At a morning tea at Murrook Cultural Centre on Tuesday, Beth Innes from Fern Bay, Shannon Whyte from Lemon Tree Passage and Dr Renee Goreham-Selby from Medowie were announced as the recipients of Port Stephens Council's International Women's Day scholarships, worth $1000 each.

"I'd like to congratulate the 2022 scholarship winners, as well as each of the applicants; you're all so deserving and the high calibre of applications meant it wasn't an easy decision," said east ward councillor Leah Anderson, who presented the trio with their scholarships.

The morning tea began with a livestream presentation by guest speaker and Walkley Award-winning columnist, author, novelist, broadcaster, documentary maker, feminist and social commentator, Jane Caro.

Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer said the council was proud to recognise the 2022 scholarship winners.

"Women make a valuable contribution to our community across a range of different fields, including the arts, culture, environment, business, community, health and sport," he said.

"It's been wonderful to see the difference our International Women's Day Scholarship recipients have made since the program was first introduced five years ago.

"We're proud to continue to offer this support and look forward to seeing how this year's winners use their scholarships to achieve their goals."

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Beth Innes

The director of Sports 4 All, a not-for-profit organisation that works to increase the participation of women and girls in sport. Beth's aim is to introduce Sports 4 All to more sporting clubs within Port Stephens, assisting them to create an inclusive and family-friendly culture that supports female recruitment and participation. She also aspires to work with community organisations to encourage more vulnerable women to get involved in sport.

Shannon Whyte

As an Aboriginal woman, Shannon hopes to inspire the next generation of young people, particularly young Aboriginal women. Shannon's aim is to build on her career in project management by undertaking further leadership training and mentoring. She plans to use her leadership skills to assist local community organisations that work with women, Aboriginal people, or vulnerable residents.

Dr Renee Goreham-Selby

A physics lecturer and researcher in nanotechnology for biomedical applications at UoN. She is also passionate about promoting science and maths among school-aged children, creating educational materials and holding online science sessions. Renee's aim is to develop a suite of permanent science resources for schools and families.

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