Latest News & Events

Celebrating the Graduation of our June 2025 Rising cohort

8 December 2025

We are delighted to welcome our June 2025 Rising Leadership Program cohort into the Leadership WA Alumni Community, following their graduation on Thursday 4 December.

Hosted by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia at their stunning Perth office, the day saw the cohort present their Community Impact Projects and reflect on the progress they have made as leaders, individuals and teams across the six-month Program, before culminating in an evening of celebrations at the formal graduation ceremony.


Final Experience Day and Project Presentations

The final Experience for our June cohort began with great excitement as Participants arrived ready to share, acknowledge and celebrate their achievements.

The morning started with the Project teams showcasing their Community Impact Projects. Aligned with three of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Projects form an integral part of the six-month Rising Leadership Program, enabling Participants to apply their learnings while developing practical solutions to ‘real world’ issues within WA communities.

Our June cohort further developed Projects initiated by previous cohorts, to help create extended impact.

Our June 2025 Rising Community Impact Projects included:

  • Reducing Inequalities – GenGals | this program connects senior women with women recovering from family and domestic violence to reduce isolation through shared activities and intergenerational support. Delivered in partnership with Rise Network Inc. and Orana House, it builds confidence, inclusion and pathways to independence.
  • Zero Hunger – First Serve | this initiative shifts policing toward early intervention by giving frontline responders a practical, compassionate way to support people experiencing food insecurity. Trialled in the Peel region through Mandurah Police Station, it supplies emergency food packs and updated food-relief directories. Delivered in partnership with WA Police and Foodbank WA, it aims to reduce hunger-driven crime by addressing the needs early and directly.
  • No Poverty – My Device 2.0 | this initiative reduces digital poverty for children in foster care by providing smartphones that keep them connected to family, education and essential services, while easing financial pressure on foster carers who often receive limited resources. Reigniting the original MyDevice program, the 2025 Project team partnered with Fostering Hope Australia to build a sustainable, community-driven supply chain for ongoing phone donations from corporate and government partners, ensuring vulnerable young people are not left disconnected.

We sincerely thank our generous Project Mentors, who donate their time, expertise and support to guide our Project Groups across the life of their Projects:

Projects can be developed by any organisation and it would be wonderful to have them carried forward. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the Community Impact Project Reports, please be in touch with us.

Once the presentations wrapped, the cohort swung into celebration mode!
In their sparkly and creative best, they marked the occasion with festivities, fun and a dance-off that revealed some very impressive moves, before settling into an afternoon of reflecting on their Rising journeys.

Together, they shared their growth, how their mindsets had shifted and how strong bonds had formed within their Syndicates and across the cohort, creating their own personal community of leaders.

 

Graduation Ceremony

The celebrations continued into the evening when our graduates were joined by their family, managers and colleagues along with Leadership WA’s Partners, Scholarship Sponsors and special guests, for the formal Graduation Ceremony.

The occasion opened with a Welcome to Country by Isaiah Walley-Stack, whose clever humour, warm presence and engaging welcome, grounded guests in a strong sense of connection to place and culture.

While there were so many memorable moments during the evening, a major highlight was the announcement of the two key Rising Awards: the June 2025 Centre for Stories “Leadership Journey” Award, as announced and presented by Robert Wood (Rising 2023), Creative Director of the Centre for Stories; and the June 2025 Valedictorian, as elected by the cohort.

In a Leadership WA first, both awards were presented to the same deserving graduate. Our warmest congratulations to Peter Steeger, Acting Senior Sergeant, WA Police Force, who received both honours.

Recognised by his peers, Peter delivered a heartfelt Valedictory speech, reflecting on the Participants’ shared journey through the Program. He spoke of arriving as strangers unsure of their leadership potential, and growing through challenges, courageous conversations, and the support of mentors and loved ones. Emphasising the importance of embracing vulnerability, challenging the inner critic, and stepping into their capacity to make a difference, Peter urged the cohort to continue writing their leadership stories and creating positive change together.

It was another incredible Rising journey, filled with remarkable speakers, welcoming organisations which opened their doors and took us behind the scenes, and inspiring, meaningful and impactful opportunities to learn, help and grow.

Leadership WA is grateful to our many Program Partners and to our generous Scholarship Partners, who extend the opportunity of the transformational leadership to those who may otherwise be unable to participate. Our thanks to:

Thank you also to the Centre for Stories for your Award, which celebrates powerful storytelling and recognises a graduate who inspires others through an authentic leadership journey.

So that’s a wrap! Our warmest congratulations to the Rising Class of June 2025! You have inspired us and we look forward to following your journeys, as you take your learnings into your organisations, communities and beyond.

——————

If you are thinking about your own leadership journey and looking for an experiential leadership development Program that takes place in real world organisations, with industry leaders and expert speakers, and the opportunity to work on projects and actions that deliver meaningful impact, visit:

 

Graduation ceremony beautifully captured by: Kylie Plunkett Photography

Graduation photo of 2025 June Rising Leadership Program cohort taken at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Perth office