# Edna Ryan Awards

The Edna Ryan Awards, also referred to as simply "The EDNAs", were Australian awards established to recognise women who have "made a feminist difference" in New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory. They are named for activist Edna Ryan, after her death in 1998. The last awards were given in 2023, with awards being discontinued in 2024.

## History

The inaugural Edna Ryan Awards were held in 1998, the year following the death of their namesake Edna Ryan. Ryan was a life-long feminist, labour movement activist, and mentor and role model for a whole generation of women. The awards were created to honour her life and work by a group of her friends, particularly Eva Cox and other members of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL).
Ryan had been closely involved with WEL, particularly the Women in the Workforce group which she convened. WEL hosted and administered the EDNAs from 1998 to 2010, but from 2012 they were administered by The Edna Ryan Awards Committee and hosted by the Australian Services Union (ASU). In 2020 the Older Women's Network (OWN) NSW took over hosting the awards.
Since their inception the awards have recognised many high-profile Australian women for their feminist activity, including Eva Cox, Meredith Burgmann, Susan Ryan, Anne Summers, Wendy McCarthy, Jane Caro, and Sally McManus. Many of the recipients have been tireless advocates for women's rights who worked as community activists over a long period with very little other reward or recognition.
In 2024, following the deaths of both of Edna's daughters, the decision was taken to discontinue these awards.

## Eligibility and description

Nominees for the awards must be comfortable identifying as a feminist and must live or work in NSW or the ACT as Ryan did during her lifetime. A panel reviews all nominations and the awards are presented on an annual basis at an evening social event.
The award categories can vary but in later years there were awards in many fields, including workforce, government, arts, community activism, media/communications, leadership, mentoring, sport, and education.
The awards are not intended as simply recognition of women who are successful in their own field, but require evidence that their achievements or actions have made a feminist difference by improving the lives and status of women within the community. The "Grand Stirrer Award" is for inciting others to challenge the status quo.

## Grand Stirrer Award Recipients

| Name | Year |
| Sam Mostyn | 2023 |
| Chanel Contos | 2022 |
| Brittany Higgins | 2021 |
| fEMPOWER | 2018 |
| Mehreen Faruqi | 2017 |
| Amanda Hill | 2016 |
| Tara Moss | 2015 |
| Sally McManus | 2015 |
| Dorothy McRae-McMahon | 2014 |
| Destroy The Joint | 2013 |
| Teresa Savage | 2012 |
| Rhonda Wilson | 2009 |
| Karen Lee Willis | 2008 |
| Tegan Wagner | 2006 |
| Gerri Greenfield | 2005 |
| Anne Summers | 2004 |
| Di Graham | 2003 |
| Wendy McCarthy | 2002 |
| Dorothy Symonds | 2002 |
| Robyn Plaister | 2001 |
| Jennie George | 2000 |
| Joan Bielski | 1999 |
| Eva Cox | 1998 |

## Award Recipients–by year (all categories)
### 2023

| Name | Category |
| Sam Mostyn | Grand Stirrer |
| Deborah Cheetham Fraillon | Arts |
| Bree van Reyk | Arts |
| Kristine Hewett | Community Activism |
| Audrey Mims | Community Activism |
| Climate Writers: Marlene Baquiran & Eezu Tan | Community Activism |
| Sarah Rosenberg | Community Activism |
| Chrystina Stanford | Leadership |
| Ginger Gorman | Media Communication |
| Daphne Lowe Kelly | Mentoring |
| Shirley Randell | Mentoring |
| Pilar Lopez | Mentoring |
| Vanessa Donald-Smith | Mentoring |
| Anne Junor | Workforce |
| Meg Smith | Workforce |
| Neelima Kadiyala | Workforce |

### 2022

| Name | Category |
| Chanel Contos | Grand Stirrer |
| Louise Hislop | Political Activism |
| Amanda Rose | Leadership |
| Annie Crowe | Community Activism |
| Brenda Gaddi | Leadership |
| Janice Paulson | Mentorship |
| Jenny Leong | Leadership |
| Julia Zemiro | Media Communication |
| Licia Heath | Political Activism |
| Lorraine Usher | Mentoring |
| Maha Abdo | Community Activism |
| Malaika Mfula | Leadership |
| Rizina Yadav | Leadership |
| Melina Georgousakis | Mentoring |
| Natalie Lang | Workforce |
| Renae Ryan | Workforce |
| Romy Listo | Leadership |
| Rosie Herberte | Arts |
| Sue Edmonds | Arts |

