Of the influential women nominated, STEPS’ General Manager of SEE and AMEP, Cassie Stanley, was one of the Women’s Recognitions award nominees. This inspirational nomination recognised Cassie’s continued support and dedication in her role with STEPS Group Australia and her engagement throughout the greater Cairns community.

Despite not receiving the award, Cassie was honoured to have been nominated for this award, stating, “I feel grateful and privileged to have been nominated for the Cairns Regional Council International Women’s Day Recognition Award. The nomination was an honour, considering the many talented and passionate women nominated. I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the winners today. It is truly inspiring to see such positive recognition and celebration of women happening across the region,” Cassie said.

Accompanying Cassie on the day were two of our influential AMEP students who have consistently strived to make positive contributions throughout their time in the AMEP, helping spearhead initiatives supporting our students and the greater Cairns community, Gloria and Mary.

We appreciate the robust and influential women who have made a difference in the lives of many others and work to uphold the daily values that International Women’s Day stands for.

What is your role at STEPS? What is a typical day?
I am a communications officer at STEPS. Usually the first thing I do when I come in is check my emails and Facebook, and check the posts from the previous day. Then I plan and prioritise my day from there. I would say half my week is social media focused while the other is more writing stories for our blogs, helping to put together newsletters and creating copy for documents.

How did you come to work at STEPS?
I found out about the role from a job website and I knew it would be really cool and it was really in line with what I wanted to do. I knew that this was the type of work I wanted to do and it was also based on the Sunshine Coast, which is where I wanted to be. At the time I was on holidays on the Canary Islands, we had really good Wi-Fi but I only had my phone. I tried to apply for this job but for some reason it wasn’t letting me. So I found the right person to contact and sent an email saying I really wanted this job. I was told to email my resume but I had no resume with me, so I had to type it all out on my phone.

[mk_blockquote style=”quote-style” font_family=”none” text_size=”12″ align=”left”]What has surprised me most is the determination of the people here at STEPS.[/mk_blockquote]

What do you enjoy most about your job, why?
My job is a really good combination of things that I am good at, things I enjoy doing, and things that I want to be good at doing. I really like that the role allows me to learn as well, it makes my job interesting as I’m not just doing things I know. The social media side of the job is always interesting because there is always something new to wrap your head around.

What do you wish people knew about marketing and communications?
One of the simple things that could help a lot of people if they wanted to do some marketing themselves is to have consistency within communications, within writing, and have good grammar. I think those small things really matter.

What are you doing when you’re not working?
I like to always keep exploring, I am quite a traveller at heart. I like going to the beach, or finding a new place to go walking or climb a mountain.

Who are you most glad to have met and why?
It would have to be Mel, our design and communication coordinator, she has just been so helpful from day one. She is always happy to answer all of my questions and has helped me understand things. She also travels as well, so she is good to chat with. She is also really knowledgeable about programs and websites, so slowly I try to learn what she knows and pick up her tips and tricks.

What has surprised you most about working for STEPS?
What has surprised me most is the determination of the people here at STEPS. To get STEPS Pathways College up and running must have taken a lot of persistence and passion and it’s only going to continue to grow.

My other role is as Program Coordinator of the the Care for Carers program.  I have the joy of working with a terrific team and I love meeting Carers across the 10 towns that we travel to in the Wide Bay.  We joke about getting to see all the exotic locations to like Gin Gin, Kingaroy, Monto and Gympie to host Carer groups, not to mention the occasional lunch on the waterfront at Hervey Bay after the group there.  I work with a terrific team and we have developed many innovative extensions to the original program in response to the Carers needs and we look forward to growing the program to reach even more Carers in the future.

I am quite passionate about working with people on a personal level and have co-written a series of workshops based on recognising emotional energy, burnout and boundaries and I know that I have learned as much, if not more than the people I work with. The knowledge I have gained in my role has actually improved my personal relationships with both friends and family.