Sonia Martin MAICD MACN RN

CEO & Cofounder

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, Dr Nova Evans, 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 service named Sunny Street, and started providing healthcare from the back of a car boot. Today Sunny Street is a national award winning health service. Since 2018, Sunny Street has had over 30,000 conversations and consultations with vulnerable Australians.

During the COVID pandemic, Sunny Street also set up a mobile COVID clinic providing testing and vaccinations for over 80,000 Australians.

Sonia Martin holds a Degree in Health Science and has been a Registered Nurse for 30 years. In 2022, Sonia was successful in receiving the prestigious Churchill Fellowship to study accessible and equitable primary and palliative healthcare alternatives internationally. Sonia was also the recipient of the 2022 national Outstanding Leadership Award in Entrepreneurship, and the Sunny Street service also won the Australian Women’s Small Business Awards. 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 primary healthcare space for vulnerable populations.