Nine extraordinary women have been selected as GenWest's Women Deliver 2026 scholarship recipients. From social justice and gender equality to economic empowerment and climate justice, each of these leaders is already making a profound difference in their local community.
A heartfelt thank you to the donors who made this possible. This initiative was funded by a generous contribution from GenWest, alongside Maribyrnong City Council and two other dedicated donors who share our belief in the power of community leadership.
Alex Constance
Alex is a community leader and Programs Coordinator [Wv1] at their local community garden, where they focus on queer and disability programs, peer support, and food justice. Their work bridges the gap between nature and wellbeing, coordinating with networks like Young Farmers Connect to promote climate justice and intersectional agriculture across central Victoria.
As a queer, generational First Nations person and survivor of domestic violence, Alex is dedicated to creating safe, inclusive spaces for gender-diverse people and women. They use their lived experience to lead community projects that centre on healing, solidarity, and the land.
As a Women Deliver scholarship recipient, Alex is eager to connect with global networks to share stories and resources. They plan to bring back new insights to their urban placemaking work, helping to build resilient communities where First Nations, queer, and women’s voices are heard and valued. Their goal is to integrate these global learnings into local projects that foster both community growth and personal healing.
Amao Leota Lu
Amao Leota Lu is a proud Samoan fa’afafine and a Pasifika Indigenous trans woman with a deep and strong history in both trans and Fa’afafine advocacy both locally and internationally.
Her work centres around the woven tapestry of race, culture and gender putting trans women of colour at the forefront and her indigenous Pasifika heritage that centres her commitment to her community, her people, her identity and her culture.
She is also a creative who writes, preforms and curates works and conversations around her own experiences and that of her trans and queer communities.
She is passionate about her advocacy and community work and engagement around both trans and human rights; and social justice.
She goes by the pronouns She/Her and is best known in queer people of colour spaces, especially what is known as ballroom, as Auntie.
Mehak Sheikh
Mehak is a visionary community builder and the co-founder of WYN Hub, an organisation dedicated to the economic independence of women and gender-diverse people in Melbourne’s West. Inspired by the resilience of her mother, grandmother, and the Muslim and South Asian communities, she centres her work on the transformative power of ethical business and its ability to uplift the whole community from harm.
Her work focuses on social enterprise as a tool for systemic healing. She advocates for a shift away from extractive, patriarchal models of business toward a matriarchal “wellbeing economy” rooted in Indigenous philosophies from around the world.
Through incubator programs, circle discussions, and one-on-one coaching, Mehak supports women to become the architects of their own initiatives. She empowers dreamers and builders who centre care for children, community, and the planet.
As a scholarship recipient for the Women Deliver conference, Mehak attends to find deep inspiration among fellow visionaries. She is eager to connect with those thinking courageously about frameworks that address root causes, bringing back global insights to strengthen the bold, care-centred economy she is cultivating locally.
Musarrat Saiyed
Musarrat is a dedicated community leader known for building a more connected and resilient Wyndham. She founded Pulse with Purpose, a non-profit that provides weekly community meals and emergency support for neighbours doing it tough. Her work goes beyond food relief: she creates a space where women from all backgrounds can volunteer, gain confidence, and take on leadership roles.
Musarrat focuses on bringing different generations and cultures together through workshops and community activities. She also works at a strategic level, serving on advisory committees to advocate for better health, sustainability, and fair access to resources for everyone in the West.
As a Women Deliver scholarship recipient, Musarrat is eager to learn how grassroots projects like hers can drive long-term systemic change. She plans to bring home global strategies to strengthen her local programs and ensure that migrant and refugee women continue to lead the way in building a stronger, more equitable community.
Yi Zhu
Yi is a dedicated advocate and community leader whose work acts as a vital bridge between the migrant women of Melbourne’s west and the systems meant to serve them. Through her community engagement roles in “cultural interpretation” and liaison with legal and social services, she transforms states of dependency into empowered autonomy, ensuring that complex frameworks like My Aged Care and the Victorian Ombudsman become navigable and equitable.
Her practice centres on the preservation of dignity and the prevention of isolation. By spearheading wellbeing programs and environmental education, she creates essential social safety nets that alleviate carer burnout and foster household stability. Her work is deeply rooted in providing the tools for self-advocacy, from digital literacy to health workshops, and by helping women safeguard their own rights and interests.
A scholarship recipient for the Women Deliver conference, Yi attends to bridge the gap between global gender equality strategies and the localised realities of migrant and senior women. She is committed to evolving her “Cooperation Group” model, bringing back international best practices on economic empowerment and the prevention of non-physical abuse to cultivate a resilient, rights-aware community.
Mai Nguyen
Mai is a dedicated community leader whose work is deeply anchored in the lived experiences of Vietnamese and migrant communities in Melbourne’s West. As President of Australian Vietnamese Arts and Culture and a Committee Member of the Women’s Support Network, she centres her advocacy on the intersections of migrant identity, gender equity, and grassroots social justice.
Her work is rooted in community care, ranging from economic empowerment through No Interest Loan Schemes to facilitating bilingual spaces for critical conversations on gender equality, social and economic justice. Through the curation of arts and culture, she fosters resilience and connection for those navigating systemic isolation.
A scholarship recipient for the Women Deliver conference, Mai attends to amplify the voices of her community and build international solidarity. She is committed to sharpening her advocacy and bringing back transformative strategies to drive local change for a fairer, more equal world.
