"I'm accepting the award on behalf of all community workers in the Illawarra," she said.

"I feel as though they all deserve an award... We all deserve the same credit I reckon."

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Barrack Heights' Ms Sattler, 64, is the project officer for women with disabilities and domestic and family violence at the Illawarra Women's Health Centre at Warilla.

She also works with refugee women.

Ms Sattler, who has been working in the community sector for nearly 40 years, was named the 2021 Shellharbour Local Woman of the Year by Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson on Wednesday.

Ms Sattler has been working at the Women's Health Centre since 2015, having initially moved to the Illawarra with plans to retire.

"I saw the job advertised and thought, 'oh, I could do that'," she said.

"You know you're making a difference every day, and you get to try new things."

Ms Watson said Ms Sattler was an "absolute true blue community activist and advocate, and an incredible woman".

The announcement took place at an International Women's Day event hosted by the Women's Health Centre. The event included a COVID-Safe outdoor market featuring stalls from local women, with the theme of reconnecting and rebuilding.

"The market is about helping women economically, by supporting their micro-businesses around stall-holding," Sally Stevenson, general manager of Illawarra Women's Health Centre said.

"Coming out of COVID, we wanted to reconnect women, because one of the big issues they had during last year was social isolation.

"So we thought this would be a great opportunity to rebuild those social connections, and get everyone comfortable and talking to each other again."

The day also featured live music from Michelle Cashman, and was hosted by comedian Madeleine Stewart.

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