### 2021

| Name | Category |
| Brittany Higgins | Grand Stirrer |
| Ann Reynolds | Community Activism |
| Adina Jacobs | Mentoring |
| Bobbi Mahlab | Mentoring |
| Catherine Gander | Leadership |
| Charmaine Huisman | Community Activism |
| Claire Couson | Arts |
| Clair Jackson | Arts |
| Danielle Villafana | Community Activism |
| Denise Thompson | Media/Communication |
| Diane Hague | Workforce |
| Dulce Munoz | Community Activism |
| Elaine Evans | Leadership |
| Elizabeth Hill | Workforce |
| Emily Mayo | Media/Communication |
| Georgie Dent | Workforce |
| Hayley Foster | Leadership |
| Jess Hill | Media/Communication |
| Jo-Anne Cahill | Arts |
| Kim Loo | Community Activism |
| Kittu Randhawa | Leadership |
| Robynne Murphey | Workforce |
| Rosell Flatley | Arts |
| Sunita Gloster | Media/Communication |
| The Loveys | Arts |
| Yvette Kinkade | Community Activism |

### 2018

| Name | Category |
| Mary O'Sullivan | Community Activism |
| Leonie McGuire | Community Activism |
| fEMPOWER | Grand Stirrer |
| Lee Lewis | Arts |
| Pearlie McNeill | Arts |
| Margot Oliver | Media/Communication |
| Deborah Brennan | Education |
| Helen L'Orange | Leadership |
| Marilyn Hatton | Leadership |

### 2017

| Name | Category |
| Erin Wen Ai Chew | Community Activism |
| Jude Finch | Community Activism |
| Lewina Jackson | Community Activism |
| Simone White | Community Activism |
| Mary Konstantopoulos | Sport |
| Mehreen Faruqi | Grand Stirrer |
| The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe | Arts |
| Nina Angelo | Arts |
| Gabriele Jones | Arts |
| Erika Addis | Media/Communication |
| End Rape on Campus Australia (EROC) | Education |
| Hannah Wandel | Education |
| Rachel Cooper | Workforce |
| Marion Brown | Leadership |

### 2016

| Name | Category |
| Billi McCarthy-Price and Hannah Massingham | Sport |
| Amanda Hill | Grand Stirrer |
| The Women's Library | Arts |
| Catherine Ordway | Sport |
| Lina Cabaero | Workforce |
| Janine Whiteman | Mentoring |
| Carol Booth and Liz Rickman | Leadership |
| Sharon McKinnon | Leadership |
| Darriea Turley | Government |
| Jozefa Sobski | Education |
| Jan Breckenridge | Education |
| Monica Davidson | Media/Communication |
| Julie Perkins | Community Activism |
| Jane Davidson | Community Activism |
| Heidi Zajac | Community Activism |

### 2015

| Name | Category |
| Ashleigh Thomson | Mentoring |
| Margaret Hickie | Mentoring |
| Louise Evans | Sport |
| Chris Ronalds | Leadership |
| Margaret Henry | Leadership |
| Sally McManus | Grand Stirrer |
| Betty Ferguson | Mentoring |
| Amanda Shalala | Sport |
| Tara Moss | Grand Stirrer |
| Finola Moorhead | Arts |
| Darelle Duncan | Community Activism |
| Jeannie Sotheran | Community Activism |
| Saba Vasefi | Community Activism |
| Anjani Regmi | Community Activism |
| Frances Crimmins | Leadership |

### 2014

| Name | Category |
| Roxanne McMurray | Leadership |
| Maeve Marsden | Arts |
| Vee Malnar | Arts |
| Lillian Howell Project | Community Activism |
| Marilyn Forsythe | Workforce |
| Bronwyn Culling | Mentoring |
| Lin Cooper | Mentoring |
| Bush Lemons | Leadership |
| Marian Baird | Workforce |
| Hawzhin Azeez | Media/Communication |
| Kate Rowe | Sport |
| McKenzie Raymond | Community Activism |
| Zoya Patel | Media/Communication |
| Dorothy McRae-McMahon | Grand Stirrer |

