Inspiring panel at IWD event

Published 8:00am 31 January 2023

Words by Kylie Knight

Queensland Police Service Commissioner Katarina Carroll will be part of a panel of diverse and talented women at BPW Caboolture’s International Women’s Day event in March.

The organisation, which advocates for women’s rights and to improve the conditions of working women across the world, will host a dinner to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 6.

IWD is a global day celebrating the achievements of women. The day is on March 8 and is a call-to-action for women’s equality.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll will headline the panel discussion as one of the strongest female role models in Queensland.

She will be joined by the director of the Limitless Group and owner of the highly awarded and ranked number one and number two RE/MAX offices in the country, Hayley Van de Ven.

BPW Caboolture president Vicki Wood says the organisation relishes the successes of other women - watching and learning from their journey.

“Hayley shows us all of this with her career progress,” Ms Wood says.

Also on the panel is Chloe Alley, who started her business at 11 years of age. Three years later she won a national award and has been able to watch her business grow.

BPW Australia president Jacqueline Graham will complete the line-up, representing one of the ‘strongest women advocate groups in the world’.

“We want to make a positive impact on women in our region, whether they are a small business owner, employed by a global company, part time worker, studying or just want to be surrounded by other women,” Ms Wood says.

“BPW is always there to help build other women up and International Women’s Day is another way that we can be heard and help celebrate women.”

About the speakers

Katarina Carroll APM

She was sworn in as the 20th Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) on July 8, 2019.

Born in Innisfail, Commissioner Carroll began her policing career in 1983, working in various roles including general duties, Criminal Investigation Branches, Joint Crime Task Force, and the QPS Covert Unit. In 2008 she received the Australian Police Medal.

In 2012, she served as Operations Commander for the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia’s largest peacetime security operation.

In December 2014, she was hand-picked to lead the newly formed Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES).

In July 2019, she returned to the QPS as the Commissioner of Police, where she now leads an organisation of more than 17,500 police officers and staff members.

Commissioner Carroll is supported by her husband of 25 years and their son and daughter.

Hayley Van de Ven

With almost two decades of property experience, combined with running one of the most elite real estate teams in the country, Hayley Van de Ven is an agent growth specialist and Director of the Limitless Group and owner of the highly awarded and Ranked #1 & #2 RE/MAX offices in Austalia - RE/MAX Results and RE/MAX Bayside Properties.

Her dedication to helping her team grow, has resulted in more than 4000 sales transacted across the Queensland property.

Hayley’s achievements have seen her emerge as a global sales leader and an in-demand real estate agent mentor. Outside of her real estate career, she is a proud wife to husband Dan and mother to two sons, a community ambassador for Meals for Mums, chappys’ breakfasts in schools and the White Cloud Foundation.

She has grown her business from a team of four to more than 90 in the past six years.

Chloe Alley

She started her business, By Chloe, when she was 11 years old in 2019.

It came after she was injured while playing touch football and used a heat wheat bag to aid her recovery.

She bought all the components needed to make the wheat bags and started selling them to friends, family and hospital staff.

They are made from 100 per cent cotton, wheat and dried lavender. Each one has an inner lining which holds the wheat and she uses eye-catching fabrics for the outer bag to appeal to her customers.

As part of her business studies in Year 9 at Redcliffe High State School, she took part in the Future Anything Activate Program where participants had to pitch an innovative, scalable and sustainable idea that makes the world a better place.

She then entered the National Future Anything Competition, which she won in 2021.

Since then, she has worked with mentors to develop her idea and launch a website. She now has an organic range and for every heat wheat sold, $1 is donated to One Tree Planted, which in turn plants a tree.

Jacqueline Graham

The BPW Australia President has more than 20 years professional leadership experience in corporate and franchise retail and sales organisations, after qualifying in Industrial Chemistry.

Having worked in senior roles in major listed businesses in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, she has experienced the challenge of change, loves to help others thrive in changing environments, and is a passionate advocate for women in the workforce.

Raised in a small town in southern New Zealand, Jacqueline has used the resilience learnt in the aftermath of a major farming accident to build a life of balance and exploration.

A leader from a young age in sports and music groups, Jacqueline has also undertaken voluntary and not-for-profit roles at local and national levels.

She is currently President of the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW) Having joined BPW in 2012, she has served as an executive member for BPW Melbourne, as State Representative for Victoria, as Director of Marketing, National Vice-President, and as National President 2018-2023. Jacqueline is also a Board Member of AGEC, the Australian Gender Equity Council.