Young women leading the way: SA’s next generation of changemakers steps forward
From laboratories to grassroots movements, the state’s next generation of female leaders is proving that meaningful impact starts long before 40.
When Amber Brock-Fabel first invited a handful of young people to gather in Adelaide’s Park Lands to talk honestly about the pressures facing their generation, she had no idea she was laying the foundations for a statewide movement.
“At our very first meeting, eight young people showed up,” she says. “Eight. And to me, it felt enormous. Like something had shifted.”
At the time, Brock-Fabel was just 17 years old. What began as conversations on picnic blankets about loneliness, climate anxiety, identity and mental health has since grown into the South Australian Youth Forum – a youth-led organisation shaping public policy, contributing to national inquiries and presenting world-first research on youth loneliness on the global stage.
Four years later, the Forum has collaborated with universities, government departments and community organisations, representing South Australia at the United Nations Summit of the Future in New York.
Now aged just 21, Brock-Fabel was among the finalists recognised in the 2025 InDaily 40 Under 40 Awards, where she also received the Inspiring Female Leaders Award.
“When I found out I’d made the final 40, I was genuinely shocked,” she says. “I was only 20 years old at the time, and when I looked around the room at the incredible people there, I just kept thinking, ‘Surely not me yet’.”
Across South Australia, more young women are stepping into leadership positions in business, science, innovation and community impact – and increasingly, they are being recognised not as “young leaders” in waiting, but as leaders right now, bringing fresh perspectives, bold thinking and measurable impact.
For Katharina Richter, recognition through the 40 Under 40 Awards became an opportunity to amplify not only her own work, but also the urgent global issue at the centre of it.
A pharmacist, medical innovator and research leader at Adelaide University, Richter leads research tackling antimicrobial resistance and developing eco-friendly therapies to combat antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”.
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“I was genuinely shocked and quite emotional when I found out I’d made the final 40,” she says. “On top of that, I even won the Discovery Award! It was not something I took for granted at all.”
Richter established her own research group just 18 months after completing her PhD and has since secured around $10.5 million in competitive research funding, resulting in patents, clinical trials and commercial applications through start-up RIBU Plasma.
Yet despite those achievements, she says many women still struggle to fully own their success.
“I was nominated by Dr Tullio Rossi, a former 40 Under 40 winner, and other colleagues who believed my work and leadership story should be more visible outside the lab,” Richter says.
“Their encouragement was incredibly humbling, and it also reminded me how important it is for women to say ‘yes’ when others back us, instead of downplaying our achievements.”
For both Brock-Fabel and Richter, visibility is about far more than individual recognition.
“It is absolutely critical,” Richter says. “Visibility shapes what people believe is possible. When young women see someone who looks like them leading a lab, co-founding a start-up, raising children and winning national awards, it subtly rewrites their internal script about what they can aim for.”
Brock-Fabel agrees, saying young women often battle assumptions about age, emotion and credibility in leadership spaces.
“You walk into spaces filled with suits and titles and expertise, and sometimes you can feel yourself shrinking a little, wondering if people see you as capable or if they only see your age,” she says.
“And the truth is, as a young woman, there are still moments where you’re dismissed as too emotional, too sensitive, too young, too idealistic.”
But she believes recognition programs like 40 Under 40 help challenge those perceptions.
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“I think it’s incredibly important for young women to be recognised, not just because awards are exciting but because recognition creates visibility,” she says. “Visibility creates credibility. And credibility opens doors that too often feel closed to young women trying to build something meaningful.”
That visibility can also strengthen the organisations and causes behind the individuals being recognised.
Richter says the alumni experience has expanded opportunities for collaboration, commercialisation and science communication, helping her research reach millions globally.
“The alumni experience has amplified both my personal profile and the visibility of our work against superbugs,” she says.
Meanwhile, the recognition has helped Brock-Fabel validate youth-led work that is often underestimated. “Awards like this help signal that what young people are building is real, impactful, and worthy,” she says.
Beyond the recognition itself, both women say the broader 40 Under 40 community has been equally valuable.
Brock-Fabel describes the experience as a reminder that many South Australians are quietly creating meaningful change behind the scenes.
“There was something really grounding about being surrounded by motivated, generous, creative people who are all trying to leave South Australia a little better than they found it,” she says.“It made me feel really proud of our state.”
For Brock-Fabel, one of the most emotional moments of the Awards night came when receiving her award alongside her mother.
“She has always been the safest place in my life, so standing there receiving that award while looking over at her felt incredibly emotional, because in so many ways, she is my inspiring female leader,” she says.
Richter, who balances scientific leadership, entrepreneurship and raising a young family, hopes her story shows younger women they do not need to choose between ambition and personal life.
“I’m a wife, a mum, a lab head, a start-up co-founder and a mentor,” she says. “While the juggle is real, I want young women to see that it is possible to build a life that honours both your ambitions and your relationships.”
For Richter, the message to other women building careers, businesses and community initiatives is simple. “Please don’t wait until you feel ‘ready’, because that day never comes,” she says.
And for Brock-Fabel, the advice is equally simple: “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
Tickets for the 2026 InDaily 40 Under 40 SA Awards are on sale now.
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