Cairns women's leadership forum & LORNA JANE
- Crystal Leonardi
- Aug 17
- 6 min read
Hosted by The People Culture Link – Dianne Newell
'Learning from the Past to Empower the Future'
14 August 2026, Pullman International Cairns
Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending the Cairns Women's Leadership Forum, an incredible event usually hosted in Townsville but finding its way to Cairns for the first time. I look forward to attending many more in the future. Special thanks to Di Newell for organising the event.
I didn’t take notes during everyone’s speeches – not because they weren’t all worthy – but because some were more relevant to me and my business right now. I enjoyed each and every speaker; they were all very different and had equal value. It truly was a joy to learn from and be inspired by them all.
Speaker – Claudia Kurowski (The Next Generation of Leaders)
A 17-year-old young leader from Cairns, Claudia served as Queensland’s Youth Minister for Health through Queensland Youth Parliament in 2025, where she authored two pieces of youth health legislation that were formally presented to the Queensland Cabinet for review. In recognition of her community leadership, Claudia was named the 2026 Cairns Young Citizen of the Year. Claudia also serves as a Cairns Youth Councillor and is currently undertaking an internship with UN Women Australia.
Claudia entered with a BANG and held our attention for the entire 40 minutes of her speech. She spoke powerfully, with passion and without apology, giving us her view of how to get more out of the youth of today – it’s not that they don’t care, it’s that we need to find out what they care deeply about and encourage them to do something about it.
In my notes, I wrote down ‘Egalitarianism’ – a word I’d never heard of. Claudia explained that she uses her voice to remind us that all people should be treated as equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities, particularly young women – a fine topic that related beautifully to the day’s theme.
‘Self-handicapping’ was something else she spoke about that resonated with me. I hadn’t thought about it much before, but realised that, in some way, we all do this in business. Whether it’s to protect ourselves from embarrassment or to shield our self-esteem from potential failure, it’s often alive and well within us all. It is something we all need to be aware of and check in with ourselves to ensure we are constantly growing and improving.
Speaker – Rylee Venables (Financial Stability for Women)
Rylee is a passionate leader, mother and advocate for women building financial confidence in their personal and professional lives. Rylee is based in Cairns, where Life Sumo is a rapidly growing Australian financial advice and wealth management firm.
I enjoyed Rylee’s realistic and relatable style of presentation, taking us on journey back to when women didn’t have financial confidence and what that meant for their futures. She said that although women have come a long way, it is still natural to want to feel ‘safe’ when it comes to our finances but it is important to weigh up risk versus opportunity and not let risk stunt your financial growth.
She also talked about how many women confuse looking ‘wealthy’ with financial success, ie., just because someone looks wealthy, it doesn’t mean that they are financially stable, confident or completely abreast of what their financial status is. Her goal was to give us tools on how to feel financially capable, which she did through extremely practical and achievable steps. I loved Rylee’s ability to normalise our different attitudes to finances and what that can mean for our futures.
Speaker - Jessica Rowe (Journalist, TV presenter, author, host of ‘Crap Housewife’ podcast)
Jessica Rowe exceeded my expectations. She was charismatic, genuine, bubbly, fun, and brutally honest.
She asked us ‘What makes us happy?’ & ‘What brings us joy?’ and to remember that asking ourselves these questions and then acting on them is one of the best ways to practice self-care each day. For her, happiness was a cup of coffee in bed every morning, wearing a showgirl headpiece. Finding the joy in every day can be the small act of kindness to yourself that might get you through the toughest days.
Jessica also shared deeply about her mental health struggles, particularly her experience with postpartum depression. She encouraged us to remove the stigma around mental illness, reminding us that there is no shame in asking for help. Once you ask for help, you can get through it. And when someone comes to us for help, saying ‘it’s going to be okay’ is far more supportive than ‘she’ll be right’.
The greatest gift Jessica gave me through her speech was that I realised that because of the trauma I have experienced, I not only inspire hope in others, but I understand hopelessness. My trauma was the vessel I used to get to the beginning of my reinvention.
Two quotes from Jess that really sat with me were...
“Lighten up & have a laugh”
...and “Why not?” For some context, ‘Why not?’ refers to not asking ‘should I’ and instead asking ‘why not?’ as a way of shaking off limiting beliefs and embracing every opportunity that comes our way.
Speaker – Kristy Vallely (Being Perfectly Imperfect)
Kristy is a Cairns local and the creator of The Imperfect Mum group. She is also a community advocate and local government Councillor.
Brutally honest and unashamedly unapologetic, Kristy reminded us that when we share our challenges, it gives others permission to share as well. Relating to what Jess said about asking ourselves, ‘Why not?’, Kristy agreed, sharing one of her favourite quotes by Layne Beachley:
"We should either say 'Hell no!' or 'F#*k yes!'"
Speaker – Kerry Spina (Remembering Who You Are – A Legacy in Motion)
Kerry is the founder of Kids in Harmony, a well-being training and development program transforming educational environments and the people who care for children. She is also an inspiration in her local Townsville community as a mentor of the Townsville Business Women’s Circle.
Kerry took us on a journey through her life as a child, sharing the wonderful relationship she had with her great-grandmother and grandfather, their Scottish influence, and how they helped shape the leader she is today. What I found most thoughtful was her view that legacy is not only something we give, but something we receive.
In reflection, I realised that the legacy I have received is what is allowing me to build my own legacy. As a leader, I learnt from my grandmother to be resilient, resourceful, persistent and creative. From my grandfather, I learnt the importance of freedom, courage, trust and integrity. Furthermore, these powerful people in my life didn’t talk about potential or success; they just believed in me. This quiet belief in me was comforting and became part of my inner voice.
As a business coach, Kerry reminded us of Christine Hardy’s famous quote...
“You don’t have to work 9-5 if it doesn’t work for you.”
A powerful reminder of the importance of self-evaluation and how our work can complement our personal lives, not be a distraction from what’s really important to us – family and time.
Speaker – Roisin McCormack (Success in a Blue Collar World)
I have to admit, I ducked out for a cuppa just before it was Roisin’s turn to speak. I knew she was the operations manager of a civil and mining construction company and thought, ‘what could I possibly learn from her?’ How wrong I was. I only missed about 5 minutes of Roisin’s talk but from the moment I re-entered the room with my hot coffee, I was totally engrossed in Roisin’s exquisite storytelling. She was sincere, heartfelt and generous.
She taught me that resilience isn’t something that is taught; it’s something we learn. We don’t talk about its definition; we learn it by watching it. Such a powerful message and a great reminder that, rather than talking to our children about resilience, simply modelling it is perhaps the best way we can teach them to be resilient.
A quote Roisin said that has stayed with me is...
“Culture is what people do when no one’s watching.”
Again, expressing her belief that by doing, we teach.
I don’t know if any of these notes will be of value to you, but I found the day so enlightening and incredibly valuable, not only to me personally, but also as a businesswoman. Below, I am sharing links to all the other speakers from the day, as they were all just so amazing.
To find out about events like this, go to The People Culture Link: People and Culture Link | HR solutions for Regional Australia
More images from the event:
Looking back to a fortnight ago, I also attended the Cairns Business Women's Club Awards luncheon with guest speaker, Lorna Jane.
My key takeaways from her talk were:
It's important to show gratitude for the women who believed in me before I did.
Lead with confidence, even if you don't feel it.
To avoid burnout, do all of the things I love, including my job.
Do it now - never wait to follow your dream.
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners for 2026. It was lovely to be in the room and celebrate with you all. CBWC is always hosting incredible events, to find out more, go to: Cairns Business Women’s Club
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