Stephanie Trethewey

Stephanie Trethewey Founder & CEO, Motherland Stephanie Trethewey is the 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania. She’s a visionary leader who has transformed personal challenges into a nationwide movement to support rural mothers across Australia. Stephanie is a seasoned television journalist who has reported and produced for some of the country’s biggest news and current affairs programs. In 2019, soon after having her first child, she swapped the city for the country and moved to rural Tasmania. The transition was both a brutal and beautiful journey, and her struggles with postnatal depression and isolation inspired the creation of Motherland, a national charity that supports and connects rural mothers, reducing isolation and improving mental health outcomes for women on the land.

Steph’s weekly podcast has been downloaded over one million times, and Motherland Village, Australia’s first online rural mother’s group program, has connected hundreds of rural women to their own personalised support group. In 2022, Stephanie was named the national winner of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, and in 2023 she celebrated the release of her debut book, Motherland. Stephanie also sits on the Australian Advisory Council of Thankful4Farmers.