Conservation Ecologist Dr Debbie Saunders has been named the Businesswoman of the Year at the 2023 Canberra Women in Business (CWB) Awards tonight.

Dr Saunders also claimed the Innovation of the Year award, recognised for her incredible achievements creating Wildlife Drones — a company revolutionising the animal tracking industry.

The awards were announced at a stunning gala event at the Hyatt, with other winners on the night including Chloe Lim, Emily Coates, Eryn Davies and Jenna Keen, Bianca Flint, and Sarah Richards.

CWB President Mandy Hill said the field of applicants this year was incredible, and she was humbled by the talent and tenacity of Canberra’s businesswomen, all of whom continue to show a dedication to helping others rise with them.

“A consistent theme for us in these awards is how much businesswomen in Canberra give back to the community and to other businesses so generously,” Mandy said.  

“Every woman taking the stage tonight has a story and genuine want to make a difference. They each show the power we have as business owners or executives to influence positive community outcomes.” 

ACT Minister for Business, Tara Cheyne, who attended and presented at the event, congratulated all the finalists and winners.  

“These Awards are a powerful reminder of the successes that women in business can achieve in Canberra. It’s equally inspiring to see such a strong community of women supporting one another in business and their ambitions,” the Minister said. 

“The ACT Government is proud to partner with CWB as the Businesswoman of the Year category sponsor. Congratulations to Canberra Women in Business for recognising Canberra’s businesswomen and the amazing work they do in our community. Congratulations to all the nominees, finalists and winners.”

Full list of 2023 CWB Award winners

• Businesswoman of the Year: Debbie Saunders – Wildlife Drones
• Canberra Weekly Micro Business Woman of the Year: Chloe Lim – Giggly Wiggly Balloons
• Social Impact of the Year: Eryn Davies and Jenna Keen – Capital Psychology Clinic
• Innovation of the Year: Debbie Saunders – Wildlife Drones
• Small Businesswoman of the Year: Bianca Flint – OneSource Customs & Logistics Pty Ltd
• Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year: Sarah Richards – Marrawuy Journeys
• Young Businesswoman of the Year: Emily Coates – Ivy Social

Businesswoman of the Year: Debbie Saunders – Wildlife Drones

Wildlife Drones’ founder and CEO, Dr Debbie Saunders, is a Conservation Ecologist who has spent 20 years researching threatened migratory birds in order to improve conservation management practices. However, their movements remained a mystery given there was no suitable technology available for tracking small animals that moved in dynamic ways. Despite recent advances with GPS and satellite tag technology, they remain too large to be worn by 70% of the world’s wildlife. As such tracking of small animals is predominantly undertaken via manual radio-tracking techniques.
However, manual tracking comes with many challenges and limitations.

In order to address this issue, Dr Saunders established a collaborative research team to determine if it was possible to radio-track tagged animals from a drone. By using a drone for radio-tracking, she aimed to be able to flexibly and rapidly search vast landscapes and to maximise tag detection distance by providing a high point wherever the drone was launched.
After several years of intense research, she led her team to success in the development of the world’s first robotic radio-tracking drone system.

The global attention gained from this project highlighted that many wildlife researchers and land managers all around the world also shared the same problems and wanted access to this technology. Therefore, she set about educating herself on how she could translate this research prototype into a viable product that could be sent out to people anywhere in the world.

As a result, Wildlife Drones’ technology is setting the new international standard for radio-tracking animal movements and are delivering on their vision: to empower people to positively impact the planet’s ecosystems using innovative drone technology.

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Canberra Weekly Micro Businesswoman of the Year: Chloe Lim – Giggly Wiggly Balloons

Giggly Wiggly Balloons is party entertainment service specialising in advanced balloon twisting engaged by families with young children right through to government, non-profit organisations and corporate companies.

Founded by the exceptional Dr Chloe Lim. Dr Lim is scientist trained in molecular biology, with a PhD in medical science. She worked in academia for over 14 years before transitioning into government.

She discovered balloon twisting and started ‘Giggly Wiggly Balloons’ in 2019. Her balloon artistry talent made her a finalist on Channel 7’s ‘Blow Up’ show, featuring the best balloon artists in Australia.

Dr Chloe Lim is the author of a children’s book, ‘What Makes You Unique’, and shares her balloon start-up story in ‘Undefeated’. Merging balloon art and science, she launched Twisty Science, an edutainment company cultivating kids’ love for science through interactive storytelling.

