Bothered by the state of the world and passionate about exploring how she could use her life to make a difference, Stephanie Woollard, at the age of 19, searched for ways to create a better world through volunteering in different organisations. She was committed to travelling the world in her search.

At the age of 22, on a trip to Nepal, it all fell into place. Stephanie stumbled across seven disabled women living in a tin shed and listened to their stories of suffering and stigma. Using her last $200, she paid for trainers for the women to learn new skills, empowering them to earn money, become independent and transform their lives.

Steph’s inspired vision led her to start an organisation called Seven Women, which has now educated, trained and employed over 5000 disabled and marginalised women in Nepal through education, skills training and employment pathways. Women have been employed by enterprises that Steph has created, including a manufacturing business that exports fair trade products internationally made by women and a cooking school and guesthouse that serves the cultural tourism market in Nepal. Stephanie also has a responsible tour company leading life-changing tours to Nepal, which allows travellers to make a difference in the local community and trains marginalised women as tour guides. Stephanie believes in ‘trade not aid’ when seeking to empower and gives authentic examples of how all businesses can make a difference using the framework of sustainable development goals.

Stephanie’s impact in making a positive difference now reaches far beyond Nepal. She has enrolled and empowered hundreds of volunteers and interns who have contributed to the organisation at the different stages of its growth. They, too, can now share this story on a global stage with audiences of thousands of people of all ages in over 20 countries.

In 2016, Stephanie was presented at the United Nations in New York with the Rotary International Responsible Business Award, followed by the Woman of the Decade Award at the Women’s Economic Forum in New Delhi in 2017 and also an award from the Governorate for entrepreneurship in Bahrain and the Junior Chamber International Young Person of the Year Award presented in Estonia. In 2019, Stephanie was awarded an Order of Australia.

Stephanie has dedicated herself to making a difference in the lives of some of the most marginalised people on the planet. She inspires many by sharing her story and showing the achievable, practical steps everyone can take to be part of positive change in our world. Stephanie’s story is a stunning example of how one person can make a difference with passion and persistence by tapping into the power within to propel us forward.