### 2013

| Name | Category |
| Suzie van Opdorp | Community Activism |
| Shirley Kent | Community Activism |
| Anne Buttsworth | Media/Communication |
| Maree O'Halloran | Leadership |
| Kim Rubenstein | Leadership |
| Destroy The Joint | Grand Stirrer |
| Ursula Frederick | Arts |
| Lee Grant | Arts |
| Rebecca Ordish | Mentoring |
| Fiona Miller | Mentoring |
| Wendy Herbert | Education |
| Dragica Sinikoski | Education |
| Danielle Warby | Sport |
| Heather Reid | Sport |

### 2012

| Name | Category |
| Nadia Saleh | Workforce |
| Sonia Laverty | Workforce |
| Bronwyn Penrith | Mentoring |
| Natasa Nikolic | Mentoring |
| Sylvia Kinder | Mentoring |
| Teresa Savage | Grand Stirrer |
| Jenna Price | Media/Communication |
| Maree McDermott | Community Activism |
| Bronwyn Bancroft | Arts |
| Georgina Abrahams | Arts |
| Cigdem Aydemir | Arts |
| Jan McDonald | Community Activism |

### 2010

| Name | Category |
| Ludo McFerran | Community Activism |
| Jennifer Dalitz | Workforce |
| Kat Armstrong | Battling |
| Debbie Carstens | Workforce |
| Shokufeh Kavani | Arts |
| Sue Salthouse | Community Activism |
| Nina Funnell | Media/Communication |
| Frances Plummer | Mentoring |
| Mary Dimech | Mentoring |
| Jane Pollard | Education |
| Dawn Atkinston | Education |
| Gabe Kavanagh | Community Activism |
| Rose Campbell | Community Activism |
| Susan Smith | Community Activism |
| Maggy Fargo | Community Activism |

### 2009

| Name | Category |
| Edith Weisberg | Education |
| Charmaigne Weldon | Battling |
| Ruth Pollard | Media/Communication |
| Jane Caro | Media/Communication |
| Rhonda Wilson | Grand Stirrer |
| Julie Bates | Workforce |
| Patricia Griffin | Community Activism |

### 2008

| Name | Category |
| Jo Kowalczyk | Workforce |
| Liz Barlow | Government |
| Lesley Laing | Education |
| Jude Irwin | Education |
| Matina Mottee | Community Activism |
| Karen Lee Willis | Grand Stirrer |
| Elaine Odgers Norling | Community Activism |
| Judy James Bailey | Media/Communication |
| Beth Eldridge | Community Activism |
| Christine Sinclair | Community Activism |
| Tess Brill | Community Activism |

### 2007

| Name | Category |
| Julie Velthuys | Mentoring |
| Ellie Ellis | Education |
| Rosemary Kariuki | Community Activism |
| Muyesser Durer | Battling |
| Kellie Tranter | Community Activism |
| Spiderlily Redgold | Media/Communication |
| Denele Crozier | Community Activism |
| Libby Silva | Community Activism |
| Marie Muir | Community Activism |
| Emily Maguire | Media/Communication |
| Rosalind Helyard | Education |

### 2006

| Name | Category |
| Liz Ashburn | Arts |
| Betty Green | Community Activism |
| Jane Corpuz-Brock | Community Activism |
| Dorothy Hoddinott | Education |
| Joy Goodsell | Community Activism |
| Adele Horin | Media/Communication |
| Carmel Nola | Media/Communication |
| Catherine Fox | Media/Communication |
| Claire Moore (Senator) | Government |
| Victoria Abigail | Mentoring |
| Jude Stoddart | Workforce |
| Rosemary Richards | Workforce |
| Daphne Baxter | Workforce |
| Helen Westwood | Community Activism |
| Marie Coleman | Government |
| Anne Field | Government |
| Tegan Wagner | Grand Stirrer |
| Priscilla Lumsden | Community Activism |
| Dixie Link-Gordon | Mentoring |
| Judith Troeth (Senator) | Government |
| Lyn Allison (Senator) | Government |

