Hospitality "heartist" creating stepping stones to success for refugee and migrant women Vanessa Brettell: visitor economy profile

Vanessa Brettell what is your role and what you do??I am the cofounder?of Stepping Stone | Social Enterprise Cafe where I run and manage the operations of a hospitality business that provides training and employment to migrant and refugee women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. As a small business, my role encompasses nearly all of its tasks: from accounting to marketing, from HR to waitressing, from government relations to food preparation and delivery of catering. [Stepping Stone is an art café in a historical location providing sustainable, vegetarian food that everyone can enjoy with reportedly excellent coffee and chai.]

Where are you from??I was born and raised in Canberra (Ngunnawal and Ngambri country).

How long have you worked in the visitor economy? Nearly 15 years (since I was 15 years old).

What’s your fondest memory of/what you enjoy most about working in the visitor economy??Improving the experience of those visiting the place, making it a memorable time. Also, the variety of people that you get to meet and talk to. We were lucky enough?to have a group of climate activists frequent our cafe, they became dear friends and together we hosted a variety of trainings, workshops and public events.

What are you looking forward to and why? Increase in tourism, both domestically and internationally,?to Canberra and bringing people out to explore and discover the less known parts of the region.

THRIVE 2030 has three themes: collaborate, modernise and diversify. Can you tell us what you’re doing in these three areas to improve our visitor economy growth, quality and sustainability??Modernise - I think of this word in terms of innovation, which not only looks towards the future but also looks into the past and takes learnings from Indigenous cultural knowledge that understand the best way to live sustainably.

Diversify - Diversity is something Stepping Stone celebrates through our inclusive employment model of hiring only migrant and refugee women. The women who work with us come from many different parts of the world and they all bring their unique experiences to the business. We aim to include the staff in the decisions and direction of growth of the business.

Collaborate - Stepping Stone collaborates as widely and deeply as possible with organisations in Canberra and Australia that have similar values.

What’s your best tip, advice, or lesson learned for the visitor economy right now? If it's not good for the planet, it's not good for humanity.

How are you innovating to account for your workforce challenges??We employ people with no previous experience and hire irrespective of qualifications and level of English; instead we look at attitude and willingness to learn. The rest can be taught. We provide on-the-job training to develop skills and knowledge.?

What essential goes in your suitcase when travelling for business beyond your phone charger? Swimmers, a yoga mat, a good book and something to paint or draw with.

Tell us how you work with First Nations’ people and business? Stepping Stone | Social Enterprise Cafe prioritises working with and buying from Indigenous-owned businesses. We recognise their ongoing connection to the land, that which was never ceded, and hope to celebrate and share their culture and knowledge where appropriate.?

What improvements are you making to ensure your business/activity is more inclusive and accessible for travelers with disability, different language and cultural backgrounds? We aim to include those with diverse needs, cultures and identities by creating a variety of experiences that people can enjoy, for example different types of meals. We have over 10 different languages spoken in our staff team that could assist with customers who struggle with English.?

What is your dream/recommended location (where, what specifically and why) in Australia for:

-????Hosting a team building event? - Wollongong region?

-????Holiday with family - Whitsunday islands, on a yacht spending the days exploring, snorkeling and swimming?

-????Sporting or cultural festival - Sydney - Mardi Gras?

-????Experiencing nature and First Nations’ culture - NT: Jatbula Trail

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Connect with Vanessa Brettell on LinkedIn and please read and share our previous Visitor Economy profiles of Vaycayit's Hailey Brown and Lisa McEwan, Hotel Etico's Co-founder and CEO?Andrea Comastri, Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Assoc GM?Kristy Ahrens,??Queensland Airports Limited CEO?Amelia Evans, Executive Director of the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia?Nicola Craddock, Outdoors NSW & ACT CEO?Lori Modde, Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari Owner?Tony Coppins, Executive Chair, Australian Chamber – Tourism?John Hart, Indigenous program manager?Sharon Ninyette, TAFE business development manager?Paula Meyer, tourism survey manager?Bode Ten Buuren,?regional tourism leader?Coralie Bell, accessible tourism operator and advocate?James "Buck" McFarlane, international education expert?Karyn Kent?and Aboriginal tourist operator?Juan Walker.??

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