Instead of accepting it, Stacey decided to create the kind of community she wished she had.
She applied for the Moira Shire Community Leadership Program, a 12-week course she wasn’t even sure she would get into — but she did.
Across Moira Shire, Stacey saw women doing remarkable things, often in isolation and without a strong network to connect them.
What began as casual coffee catch-ups soon evolved into Women of the Murray.
Originally launched as a Facebook page called Women of Moira, the initiative quickly grew into a broader social enterprise.
Stacey said the name changed after women from across the NSW border in Tocumwal asked if they could join too.
“Women of the Murray makes it represent both Victoria and NSW — we're all connected to the river,” she said.
Since then, the organisation has expanded to offer events, creative workshops, mentoring and leadership programs for women and girls across the region.
Earlier this year, it hosted its first in-person retreat.
In January, Women of the Murray was named Community Organisation of the Year at the Numurkah Australia Day Awards.
Alongside Stacey is Women of the Murray chair Kimberly Tempest, principal of Cobram Secondary College, where Stacey recently began as an associate through Teach For Australia’s Leadership Development Program.
The pair first met through Women of the Murray and, while driving home from a rural Women’s Day event, the idea of teaching came up.
Not long after, Stacey enrolled in Teach For Australia’s Leadership Development Program.
“It just felt right and like it would suit my family,” she said.
Previously working as a graphic designer, Stacey now teaches Visual Arts at Cobram Secondary College.
She also leads the school’s student leadership team and hopes Women of the Murray’s Inspire to Lead series could one day extend to her students.
As a mum of two children under five, a new teacher, and founder of a growing regional organisation, Stacey said balancing it all could be a challenge.
“I don’t know — I just get it done,” she said, laughing.
Teach For Australia chief executive Edwina Dohle said Stacey embodied the kind of leadership the program aimed to foster.
“It is incredible to see associates bring their leadership into so many different spaces, whether that’s through mentoring, community initiatives or creating new opportunities for connection in regional areas,” she said.
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