Having moved out to Australia with her parents from England at the age of 6, Miriam and her parents made their home in South Australia – Miriam’s parents are from Guyana in South America.

Miriam has been involved in the pharmaceuticals, banking and agribusiness industries, as well as managing large and geographically diverse teams.

This year Miriam was named as one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence in the Westpac and Australian Financial Review awards.  Her influence is felt in the business, government, media, Muslim and broader Australian community.

Miriam is currently Chief Operating Officer for FleetPartners, a leading leasing and fleet management company responsible for operations across Australia and New Zealand.

Miriam was previously General Manager Commercial Operations at Elders Ltd responsible for national operations.

Miriam was Deputy Chair of the Training and Skills Commission (SA) from 2010 to 2012 and is a director of the TAFE SA Board, member of the SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Premier’s Council for Women.

Miriam volunteers with a number of organisations including the Muslim Women’s Association of SA Inc., International Women’s Day Committee (SA) Inc. and Rotary.

She is a member of the South Australian Women’s Honour Roll for 2011.

Miriam will be speaking on Tuesday, 19 February 2013 at the Conference!

So to ensure you don’t miss hearing her speak, register now.

The post Women in Business! appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

The National Rural Women’s Conference are honoured to have the Governor-General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, confirmed to attend the Conference GALA Dinner.

Ms Bryce will attend the GALA Dinner at Parliament House, which is being held in conjunction with Dinner Partner, Canberra Centenary Celebrations, on Tuesday, 19 February 2013, where she will mingle with delegates.

The GALA Dinner will celebrate the achievements of women who have helped shape the nation and give Conference delegates and dignitaries the chance to network and recognise the achievements of women.

Guest speaker for the night will be Australia’s favourite cook, Maggie Beer, who will give an inspiring speech about her life’s work.

To ensure you get the opportunity to meet the lovely and very humble Ms Bryce, register for the Conference today.

And if you register for the Gold delegate package by Monday, 12 November you will receive a $100 discount.

For more information visit www.nrwc.com.au or phone 02 6927 2866.

The post Governor-General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO to attend Conference Dinner! appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

This will be the focus of Sonia Muir’s presentation under the Big… inspiration stream at the National Rural Women’s Conference early next year.

The Manager of Community Engagement Unit (incorporating the NSW Rural Women’s Network) with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Sonia will give an inspirational presentation on how women can achieve their goals.

The presentation will encourage listeners to understand how to map issues around circles of control, influence and concern, as well as value and use their strengths.

Having been involved with the NSW RWN program since 1993, Sonia has facilitated a diverse amount of projects that aim to overcome isolation, promote the role of rural women, develop leadership, education and training opportunities and improve information exchange.

Sonia has authored two books of rural women’s stories, has a Masters in Social Ecology, is a graduate of the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship leadership program and an escaped high school art teacher with plenty of experience and stories to tell to inspire you.

Read more about Sonia here.

Or register for the Conference before Sunday, 11 November to receive a $100 discount.

The post Embrace your future appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

A Personal and Corporate Image Brand Specialist, Cosimina, will present ‘Networking is not a dirty word: More a reality of life’ at the National Rural Women’s Conference.

The presentation will challenges everything you believe about networking and will help you see it is a major influencer on the success enjoyed by all senior business executives.

Cosimina is passionate about helping others realise their potential as a professional. She has transformed the lives of private clients and worked with organisations, retailers, government departments, legal firms, community groups and schools to ensure that the brand of their organisation and that of its employees is in sync.

Cosimina lived and worked in Asia for over seven years. Having several businesses whilst in Singapore she quickly learnt how professional image – not just appearance but communication, rapport, inner confidence and the need to understand culture diversity, and technological changes are essential in business success.

Read more about Cosimina here.

And don’t forget to register during the early bird period, ending on November 11 to receive a $100 discount.

The post Networking is not a dirty word! appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

But Managing Director of AP Marketing Works Pty Ltd, Ailsa Page, can help.

Ailsa will give a presentation on ‘Marketing on a Shoe String’ at the National Rural Women’s Conference where she will discuss simple, cost-effective solutions to marketing.

The key is having a greater understanding of the science of marketing so the marketing is tailored to meet individual goals and budget.

This fun and engaging presentation will explain what is involved in getting marketing right.

Ailsa is a successful business owner, marketing specialist, author and professional speaker.

From drought-affected businesses in the Mallee, businesses affected by the bushfires in Whittlesea to flood affected farmers in Mildura, Ailsa comes into contact with around 500 regional and city based businesses of different varieties each year.

Ailsa is a passionate supporter of small business and will take the complex topic of marketing and make it easy to understand.

Read more about Ailsa here!

Or register for the Conference before early bird registrations close on November 11.

The post Marketing on a Shoe String appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

Director of Rennylea Pastoral Company, Lucinda Corrigan, who has a lifetime of experience in the industry, will give a presentation at the National Rural Women’s Conference on nurturing an innovative future for farming.

Lucinda will outline a couple of the major transformations and success stories in broadacre agriculture over the past thirty years, in minimum till grain production and in the transformation of the fat lamb industry to the prime lamb industry. She will then discuss the major areas of productivity research and development in animal production, and the current investments that will deliver benefits in the next decade.

In considering best practice in other industries, it is apparent that agriculture can learn from them and share the principles. The goal is for innovation to become ‘part of a company’s DNA’.

Many traditional companies in agriculture, both in the production and service industries are grappling with this at the moment.

