Keren Franks, the founder of Young Leaders of Tasmania (YLOT), has been named the 2025 Local Hero for Tasmania.
Franks has dedicated several years to creating inclusive environments for young Tasmanians with disabilities, drawing inspiration from her daughter Bella’s experiences in school.
YLOT, established in 2017, runs programs that promote social role modelling, skill development and peer-to-peer interaction in both mainstream and support schools.
“When she was born I remember thinking I can’t do this,” Franks said on Wednesday evening.
“Watching her in primary school interact with her peers and sorry this is very overwhelming interact with her peers in her classroom was the reason we started Young Leaders of Tasmania.”
“We saw how much that influenced her peers their growth and their development blossomed just through working with Bella and they had no fear at that age.”
“They have no stigma of disability. Bella was just Bella and her magic and her influence on them really affected their lives.”
Through a buddy program, mainstream school students work one-on-one with high-needs students at the Southern Support School every two weeks.
Franks will represent Tasmania at the national awards ceremony on January 25, 2025.
Other finalists for the Local Hero award included conservationist and founder of the North East Bioregional Network Todd Dudley, fundraiser, blood and organ donor advocate Damien Green and Djuker Willis Hart, the founder of Hart Cultural Connections.
