7 Catherine Hughes

29, WA. FOUNDER,

LIGHT FOR RILEY CAMPAIGN.

In 2015, Catherine’s infant son, Riley, was one of the 250,000 children worldwide who die every year from whooping cough. Out of her grief came a determination to educate parents about the importance of vaccination during pregnancy. Catherine has raised more than $75,000 for research and donated over 100,000 vaccines to women in developing countries. “No babies have died in Australia from whooping cough since pregnancy vaccination was introduced,” she says.

Her goal is to establish the Immunisation Foundation of Australia to raise immunisation rates and educate parents.