### 2005

| Name | Category |
| Merilyn Childs | Workforce |
| Josephine Conway | Community Activism |
| Alva Geikie | Community Activism |
| Nola Cooper | Community Activism |
| Bronwyn Moye | Government |
| Gerri Greenfield | Grand Stirrer |
| Margaret Kirkby | Access to Abortion |
| Julia Freebury | Access to Abortion |
| Jacqui Smith | Mentoring |
| Margaret Alston | Mentoring |
| Helen Campbell | Media/Communication |
| Anne-Mason Furnage | Battling |
| Stefania Siedlecky | Access to Abortion |
| Trude Kallir | Community Activism |
| Dorothy Cora | Community Activism |

### 2004

| Name | Category |
| Muriel Hortin | Community Activism |
| Susan Ryan | Government |
| Margo Moore | Community Activism |
| Anne Summers | Grand Stirrer |
| Lucy Porter | Battling |
| Phillippa Hall | Workforce |
| Joan Lemaire | Mentoring |
| Dominique Hogan-Doran | Workforce |
| Julie Griffiths | Mentoring |

### 2003

| Name | Category |
| Jean Slarke | Workforce |
| Denise Ferris | Arts |
| Di Graham | Grand Stirrer |
| Roseleen Healy | Arts |
| Cate Turner | Community Activism |
| Rebecca Reilly | Workforce |
| Aileen Beaver | Workforce |
| Suzan Virago | Workforce |
| Betty Johnson | Community Activism |
| Elizabeth O'Brien | Community Activism |
| Vicki Potempa | Community Activism |
| Clare Burton | Grand Stirrer |
| Susan Kendall | Government |
| Fran Hayes | Workforce |

### 2002

| Name | Category |
| Rachael Oakes-Ash | Humour |
| Judy Horacek | Humour |
| Julia Baird | Media/Communication |
| Kathleen Swinbourne | Government |
| Elizabeth Dawson | Education |
| Wendy McCarthy | Grand Stirrer |
| Dorothy Symonds | Grand Stirrer |
| Janne Ellen | Community Activism |
| Joyce Stevens | Mentoring |
| Betty Little | Battling |
| Leichhardt Women's Community Health Centre | Community Activism |
| Jan Roberts | Community Activism |
| Jill Bruneau | Arts |

### 2001

| Name | Category |
| Kristine Cruden | Government |
| Robyn Plaister | Grand Stirrer |
| Erica Lewis | Government |
| Toni Modafferi | Media/Communication |
| Merle Highet | Community Activism |
| Pam Johnston | Community Activism |
| Maggie Smyth | Mentoring |
| Shirley Jones | Arts |
| Chrissie Shaw | Arts |
| Martha Ansara | Media/Communication |
| Kathryn McConnochie | Arts |
| NSW Teachers' Federation (on behalf of 13 women casual teachers) | Workforce |
| Pat Richardson | Battling |
| Emma Tom | Humour |

### 2000

| Name | Category |
| Suzanne Bellamy | Arts |
| Jennie George | Grand Stirrer |
| Jan Wood | Community Activism |
| Christine Nixon | Mentoring |
| Margaret Jones | Battling |
| Sarah Maddison | Battling |
| Rae Frances | Workforce |

### 1999

| Name | Category |
| Joan Bielski | Grand Stirrer |
| Gail Hewison | Arts |
| Noreen Hewett | Battling |
| Jane Gardiner | Media/Communication |
| Helen McDermott | Workforce |
| Cathy Block | Mentoring |
| Kate Lavender | Community Activism |

### 1998

| Name | Category |
| Jenny Taylor | Battling |
| Meredith Burgmann | Humour |
| Juliet Richter | Lobbyist |
| Sheryle Bagwell | Media/Communication |
| Eva Cox | Grand Stirrer |
| Marlene Arditto | Political Potholder |
| Julie Compton | Battling |
| Misha Schubert | Young Woman |
| Ann Symonds | Government |
| Sharon Tobin | Workforce |
| Peggy Hewett | Arts |
| Lina Cabaero | Workforce |