Previous Inductees

Community Service Leadership and Academic & Professional Excellence

Mary Delahunty is a former senior state Government Minister and award-winning television journalist and presenter. Mary is best known for leading ABC TV news and current affairs programs, the 7.30 Report and Four Corners. She received Australia's most prestigious award in journalism, a Gold Walkley Award, for her international reporting.

Mary served for seven years as a Victorian state government minister in senior portfolios. She carried significant executive responsibility and a high-level media profile as Minister for Education (1999 to 2002). She is Victoria’s longest serving Arts Minister (1999 to 2006) and the first female Planning Minister (2002 to 2005).

Mary is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an experienced Board Director and a published author. Her second book GRAVITY: Inside the PM’s office during her last year and final days was published 2013.

In 2002, Mary was awarded the Centenary medal for services to Government.

Arts & Cultural Excellence and Verity Award

Marea Breisch is an accomplished teacher and artist and an inspiration to all who know her. Her love of teaching art and for developing the talents of her VCE students led her to run a drop-in-centre where her students would often spend their lunch breaks making creative pieces.

Following a devastating accident in 1995, doctors performed life-saving surgery to remove Marea’s left temporal lobe, though surgery did not guarantee her survival. Against all odds Marea survived, however her injuries left her with an acquired brain injury.   

Through immense courage and determination, Marea relearnt how to walk and talk again and slowly began to pursue her love of painting. Over the years, Marea has taken part in several exhibitions, sold many of her paintings and received awards for her artistic endeavours.

Through her art, she has been able to reclaim her sense of self and find meaning in her changed life with courage and a ‘never give up’ attitude.

Young Achiever and Entrepreneur

Anna Pipkorn is the founder and creative force behind one of Australia’s emerging fashion brands, Lovaan. After graduating from Loreto College in 2010, Anna completed a Bachelor of Fashion Design (Hons) at RMIT University. She was awarded the Ursula Hoff Scholarship from University College, University of Melbourne and the Forever New Scholarship, which launched her career as a womenswear designer.

In 2017, Anna moved to London and worked with a major high-street brand before taking on a career-defining role at a sustainability-focused start-up. There, she played an instrumental part in the company’s rapid growth.

Returning to Australia in 2022, Anna partnered with four UK based industry visionaries to address a gap in the premium womenswear market. This led to the creation of Lovaan, a brand focused on timeless, high-quality craftsmanship. Anna has guided Lovaan’s impressive rise, with global department store placements, celebrity endorsements, and a headquarters in Prahran, Melbourne.

Lovaan has been celebrated for its innovative contributions to Australian fashion, commitment to sustainability, and distinct market presence, driven by Anna’s creative vision and leadership.

Community Service Leadership

Margot Serch (nee Podger) has dedicated her life to helping others. She attended Loreto Convent from 1942 to 1955 before going on to train as a nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne. Whilst nursing, Margot discovered that some patients had N.F.P.A. after their name. On inquiry, Margot learnt that this meant ‘No Fixed Place of Abode’.  Troubled by this knowledge, it led Margot to her lifelong passion to serve the homeless and under privileged.

Margot worked for many decades as a volunteer with organisations including Hanover Welfare Services, De Paul House, and Wellington House where she helped rehabilitate people with alcohol use disorders. She spent 25 years volunteering for the St. Vincent De Paul Soup Van and became known as a ‘special Vannie’. Through love and kindness, Margot helped the homeless and less fortunate, even opening the doors to her own home, and worked to break down the barriers of isolation and loneliness. 

Margot’s compassion for others earnt her the 2010 Caroline Chisolm Award for volunteer services to the community. 

Community Service Leadership

Andrea Dennett is a generous, respected, and multi-award-winning leader, educator and facilitator in community service, environmental protection, and sustainability. Her extraordinary volunteer leadership and contributions to the Bellarine Peninsula community and beyond are in addition to her significant 30-year career nursing in Acute Psychiatry, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Extended Care.     

Since 1999, Andrea has led environmental programs on the Bellarine Peninsula including Clean Up Australia Day, National Tree Day, and established “ReMoonahation”, to increase awareness of the indigenous Moonah tree by offering to plant the trees in householders’ gardens. Andrea also works to protect local mangroves and has effective membership with groups including Friends of Moonah Park, and Friends of the Bluff. 