Social Impact of the Year: Eryn Davies and Jenna Keen – Capital Psychology Clinic

Capital Psychology Clinic is an all-female practice that was founded in 2016 by Dr Eryn Davies and Jenna Keen, with a community goal of delivering high level child, adolescent and family mental health care and wider community mental health support, along with a business goal of providing strong career opportunities for early career psychologists, professional parents and the LGBT community of therapists to achieve a well-rounded, highly professional and successful team environment. 

The Capital Psychology Clinic has expanded their reach, supporting over 5000 clients, offering an array of services from perinatal support to adult counselling, and addressing diverse mental health needs.

Together, Eryn and Jenna were honoured to be awarded the CWB Small Business Award in 2020 and be finalists in the Australian Allied Health Awards in 2021.

Innovation of the Year: Debbie Saunders – Wildlife Drones

Wildlife Drones is at the forefront revolutionising the animal tracking industry. Wildlife Drones core product, a unique sensor, is mounted onto a drone to track animal movements from the air being the world’s first drone radio-tracking system.

Dr Debbie Saunders, PhD Conservation Ecology is Wildlife Drones’ Founder and CEO. As a specialist in threatened species management and innovation, she has managed multi-million-dollar projects involving highly diverse teams to solve complex ecological problems and develop world-first technologies. Her previous ecological research required new solutions which led Debbie to establish Wildlife Drones in 2016 winning multiple Australian business innovation awards. Wildlife Drones has gone on to win other National and International awards including: 2022 Airwards Global Conservation and Environment, 2022 Banksia Biodiversity and Ignite Awards Finalist for Business Sustainability and 2023 Winner of Global Women and Drones Innovation Award.

Small Businesswoman of the Year: Bianca Flint – OneSource Customs & Logistics Pty Ltd

With 12 years of experience across the customs and logistics industry, Bianca Flint independently launched a freight agency in 2021.

OSCL is a boutique freight forwarding agency specializing in supply chain and logistics solutions. Their comprehensive services include freight forwarding, customs clearance, quarantine processing, and logistics management. With the mission being to deliver exceptional customer service while simplifying the complexities of border and supply chain operations. OSCL is a complete in-house capability, offering seamless door-to-door freight forwarding services, positioning themselves as the ultimate one-stop shop for all supply chain needs.

At OSCL, Biancas primary focus is supporting and assisting start-ups and first-time importers with their dedication lies in empowering new importers to achieve supply chain success through education and personalized guidance. As the director, licensed broker, and operator of OSCL, Bianca oversees every aspect of business daily operations.

Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year: Sarah Richards – Marrawuy Journeys

Born on Gadigal land, Sarah, a Ngiyampaa woman, now resides on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country. Honoured as ACT NAIDOC Artist of the Year in 2015, she possesses a decade plus of diverse experience in business operations and team collaboration across private and public sectors. Through her own lived-experience, she understands the positive impact having a healthy outlet can have for one’s mental health. In 2018, leveraging her commerce degree and CPA qualification, she transformed her passion into Marrawuy Journeys, evolving it into a thriving business. August 2021 marked her commitment to wholeheartedly pursue her vision, dedicating herself entirely to Marrawuy Journeys.

Marrawuy Journeys has a vision of healing as individuals so that we can heal as a country.​ Having a creative outlet allowed Sarah to undergo a journey of healing; and through Marrawuy Journeys, Sarah creates opportunities for others to experience the same.

Catering to both B2B and B2C sectors, Marrawuy Journeys aims to address the burnout epidemic prevalent in workplaces. Services include original and commissioned artworks, interactive team-building workshops, and a curated giftware range. Through these offerings, Marrawuy Journeys aims to foster well-being, productivity, and a renewed sense of purpose within businesses and their employees.

Young Businesswoman of the Year: Emily Coates – Ivy Social

Ivy Social is a boutique social media agency based in Canberra, servicing clients across Australia. Insight-led and brimming with creativity, Ivy Social are there to elevate their clients’ online presence, while accelerating growth for their business. Put simply, Ivy Social help brands to grow online.

Founded by Emily Coates, Emily is a true marketer at heart, passionate about helping businesses to grow online. Emily created Ivy Social to alleviate business owners from the burden of managing their own social media, offering a complete solution for consistent management. What first began as a side hustle quickly progressed into a fast-growing company. Today, Ivy Social is a thriving agency with ten permanent staff and clients across the country.