Becky Felstead took home the Excellence in Mining award at the recent Women in Industry Awards in Melbourne.
The Women in Industry Awards returned in 2025 with renewed energy, spotlighting the women transforming Australia’s industrial sectors through leadership, innovation, and advocacy.
Held on July 19 at the Carousel in Melbourne, the event brought together the finalists, along with industry leaders and supporters to celebrate achievements across mining, manufacturing, energy, logistics, and engineering.
Among the night’s standout moments was the announcement of Becky Felstead as the winner of the Excellence in Mining category.
Felstead was recognised for her outstanding contribution to mental health, inclusion, and workplace culture through her work with Strong Minds, Strong Mines.
A passionate wellness facilitator and program coordinator, the trailblazer has become a driving force for change across Western Australia’s mining industry.
Over the past year alone, she has visited more than 45 sites, conducted over 300 presentations, and reached upwards of 20,000 workers across the sector.
Felstead’s work spans far beyond traditional training, having focused on tailored mental health programs, trauma-informed leadership workshops, and site-specific cultural initiatives.
Felstead is changing the way mining companies address psychological safety and team wellbeing. She has partnered with major players such as Silver Lake Resources, Fortescue, Westgold, AngloGold Ashanti, Macmahon, BHP Rail, and Bellevue Gold.
What sets Felstead’s work apart is a deeply personal approach grounded in lived experience, practical implementation, and evidence-based strategy. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, Felstead designs programs that meet the unique needs of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) and drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) workforces, from people in shift crews to members of senior management.
Initiatives include wellness champion training, respectful workplace campaigns, and wellness check-in kiosks that support anonymous digital feedback.
Companies have reported a measurable improvement in outcomes at multiple mine sites, with one gold operation seeing a 30 per cent drop in workplace bullying and harassment within three months of implementing a program. Another mine site reported a 42 per cent increase in the use of its Employee Assistance Program following a rollout of training.
As the host of The Resource Podcast, Felstead has also brought open, honest conversations about mental health, bullying, and workplace trauma to a wider audience.
The podcast, which is now used in induction programs across several mining companies and attracts more than 10,000 listeners each month, was recently named a finalist at the Australian Podcast Awards, further cementing its role in raising awareness and driving cultural change.
Felstead’s influence is not confined to current workforces. Through the Strong Minds, Strong Schools program, she engages with high school students in mining regions such as Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
By teaching resilience, boundaries, and emotional intelligence, she is helping to prepare the next generation of workers for respectful and mentally healthy workplaces.
In schools at which the program has been delivered, over 95 per cent of participants have reported greater confidence in seeking help and a stronger understanding of respectful relationships.
Felstead also works with companies undergoing cultural transformation, providing strategic guidance on gender inclusion, flexible work practices, and psychosocial risk management.
At one mining operation, female participation in safety meetings rose by 60 per cent after the introduction of the Respect is Safety initiative.
Felstead mentors more than 30 facilitators and wellness coordinators across Western Australia, expanding her reach and embedding long-term change in the sector.
Other finalists for the 2025 Excellence in Mining Award included Amanda Mitchell of Outliers Mining Solutions, Brooke Adamson from Newmont, Leanne Brock of AMETS, and Lisa Gibbons of Southern Cross Gold.
Each nominee brought unique strengths to the category, representing the diversity and talent that is helping reshape the future of mining.
Yet it was Felstead’s far-reaching impact, from boardrooms to break rooms, that set her apart.
Felstead is not only breaking down stigma but building the structures needed for real, sustainable change.
Through Strong Minds, Strong Mines and her broader advocacy, Felstead is redefining leadership in mining, one conversation, one site, and one worker at a time.
This feature appeared in the July 2025 issue of Australian Mining.