Andrea’s commitment to BirdLife Australia’s beach-nesting birds project, to protect the endangered hooded plover, has been pivotal in engaging and supporting volunteers, raising awareness, and making the conservation of these birds possible on the Bellarine. Her community service has profound effects on every facet of the environment, with far-ranging impacts beyond her local community.

Young Achiever

Grace Mulcahy knew her love for science and mathematics would help her pursue a career full of adventure. Her life as a surveyor has taken her around Australia: building train tunnels in Melbourne, mining for gold in rural NSW, and exploration in the WA Pilbara. An average day at work often includes flying drones, hiking mountains, wading rivers, crunching numbers, and making maps. 

In a male-dominated industry, Grace knows how important it is to support other women.  Whether it’s inspiring school students to pursue a career in STEM, or volunteering within the surveying community to better the profession, Grace strives to pay forward the support she has received from her peers and mentors so far. Her journey hasn’t been easy, but she’s determined to make the next young girl in surveying feel even more welcome. 

Although a newcomer, Grace is a recognised and respected member of the surveying community. Her professional success proves that curiosity, grit, and a passion for learning will take you further than you’d ever expect to go. 

Religious and Social Justice Leadership

Sr Trish Franklin ibvm AO, has been referred to by many as a saint because of her total dedication to the poor and disabled, in her work in refugee camps and in Vietnam. Locally, she is also an adored Loreto Community Leader and inspiring contributor to our College. 

Sr Trish worked in the Thai/Cambodia border camps, radiating hope to many refugees, and founded the Loreto Vietnam Australia Program (LVAP), helping over 90,000 poor, disadvantaged and special needs children to develop a love of learning and gain an education.  Her courageous work with LVAP implemented programs across eight remote Provinces where no other charities were operating, and saw her receive the Friendship Medal, the highest recognition that a foreigner can receive from the Vietnamese Government.

The word, saint, is an accolade that has been used when words fail to describe the wonder of Sr Trish’s love. “If making other people happy is the source of happiness, then Sr Trish must be the happiest of all people.” (Robin Scott, Loreto Province Archivist).

Sporting Excellence, Gender Equity & Inclusion

From a horse racing family, a career in the saddle always beckoned for Michelle Payne and she rode in her first competitive race at the age of 15. She famously won the Melbourne Cup in 2015 riding Prince of Penzance, where in one of the most emotional moments formally recognised in Australian sport, Michelle was greeted post-race by younger brother and strapper Stevie.

Michelle Payne will forever be written into history books as that rare kind of icon - one who lives with gratitude and humility, who inspires genuine equality. Her enduring love and support of her family, especially her brother Stevie, organically inspired one of the greatest stories of equality and inclusion in our time, Australian motion picture, Ride Like a Girl.  

Following a challenging and decorated career as a jockey and sportswoman, Michelle became a successful dual jockey/trainer, establishing her own thriving racing stables and operating at the highest levels in the equestrian world.

Young Achiever and Entrepreneur

In the highly competitive and challenging world of Stage Management, Olivia Sellers' talent, skills, passion, persistence and entrepreneurial mindset has seen her rise rapidly to the top of the Australian Arts industry.

Her ability to connect and make the most of every opportunity available to her, has landed her on the radar, and learning, under the wing of the best in the business. Within three years of graduating from the prestigious Western Australian Academy for Performing Arts (WAAPA), Olivia secured the coveted role of Assistant Stage Manager for Opera Australia.

Olivia has continued to go from strength to strength, reaching heights and industry recognition that would normally take years in the Arts industry. Olivia's dream is to work in theatre worldwide, and within only seven years of graduating from Loreto College, where she first set her stary eyes on the stage, Olivia Sellers is poised for global success.

Arts and Cultural Excellence & Community Service Leadership 

Maria Myers AC has carried the Loreto values and traditions into her cultural, educational and conservation activities. A qualified social worker and lawyer, her involvement in not-for-profit organisations includes Loreto Education Board, Loreto Ballarat School Board, St Mary’s College Council, Mary Ward International Board, The Trust For Nature, The Nature Conservancy and its Asia Pacific Council, The Burnet Institute, The Australian String Quartet, The State Library of Victoria and The Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra.

