Standing Beside, Never Above: Terri Leotta Named JSP Mother of All Mothers 2026

Some women mother their own children with fierce love. Others extend that same care far beyond the walls of their home — into classrooms, communities, and quiet moments where someone needs to feel safe. Terri Leotta is the Mother of All Mothers not because of how many people she has supported, but because of how she has shown up — steadily, humbly, and without expectation of recognition.

Terri describes her life through a simple truth. “I stand on the shoulders of greatness,” she says. “My grandmother and mother were hands‑on, community‑focused legends. They set the perfect example for me.” From that foundation grew a lifelong commitment to nurturing, protecting and advocating for those who are vulnerable. “When women feel safe, supported and valued, they don’t just survive — they thrive,” Terri reflects. “To be trusted to stand beside them is a responsibility I hold with great humility.”

For more than three decades, Terri’s professional life centred on education. As a primary school teacher for 33 years — including 16 years as a Deputy Principal — her work extended well beyond curriculum. Child safeguarding, child protection, trauma‑informed practice and leadership were part of her everyday reality. “In all my work,” she says, “the question has always been: What’s best for the child?”

Early in her teaching career, Terri learned that care does not end at the classroom door. One of her first students — just seven years old — was battling leukaemia. “She remained dedicated to her schoolwork and always kept a brave smile in place,” Terri recalls. Supporting that child and her family marked the moment Terri realised teaching was about relationship as much as education. Later, when a young student lost their life in a farming accident, Terri found herself guiding her class through collective grief. “The student’s mother and I remained in contact for many years,” she says. “It’s been an honour to be included in their safe circle.”

Those experiences deepened her belief in partnership with parents, particularly mothers. “To empower mothers in that interaction is profound,” she explains. Through leadership, inclusive education, behaviour support and safeguarding roles — particularly during the upheaval of COVID‑19 — Terri navigated uncharted territory. “There was no example of what to say or how situations could be resolved,” she says. “I relied on further study, outreach to protection agencies, law enforcement, and listening deeply to those in need.”

Motherhood, for Terri, has never been limited to biology. She has fostered children, supported a domestic abuse survivor and her child into safe housing, and stood beside families through immigration, advocacy and profound uncertainty. “These experiences strengthened my belief that empowerment begins with feeling safe, heard and respected,” she says.

Service has always been woven into Terri’s life. As a young adult, she volunteered in special education settings and aged care, learned Auslan to communicate with a hearing‑impaired neighbour, and supported a paraplegic accident survivor through rehabilitation — later tutoring their child. In 2007, her values took root in the next generation when her eight‑year‑old son asked Santa for money to sponsor a child through World Vision. That request became a relationship, a journey, and eventually, a family trip to Thailand that changed their lives. “I felt compelled to do more,” Terri says.

That pull led her to Cambodia, where she volunteered as an English teacher and became acutely aware of the risks faced by vulnerable young girls. She continued to support the Helping Hands School through fundraising, advocacy and by selling handmade krama dolls in Australia to support women’s economic independence. “I also wanted my sons to truly understand empathy,” she says. “Not walking in someone else’s shoes — but taking off our own shoes and walking in their truth.”

Terri has been a founding volunteer with Orange Sky Laundry Mackay since its inception, supporting women and families experiencing homelessness. “It’s never just about washing clothes,” she explains. “It’s about listening without judgement and being the safe space where dignity is upheld.”

Her passion for care extends to the environment. For more than a decade, Terri has led Clean Up Australia initiatives, founded school “Eco Heroes,” and was selected to attend the Great Barrier Reef Experience — returning to help students create a reef‑protective innovation that won the Reef Guardian School 2024 Eco Challenge. “I believe in ‘caught, not taught,’” she says. “Empowering others by letting them experience impact.”

After 30 years and a secure leadership role, Terri chose change. “Complacency feels too risky,” she says. “I don’t know which day on earth will be my last.” Her transition to Happy Paws Happy Hearts brought together everything she values — inclusion, connection and wellbeing. Through animal‑assisted programs, Terri supports disadvantaged young people, veterans and community members to build trust, confidence and belonging. “Watching someone walk in unsure and slowly grow through connection with an animal is incredibly special,” she shares.

Alongside this, Terri facilitates workshops with Deb Rae Solutions, empowering women to identify their strengths and intrinsic value. “Often we hear, months later, about the changes they’ve made,” she says. “That’s extraordinary.”

Empowerment, for Terri, is deeply practical. “It’s helping someone realise they are far more capable than they think,” she says. “It’s not about giving answers, but helping people recognise the ones they already hold.” She is clear that this work requires self‑care. “I realised that as a mother, I’m not just a passenger — I’m flying the plane. I have to put my own oxygen mask on first.”

Terri speaks honestly about the challenges she has faced — infertility, grief, abuse, and complex medical and consequent social challenges for her child. “I won’t ever sit in silence again,” she says. “I learned my voice matters.” Building self‑worth was the hardest work, but also the most transformative. “There is tremendous power in taking the first terrifying step,” she reflects. “I know now that I’m strong enough and savvy enough to pivot. That’s empowerment.”

When Terri speaks about motherhood, her definition is expansive and inclusive. “Motherhood is sharing your courage, care and commitment without discrimination,” she says. “It is biological, professional, caregiving — and it is profound.”

As the 2026 Mother of All Mothers, Terri hopes her legacy is not perfection, but persistence. “The proof that solidarity matters,” she says. “That lifting each other up is far more powerful and soul‑satisfying than tearing each other down.”

And perhaps the clearest picture of who she is comes from her own reflection:

“The Mother of all Mothers is the one who shows up. Sometimes she shuts up. Sometimes she shouts out for those whose voices need to be heard. And always — always — she makes people feel safe, knowing she’s right beside them.”