate Action sub group. There is a broad range of experience and climate change interests represented in the group. Keep your eye out for our new page on the website where you can find some more information. In the meantime if you want more information or to join the group please send an email to [email protected].

AWE Events

AWE July Open Discussion – Disaster: From professional to personal

Join our July Open Discussion to explore the perspectives of disaster professionals who have been personally affected by a disaster. Our panel members will share their lived experience of disaster and the impact it has had on their professional roles.

This month’s Open Discussion will be hosted by AWE’s Vice President Jaimee Morgenbesser.

12-1pm Wednesday 20 July

Book now

AWE Yarra Ranges Breakfast

Come along for breakfast or a coffee with your AWE colleagues who live in, work in, or simply love the Yarra Ranges in Melbourne

8am Wednesday 13 July
Hutch & Co
251 Main Street Lilydale

RSVP Amanda

AWE events are a great way to learn about and get to know other women in the emergency management and disaster resilience sectors. Keep an eye on our calendar of events, Missed an AWE event? Many of our past events are available for viewing on our YouTube page.

AWE Member profile

Sarah Smorhun – Doctoral Candidate,
CSU Casual Academic and
proud AWE member

I’m a Charles Sturt University casual academic, where I’m a supervisor in the Master of Emergency Management research capstone year. My tertiary education has been a long road while I worked full time and studied part time, and I got a lot of support along the way. It’s rewarding to be able to pay that forward. It’s been a great experience and I enjoy working with grad students who are passionate about emergency management.

I’ve been working in the emergency management environment for the past decade, and it’s made me more resilient. After an experience made me question if I should be in emergency management early on in my career, I have made it my top priority to learn as much as I could even if it was outside of my comfort zone.

My advice to those starting out in this environment is to seek out mentors that are supportive and stretch yourself, do those things that scare you just a little.

I’m in my third year of CSU’s Doctor of Public Safety where I’m researching protective security for crowded places and its intersection with law enforcement and emergency management.

I’m currently interviewing crowded places owners for my research and am looking for interview participants. If you work in a crowded place like a university, event space, place of worship or sports stadium, and are responsible for security, I’d love to speak to you about your experiences.

If you would like to chat about crowded places or are willing to be interviewed for my research project – please get in touch [email protected]

You can nominate yourself or another AWE member to be profiled in the AWE Newsletter.
Please email us for more information.

AWE Q&A

Welcome to the new AWE Q&A!

This is where we answer your questions by calling on the experience and expertise of our AWEsome membership.

AWE has members with a vast range of experience and expertise. Our members work, volunteer and study in emergency service organisations, community and not for profit organisations, governments and agencies, universities and schools and private businesses and organisations. We’ve also got members with lived experience of emergencies and disasters.

Need advice on emergency or disaster resilience policy or practice? Want to know what the latest research is in a particular area? Looking for some insights into leadership, volunteering or working with communities? Got a question about something else?

Email us your questions and we’ll work with our members to have them answered.

News, events, and resources

Home fire safety for people at higher risk: A free new CFA/FRV Prevent Detect Escape: Home fire safety module for people at higher risk online learning module covers how to reduce the chance of a fire starting; having working smoke alarms; and making an escape plan. The module is designed for individuals at higher risk from fire, carers, support workers, service providers and others delivering in-home support. The co-designed module is also available here.

Let’s talk about climate change: The Risk, Disaster and Resilience Network at Victoria University is a network of experienced researchers who work collaboratively to address some of the big risks we face today. Their latest video is Let’s talk about Climate Change.

Community-led bushfire preparedness: Get Bushfire Resilient offers free webinars with information about fire preparation to assist in better decision making. Presenters are experts in fire science, fire behaviour and the best safety strategies for households living with fire risk. Topics coming up include horses and bushfire, vegetation and bushfire, places of last resort and getting kids involved in bushfire planning.

Digital disaster responses: This Melbourne School of Government Policy Brief outlines how recent disaster responses in Australia have showcased the power of using digital technologies to crowdsource solutions and make the most of collective intelligence, and explores what the role of government is.

Research participants wanted: Sarah Smorhun from Charles Sturt University is researching protective security for crowded places and its intersection with law enforcement and emergency management. Sarah is seeking interview participants who are responsible for security in crowded places like universities, event spaces, places of worship or sports stadiums. Contact Sarah here.

Resilient Communities Framework: The Minderoo Foundation has released the first version of its Resilient Communities Framework, offering communities, NGOs, governments, and other organisations an approach to planning and acting that builds on strengths.

New national disaster agency: The Australian government is recommending that the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and Emergency Management Australia merge to form a new organisation, called the National Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Agency (NEMRRA), which will combine the efforts of both agencies.

Job opportunities

ACT
Research Fellow, Transformational Climate Adaptation, The Australian National University

NSW
Program Lead – Care2Prepare, Carers NSW
Emergency Management Resilience Officer, Port Stephens Council

QLD
Emergency Management and Business Continuity Management Coordinator, West Moreton Hospital and Health Service
Capability Development Officer (AO6) IM Capability Development, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

SA
Project Director Emergency Management, Health & Safety, Albury Wodonga Health
Chief Officer, SA Country Fire Service

TAS
Manager, State Fire Management Council, Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management

VIC
Senior Advisor Community Programs & Engagement, Victoria State Emergency Service
LEAPing into Resilience – Resilience Planning Officer, Murrindindi Shire Council

WA
Recovery and Resilience Officer, Australian Red Cross
Leader Safe Communities, City of Canning

NZ
Team Leader: Emergency Management, Tauranga City Council
Emergency Management Advisor, St John

Other events

If you are attending any of the events below and would like to meet up with other AWE members, please email us at [email protected] and we will make sure you connect.

5-6 July Emergency Management Conference 2022 – ESF

25-26 July Disaster & Emergency Management Conference – ANZDMC

23-26 August AFAC22 – AFAC/Deutsche Messe/IFE/AIDR

10 October Australasian Women in Emergencies Day

Newsletter contributions

The AWE Newsletter is published monthly and is distributed to almost 1600 AWE members across Australasia. For contributions, queries or to let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter, please email us at [email protected].

About AWE

The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) promotes, supports and recognises the contributions of women in emergency management and disaster resilience across Australasia.

www.awenetwork.org.au

[email protected]

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AWE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, and pays our respect to Elders, past, present and emerging.