An introduction to indigenous rock art in the Kimberley led to her involvement with the people of the Kalumburu Aboriginal Community in WA. It also led to her 10 year leadership of the Kimberley Foundation Australia now Rock Art Australia as it initiated research into Australia’s early human history. 

Academic and Professional Excellence & Community Service Leadership

Kate Torney AO is the CEO of Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation, supporting the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, home of Australia’s largest cancer research group. Kate has extensive experience in philanthropy and Australian media, having spent 20 years at the ABC, including six as News Director, and six years as Chief Executive of the State Library of Victoria.

At the State Library, Kate led an $88 million redevelopment project, including generating about $30 million in philanthropic support to reimagine the library’s services and historic spaces. During Kate’s time at the ABC, she had oversight of 1,400 reporters and production staff across Australia and globally. She also oversaw the major review that led to the ABC’s successful re-orientation towards digital platforms, and the launch of the ABC News 24 channel.

Religious and Social Justice Leadership

Sr Cynthia Wright ibvm attended Loreto Convent Dawson St from 1940 – 1951 and died on 08 July 2015. For 57 years, she was an enthusiastic, dedicated and joy-filled member of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ibvm). Mission was at the heart of Cynthia’s passion and the pursuit of social justice was integral. She was a gifted teacher, an inspiring, innovative and much loved Principal, a leader, a counsellor, a mentor and loyal friend to many. Sr Cynthia met every challenge with confidence in God. A woman of her time, a strong leader and guide, always accepting each new challenge with positive energy and a deep faith in the future. 

Sr Cynthia was an inspiration to many people, near and far and her religious and social justice service saw her work in various locations in Ballarat, Melbourne, Broome and Perth.  Sr Cynthia had great faith

“Nothing is hard, because Jesus is always with me.”

STEAM and Innovation Excellence 

Professor Michelle McIntosh is a pharmaceutical scientist with an international reputation in the fields of pulmonary delivery and global health. Her research is aimed at improving drug delivery systems with an emphasis on translational research projects aiming to improve patient healthcare outcomes. Specifically the development of inhaled delivery of oxytocin, designed to prevent unnecessary deaths in the developing world due excessive blood loss in child birth.

Michelle’s work has been acknowledged at the highest levels and she maintains a strong focus on cultivating the next generation talent by providing opportunities for emerging scientist to develop highly valued specialist skills.

Academic and Professional Excellence

Dr Margaret Heffernan OAM, PhD has established herself nationally and internationally through her spotlight on reducing the public health disparities that vulnerable First Nations and migrant women experience. Margaret’s sustained success as an activist, has led to building respectful reciprocal relationships with diverse communities. Her acknowledged role as a strong and independent advocate, mentor, educator, author and academic researcher ensures she engages with and influences policy makers to reduce women’s health inequalities across Australia.

The resources generated from Dr. Heffernan's work led to many people now empowered and able to give informed consent to what can be without adequate knowledge mystifying public health initiatives. Currently an academic in the College of Business and Law, RMIT University, the legacy of Margaret’s energetic advocacy for women’s health has resulted in many awards, including in 2006 an Australian Government Order of Australia Medal, and continues to benefit the general public. 

Community Service Leadership

A champion for women’s health and change-maker, Jane Hill is making a significant positive impact on people’s lives both in Australia and internationally. Jane is determined to change the ovarian cancer story, like those who have changed the story of breast cancer.

Jane’s career spans over 20 years of community service as a not-for-profit CEO and company director. Jane is currently CEO of Ovarian Cancer Australia, a national organisation, providing care and support for those affected by ovarian cancer; and advocating for improved services and research investment. She works to shape national health policy to increase cancer survival rates and the quality of life of cancer patients.

Young Achiever and Entrepreneur   

Dr Ebony Monson is a young scientist who has become an expert in virology. Unsure what to do when she graduated from Loreto College in 2010, Ebony opted for a degree in Biological Science; trusting that continuing to focus on what she loved was the right choice.

Over the past 10 years Ebony has completed a Bachelor and First-Class Honours degree and a PhD in the field of virology with a focus on immune responses to viruses by cells; uncovering novel mechanisms by which our bodies respond to viral infections which she hopes will contribute to new antiviral treatments. Her research has been internationally acknowledged and published in multiple international journals and now she encourages and inspires the next generation of young scientists.