About Me

Creating and developing new ways for young people to transition through school to work, is where a good chunk of my work has been invested, with emphasis on the important role of parents. I was a Ministerial Adviser appointment to the National Youth Career and Transitions Advisory Group, as the advocate for parents and the significant role they have in becoming good coaches for their young people, as they transition through school to work. Currently, I’m establishing education sites for young parents to return to complete their education and bring baby with them.

With 27 years experience in leadership, learning and development, strategic and project management in small business, higher education, not for profit, charitable, community, state & local government, I have honed my expertise in taking ideas/concepts to implementation and sustainability. With credibility and trust, I build and maintain relationships and networks among a diverse range of stakeholders with personal integrity and sound judgement. I competently undertake highly unstructured work, bringing facilitation skills, strong rational and emotional intelligence, a love of innovation and a good sense of humour to the table. I have a strong track record of creating practical solutions to complex problems.

I am also the Founder, Facilitator and Artful Gatherer of Happy Places & Co – an enterprise I created to make positive social connection easier for people to experience. Through hosting bespoke events that comprise food love and facilitated table conversation in beautiful places, I create spaces for people to connect that’s safe, warm and welcoming ~ when they leave, it’s with new pals, a happy heart and a full belly.

I am a self-taught cook, cake maker, baker, food grower and recipe creator, with a genuine knowing, that when people come together to share ideas about food or to cook and eat together, they feel better about themselves, because we are engineered for interaction, which is elusive for some people. My table (any table I’m hosting) is a special place because it’s not only holding us all together (in the physical sense) around it, it’s the place where we begin the process of enjoying good food, and this act of eating together, taps into our intrinsic human wiring. This is where my experience in facilitating groups gets into full swing. I’ve been bringing people together in creative ways for a long time.