Lucinda has no shortage of experience in the agriculture industry, holding a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) from Sydney University and is a Director of Rennylea Pastoral Company, a progressive Angus genetics business with 3000 cattle, which markets 450 bulls into all Australian states.

An experienced director in rural research and development, she is the past Deputy Chairman of the CRC for Future Farm Industries, Director of Meat and Livestock Australia, Director of the MLA Donor Company, and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation – a joint venture between Charles Stuart University and NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Read more about Lucinda here.

Early bird registrations are open until Sunday, 11 November so register now to get a $100 discount.

The post Farming Innovation into the Future appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

The Long Paddock’s Sandra Ireson will give an inspirational presentation at the National Rural Women’s Conference entitled “Tourism on the Land”, which will explore how agritourism has been embraced by the south western region and has provided new on-farm enterprises.

With just the seed of an idea The Long Paddock touring route developed the Tourism on the Land Project. The project helped farmers to identify and implement agritoursim opportunities on farm.

Showing real life case studies of how the farmers have integrated a tourism enterprise onto their farms, Sandra will also look at how tourism attractions and events across regional NSW can form beneficial partnerships by embracing social media including Shear Outback, The Australian Shearers Hall of Fame and the Booligal Sheep Races.

Having grown up on her family’s Merino sheep property in the Monaro, and then studying agriculture at University Sandra worked in various sales and marketing roles in the agricultural and veterinary industries before marrying her husband Matt and moving to Booligal.

The driving force behind the Booligal Sheep Races, Sandra manages being a mother to three children, and hands-on on the farm and her involvement in many community groups in the region.

For more information about Sandra and other speakers at the Conference, click here.

Early bird registrations for the Conference are now OPEN – click here to register.

The post Inspiration from Agritourism appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

When you live in a small town or regional centre, it can sometimes feel like you know everyone, and that you have reached a stalemate in terms of networking, promotion and reach.

But, the Big… networks sessions aim to introduce new ways regional, rural and remote women can stay connected, make new connections, network and learn and engage with others, all from home!

With social media use continuing to rise rapidly, right across the world, Cathie Denehy, Director of Business Divas, will present a session on ‘Growing Business Socially’.

Cathie is a regional business woman who has built a network of loyal followers and a successful six figure business on the power of social networks alone.

The owner of Business Divas and Divas Social Media and Marketing Cathie has been using Social Media platforms for more than 5 years. She is an expert in building relationships, networking effectively, reputation management and creating a following.

With the rise of social media the business landscape has changed significantly and savvy business women from remote stations to regional cities are jumping on board to ride the wave of social engagement marketing, and are making a tidy profit in the process.

Cathie will discuss how these days your geographic location means nothing to the person who has liked your Page, is commenting on your Blog or follows you on Twitter.

Social Media Engagement Marketing is a business tool every business owner should be educated on how to use, and every regional, remote and rural business woman cannot do without.

Cathie will help delegates make a decision on which platforms to use and how to use them effectively.

For more information on Cathie and other speakers at the Conference, click here, or to register during the early bird special period click here.

The post The Power of Networking appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

In the Big… business stream, speakers will address some of the issues facing women in business, as well as present inspiring stories of achievement, provide learning and skill building opportunities and help create new connections and opportunities.

Pip Job, CEO of Little River Landcare Group Inc. Network will present under the Big… business stream.

Thanks to Pip and her tream The Little River Landcare Group, is one of the leading Landcare Groups in Australia.

They have used innovative methods to engage more than 400 private landholders that cover 320,000 hectares of prime agricultural land in Central West NSW to adopt practices that promote regenerative environmental outcomes and sustainable food and fibre production.

In her presentation Pip will discuss the ‘Women in the Landscape’ concept – an innovative way to engage rural women in Landcare in general, but in on-farm natural resource management in particular. Women have a natural instinct and deep connection with their environment, however, traditional farming practices and the traditional role of women on farms, has restricted the role that women can play in considering their local farming environment.

The ‘Women in the Landscape’ model brings rural women together to be intrigued, inspired and motivated to change their role in their farming business, or within their local community.

To read more about Pip and the other speakers, click here.

Or to register, click here!

The post Big… business in small communities appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.

There are so many challenges that face different people everyday. And specifically there are many different challenges that face rural, regional and remote communities on a broad scale.

Living in a rural location – or simply outside a capital city – can present challenges in accessing essential services, creating opportunities for residents and overcoming disasters such as drought and flood.

Big… challenges sessions during the National Rural Women’s Conference will bring topics such as, disaster recovery, education, employment, family violence, food and water security and infrastructure into the spotlight, and discussions will occur on ways in which these challenges can be addressed, overcome and managed into the future.

Peta Irvine, CEO Local Government Managers Australia (Queensland), will be presenting under the Big… challenges stream.

Peta has spent the best part of the past 5 years representing the interests of local government professionals through the Queensland Local Government reform process and developing tools and training to assist staff at all levels in the transition process.

In her presentation Peta will discuss that, despite high levels of participation by women in the Local Government sphere, few are making the transition into senior management ranks.

The 2012 Year of Women in Local Government highlighted a range of barriers, which are preventing women from progressing in either officer or elected member roles.

Peta will explore this issue through the examination of some pertinent, real life stories from women in remote areas.

Inspiring, informative and challenging, this session will motivate you to act.

Registrations for the Conference are now OPEN! Click here to register!

Or to read more about Peta and other speakers click here.

The post Big… challenges to address the lack of women in senior management ranks appeared first on National Rural Womens Network.