Ms Leahy said there were "some amazing women" in the local and regional category with her, including Broken Hill advocate for sustainable farming, conservation and climate change action, Anika Molesworth; and Aboriginal artist, educator and cultural leader from Goondiwindi, Cheryl Mogg.

Ms Leahy said her addition to the list of 100 had come as a surprise, even though she knew of her nomination by a fellow businesswoman and former colleague from South Australia.

"Carmen Garcia runs a business called Community Corporate, and we worked together on a project here with the Yazidis refugees and getting them work with the Costa Group," Ms Leahy said.

Ms Leahy is now a category finalist and will head off to the gala awards night at Sydney on October 22, where category winners and an overall winner will be announced.

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With her law degree from UNE, Ms Leahy gained a background in federal government by working for 15 years in areas including immigration, law and also procurement law.

"I spent a lot of time in Canberra and during that time I suppose you pick up a lot of skills," she said.

But her advocacy work started only a few years ago, when her husband was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently died.

"During that time, I was an advocate for him. I was a patient advocate and I was an advocate for the health system in NSW," Ms Leahy said.

"Once the advocacy gene kicked in, I was on the road to doing the work that I now do."

Her passion for advocacy grew when she was appointed to the board of the National Rural Women's Coalition, and she described its evolution as a "bit of an organic development".

She grew to thrive on those issues surrounding rural and regional women, including health care, education and telecommunications access.

"As recently as last week, I was in Canberra talking to ministers about the Rural, Regional and Remote Coalition that I am a member of through the [NRWC].

"We were talking about better Internet access through Triple R Australia. So, I have been doing a lot of that sort of work in the background for many years."

Ms Leahy said the recognition gained by being included on this list was really special.

"When you're out in rural Australia, sometimes you might feel that your voice might not be heard," she said.

"So [there is] that amplification piece of getting our voices out there, and knowing that we can actually utilise being on a list like this.

"I always say, 'It's great to get a seat at the table, but now it's time to be heard' - that's been my motto throughout my life of advocacy."