Shanna Whan named Marie Claire’s Advocate of the Year

Maules Creek resident and founder of national charity Sober in the Country, Shanna Whan, was among the women honoured at Marie Claire Australia’s Women of the Year awards.

Mrs Whan was named the magazine’s Advocate of the Year at a red carpet event in Sydney last week.

The awards were started by the magazine two years ago “to champion those forging new futures in Australia”.

The magazine described the award winners as “the game-changers who’ve led with passion, fought with bravery and inspired us all”.

The honour comes in a phenomenal year for Mrs Whan and Sober in the Country, after she was named Australia’s Local Hero in this year’s Australian of the Year awards.

After overcoming her own lifelong battle with trauma-linked alcohol addiction in 2015, Mrs Whan vowed to step up and ‘do what she could with what she had’ to be part of the change that was so clearly and so desperately needed.

Her work has since evolved into a nationally respected grassroots organisation changing and saving lives and preventing generational harm.

Sober in the Country is a grassroots not-for-profit leading radical change and social impact across rural Australia by changing the narrative around booze in the bush through straight-talk, powerful lived-experience advocacy, and the #OK2SAYNO movement.

Mrs Whan was also among a small group of Australians to represent the nation at the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Mrs Whan thanked Marie Claire for putting Sober in the Country’s conversations and advocacy onto the national stage.

“What a way to wrap up a year that has been truly phenomenal and beyond expectation at every turn,” Mrs Whan said in a social media post.

“It was my honour to attend and accept this award, with my husband (Tim) by my side, and to then be able to share the great news with the Sober in the Country community – and I’ll forever be so very thankful that you chose me/us as the Advocate of the Year.”

The winners were selected from a panel that boasted Australian actress Rose Byrne, prominent Australian chef Kylie Kwong, media identity Melissa Doyle as well as Christine Holgate, Tanya Plibersek, Nakkiah Lui, Madison de Rozario, Chantelle Otten and Marie Claire Australia editor Nicky Briger.