NCOSS Harrison-Church Scholarship recipients announced

Five women leaders from the NSW social service sector have received a fully funded scholarship to maximise their leadership potential, as the inaugural recipients of the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) Harrison-Church Women’s Leadership Scholarship.

The scholarship, a partnership between NCOSS and Chief Executive Women (CEW), aims to develop leadership capability in the social service sector and help tackle the stark gender pay gap between male and female senior leaders in the not-for-profit sector.

The first five recipients of the NCOSS Harrison-Church Women’s Leadership Scholarship are:

• Ellen Gore, Ethnic Community Services Co-operative
• Nenneh Lahai, New England Family Support Service
• Rebecca Kelly, Community Activities Lake Macquarie
• Sarah (Ses) Salmond, Leichardt Women’s Community Health Centre
• Tairyn Vergara, The Parks Community Network.

NCOSS CEO Cara Varian congratulated the first recipients of the scholarship.

“From more than thirty applications, I’m really pleased to announce the first five recipients of the inaugural NCOSS Harrison-Church Women’s Leadership Scholarship. This is a fantastic opportunity for leadership development for women in small-to-medium size social service sector organisations, offering high-quality professional learning without the need to take critical funding from the organisations they work in.

“To meet the future needs of our sector, we must prioritise developing our leaders and this program provides the opportunity for women leaders to step back from their day-to-day responsibilities, re-evaluate their goals and develop professionally through collaboration with leaders from other industries to maximise their impact.”

The scholarship will provide places in CEW’s Leaders Program for 15 women in leadership roles over three years, with five participants each year.  The first-round recipients will participate in CEW’s Leaders Program held in June/July this year. The scholarship is being funded through a very generous philanthropic donation, made possible by a legacy from Chris Harrison-Church.

Selecting the first round of scholarship recipients was a hard task. NCOSS’s thanks go to the selection panel:

Joanne Robertson, Strategy and Analytics Manager, CORE Community Services

Megan Boshell, Portfolio Manager – Mental Health, Marathon Health, based in Dubbo

Thom Calma, Head of Impact & Growth, SydWest Multicultural Services

Ben Brungs, CODA Project Director, NCOSS

NCOSS will be opening Round 2 of the scholarship (for places in 2026-27) in November 2026 and Round 3 (for places in 2027-28) in November 2027.

About NCOSS 

As the peak body for the NSW social service sector, NCOSS is the independent voice for social justice in NSW. We are uniquely placed to work together with our 350+ members, government, business and other stakeholders to transform systems, eliminate poverty and create lasting equality.

We provide a platform for our sector to listen and connect, share information and resources, develop and amplify agreed positions, lead and progress research and joint work, and through our advocacy, be a lead voice pursuing greater transparency, reform and delivery on commitments from government for a fair, inclusive and resilient NSW where everyone is safe, respected, and able to thrive.

About CEW 

CEW is Australia’s leading network of women leaders, united in the purpose of women leaders empowering all women. Since 1985, we have worked with business, government, and the community to advance gender equity and remove barriers to women’s progression, participation, safety, and security. Our 1,400 members are among the most senior and influential women across business, academia, government, sport, the arts, and the not-for-profit sector, together overseeing more than 1.3 million employees and $749 billion in revenue. Their organisations represent a combined market capitalisation of over $1.144 trillion and contribute more than $249 billion to Australia’s GDP. Through advocacy, research, targeted programs, and scholarships, CEW delivers practical impact: accelerating women into leadership, shaping policy, and influencing the systems that drive economic and social progress.

Read more: https://cew.org.au/