Blowing out someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine any brighter
Debbie Lee is an AFL pioneer, advocate and champion for women in sport, and a proven change agent who played a key role in revolutionising the AFL game through the establishment and growth of AFLW, expanding access to the game for half the population.
She is a senior leader with a strong track record of driving organisational, cultural and leadership change, building high-performance environments, and creating conditions in which individuals and teams can thrive and perform at their best.
Operating within a traditionally male-dominated industry, Debbie is recognised for challenging established systems, shifting mindsets, and leading transformational change. She was the first woman inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, recognising her outstanding contribution to the game and industry.
Her expertise extends beyond sport into leadership, entrepreneurship, and social impact, with a focus on developing inclusive, high-performing environments that translate across sport, business, and community.
Beyond her AFL leadership roles, Debbie is an AFLW, Fox Sports commentator, bringing insight, energy and authority to national audiences and translating sport and leadership into engaging, accessible conversations.
She is co-founder of Belong & Bloom, an inclusive, purpose-led brand inspired by her daughter, created to promote belonging, awareness, and acceptance for children and families navigating neurodiversity. She is also part-owner of The W Club, Australia’s first dedicated venue celebrating women’s sport, designed to elevate visibility, connection, and community engagement.
Debbie is co-creator of The Allow Podcast, focused on mindset, growth, and empowering women to move beyond barriers and take meaningful action in their lives.
A mother of two, Debbie brings a grounded, real-life perspective to leadership, inclusion, and resilience. An authentic and engaging speaker, she draws on lived experience across elite sport, leadership, entrepreneurship, business and family life to challenge thinking, inspire action, and deliver meaningful and lasting impact.
Talking Points
Building What Doesn't Exist Yet Change, disruption, and bringing people with you
Debbie Lee knows what it takes to change a system from the inside. As a key architect of the AFLW, she helped drive one of the most significant structural and cultural transformations in Australian sporting history, not by waiting for permission, but by building the case, holding the line, and doing the work over time. What made it possible wasn't just strategy. It was authenticity. Debbie unpacks how the most effective change leaders bring people with them by being consistent, staying grounded in their values, and leading in a way that is real and recognisable. When people trust who you are, they trust where you are taking them.Building What Doesn't Exist Yet Change, disruption, and bringing people with you
Key Takeaways
- How to build internal support for change that challenges the status quo
- How to sustain momentum when progress is slow or contested
- How to bring people with you through authentic, values-led leadership
Opening Doors, Building Rooms Social impact, belonging, and creating environments where people thrive
The thread running through everything Debbie Lee has done is a commitment to opening doors that weren't open before. From founding Belong & Bloom to building The W Club, her work extends well beyond sport. It sits at the intersection of community, inclusion, and the belief that belonging isn't a soft outcome. It is a structural one. This Keynote explores what it takes to challenge what exists, create opportunity where there was none, and build environments where people can genuinely thrive. Debbie draws on her experience as a social entrepreneur, advocate, and community builder to show what happens when you go against the grain with clarity of purpose and consistency of character.Opening Doors, Building Rooms Social impact, belonging, and creating environments where people thrive
Key Takeaways
- Why belonging is a design problem, not a culture problem, and what that means in practice
- How to challenge existing norms and create opportunity without losing the people around you
- What it takes to build something inclusive that lasts beyond the initial push for change
Video
Debbie Lee | Hall of Fame | Saxton Speakers
In 2021, Debbie Lee made history. She became the first woman ever inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. In this video, Daisy Pearce, Sam Mostyn and others reflect on what that induction meant. Not just as an honour, but as a marker of everything Debbie spent three decades building. 302 games. Five best and fairest medals. Six All-Australian selections. And, more than any statistic, the AFLW competition itself. Debbie did not wait for an invitation. She created the conditions for one. Her advocacy, her leadership and her refusal to accept the limits placed on women in sport changed what Australian football looks like today. As a Keynote Speaker, Debbie brings that same clarity to the stage. Her talks on leadership, culture change, resilience and driving inclusion in male-dominated industries give audiences something practical to take back into their own organisations. To enquire about booking Debbie Lee for your next event, visit: https://www.saxton.com.au/speakers/debbie-leeDebbie had the audience feeding out of her hand from the moment she began. Her style is funny, authentic, and deeply relatable, creating instant connection in the room. She delivered an enga ... keep reading Tennis Australia
Thank you for speaking to the Women in Leadership cohort 2025. Your authentic, values driven leadership and powerful career stories were deeply inspiring. Participants described the session as ‘relatable. real. really cool,’ ‘so inspiring,’ and ‘incredible speaker.’ Many shared how valuable it was to hear your insights, with comments such as ‘thank you for your candour and advice’ and appreciation for your openness, passion, and practical guidance. You were seen as engaging, relatable, and trailblazing role models helping shape the future of women in sport.
Debbie is a storyteller, and her presence is naturally engaging and empowering, lifting those around her. Her story is one of drive, passion, courage, and success, delivered with absolute humility. Debbie’s ability to authentically deliver a clear message created a truly captivating presentation, our crowd of 300 were left hanging on every single word. This presentation was exactly what we were after, and we have received outstanding reviews from our audience.
