Sonia Martin MACN

Executive Director and Founder One Bridge, ACN National Chair Street Health Faculty

Sonia Martin is a dedicated Registered Nurse with 30 years of experience working with vulnerable populations. Sonia’s journey began in 2018 when her passion to alleviate homelessness led her to establish a nationally award-winning street health outreach service. Leaving her public health sector job in 2018, she initiated change by providing healthcare from the back of a car, reaching those disengaged from healthcare for up to three decades. Sonia now continues her work with people experiencing poverty and homelessness in Australia through her incredibly impactful company, OneBridge.

As a recipient of the Dr Dorothea Sandars and Irene Lee Churchill Fellowship in 2022, Sonia’s global travels to India, France, Italy, the UK, the USA, and Canada in 2023 furthered her commitment to improving access to primary healthcare and palliative care for people facing homelessness and poverty. Sonia’s groundbreaking work has earned her the 2022 Outstanding Leadership Award in Entrepreneurship, the 2021 Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers, and Sonia is now the co-chair of the NIC International Committee and Regional Director of Australasia and Asia. At the Australian College of Nursing, Sonia is the Chair of the Street Heath Faculty, is an Executive Leadership Graduate, and is a recipient of the ACN Foundation’s Emerging Policy Leader scholarship, showcasing her dedication to healthcare innovation.

Sonia aims to amplify her influence through evidence-based research, identifying policy gaps, and engaging in advocacy on a national and global scale. Sonia’s trajectory as an influential advocate and expert aligns with her vision to shape the future of healthcare of Australia, bringing equity and access to vulnerable populations. Sonia leads nurses globally with compassion and inspires positive change in relation to health equity and access within the Australian healthcare landscape.