Sheree Rubinstein Explained

Sheree Rubinstein is a former corporate lawyer and founder of One Roof Women, a hub for women in business. She is an entrepreneur and advocate for women's advancement in business leadership.

Career

Sheree graduated law school and was employed by one of Melbourne's top firms.[1] Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit[2] [3] combined with a desire to foster social enterprise, Rubinstein decided to leave the confines of her 'top tier' law firm for advocacy for women in business.[4] [5]

Establishment of One Roof

In 2015, Rubinstein joined with US based strategist, Gianna Wurzl[6] to found One Roof with bases in Melbourne and Los Angeles.[7] The early iteration of the One Roof model looked at conversions of under-used physical spaces, to transform them into shared work spaces supporting women in business.[8] [9] The intent was to combine traditional support such as networking,[10] events and workshops, and access to legal, finance, fundraising, and communications services,[11] with less traditional support such as yoga and meditation classes.[12] [13]

While the Los Angeles and Sydney branches transformed into virtual networks, not using physical space, the Melbourne branch, run by Sheree Rubinstein experienced enormous growth. In April 2016,[14] One Roof took over space in Southbank establishing dedicated office space as well as coworking space. One Roof estimates it has engaged 10,000 women, across four cities, and hosted over 500 workshops. Rubinstein continued her connection with the One Roof charity partner, SHE, run by Melbourne-based non-profit YGAP,[15] which seeks to foster female entrepreneurs via its accelerator programmes in Kenya, South Africa and Australia in a bid to improve the lives of women and girls.[16]

Awards and grants

In recognition of One Roof's contribution to women in business, Rubinstein won the 2016 Victorian Young Achievers Leadership Award[17] [18] and was nominated as one of Australia's top young innovators by The Foundation for Young Australians. In 2015, Rubinstein won a $10,000 seed grant from BASF[19] to drive innovation.

In October 2018 Rubinstein was named one of the Young Leaders in The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards.[20]

In 2022 Rubinstein was selected as a finalist in the 2022 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards.[21]

Notes and References

  1. News: Female entrepreneurs get their own pop-up co-working space – SmartCompany. 3 February 2015. SmartCompany. 2 May 2017.
  2. Web site: woman.com.au profile on Sheree Rubinstein.
  3. Web site: League of Extraordinary Women – Sheree Rubinstein. leagueofextraordinarywomen.com.au. 2 May 2017.
  4. News: Sheree Rubinstein . Victorian Women's Trust. 2 May 2017.
  5. News: The top 10 moments for Australian women in tech in 2015 – SmartCompany. 4 January 2016. SmartCompany. 2 May 2017.
  6. News: Women to co-work under One Roof. 27 October 2015. 2 May 2017.
  7. News: This new co-working space wants to encourage female startup founders. https://web.archive.org/web/20151014150951/http://www.businessinsider.com.au/new-coworking-space-wants-to-help-more-women-start-startups-2015-10. dead. 14 October 2015. Nicholas. Josh. 13 October 2015. Business Insider Australia. 2 May 2017.
  8. News: Women to co-work under One Roof. 27 October 2015. 2 May 2017.
  9. News: Meet the female entrepreneurs creating new ways to connect. 23 August 2016. The Weekly Review. 2 May 2017.
  10. News: E-Learning Makes Sense For Time-Poor Small Business Owners. Beattie. Andrea. 28 September 2016. HuffPost. 2 May 2017.
  11. Web site: RAISING THE CO-WORKING STANDARD. Business News Australia. 2 May 2017.
  12. Web site: Pop-up Coworking Space One Roof Hosts Women Entrepreneurs – Women in business, entrepreneurs, trailblazers and female founders. woman.com.au. 2 May 2017.
  13. Web site: RAISING THE CO-WORKING STANDARD. Business News Australia. 2 May 2017.
  14. Web site: From cannabis startups to surfers: Coworking spaces go more niche as the shared office market explodes. Zhao. Helen. 4 January 2017. HuffPost. 2 May 2017.
  15. Web site: FYA Welcome home. FYA. 2 May 2017.
  16. News: Los Angeles-Melbourne startup community unites with poverty-fighting accelerator to put more women in front of investors – SmartCompany. 12 December 2016. SmartCompany. 2 May 2017.
  17. News: Top accolade for TOM founder – The Australian Jewish News. 17 May 2016. The Australian Jewish News. 2 May 2017.
  18. Web site: Current Winners Awards Australia. www.awardsaustralia.com. 2 May 2017.
  19. Web site: BASF Grant.
  20. News: Women of Influence 2018 winner fights for recognition of Indigenous Australians. Patten. Sally. 2018-10-17. Australian Financial Review. 2018-10-18. en-US.
  21. Web site: 2022-09-06 . Announcing the exceptional finalists of the 2022 Women's Agenda Leadership Awards . 2023-04-14 . Women's Agenda . en-AU.