Sonia Martin

Powered by a passion to increase connectivity and decrease stigma around homelessness, Sonia Martin had a vision to step up and tackle homelessness head on, providing access to quality healthcare for thousands of vulnerable Australians. In 2018, Sonia had a dream to take healthcare to the streets. Sonia sat with people on the streets who had been disengaged from healthcare for up to 30 years, listening to their stories and their worries. She was struck by the loneliness of people sleeping rough and doing it tough. Alongside her business partner at the time, she decided to begin to change the lives of thousands of Australians by setting up a simple nursing kit, writing up policies and procedures for a street health service named Sunny Street and started providing healthcare from the back of a car boot. Sonia now continues her work increasing health equity and access with vulnerable populations in Australia through her own company, OneBridge.

Sonia Martin holds a Degree in Health Science and has been a Registered Nurse working with vulnerable populations for 30 years. In 2022, Sonia was the recipient of the national Outstanding Leadership Award in Entrepreneurship in 2022. In 2021, Sonia was the winner of the Health Minister's Nursing Trailblazer Award in Australia, and was nominated as Australian of the Year in 2022 and 2020. She has always felt driven to help others and through her nursing career she has been successful in accomplishing this humanitarian goal. Sonia is a courageous leader inspiring generations of women and nurses as she continues to pave the way in healthcare innovation, positively affecting the Australian healthcare landscape, and leading with a philosophy of kindness. Sonia is passionate about learning, collaborating and innovating in the Australian primary healthcare space for vulnerable populations.