A curious human tackling the urgent ideas our world needs to flourish.
I'm a storyteller with a background in teaching English literature, a communications strategist with a passion for human-centred content, and a change specialist who has shaped education design projects for underserved communities. Underneath it all is the kid who was always in trouble for talking too much, shouting out answers, and demanding to know 'but why?'. I'm still asking 'why' today - but now I'm working with purpose-led people to rewrite the answers when we can see that they simply aren't good enough. I work with people and organisations who are tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time, like the future of digital and learning, plastic-free living, structural inequality, and toxic masculinity. My storytelling workshops and community project - A Year of Radical Thinking - open minds and hearts, and amplify the voices we need to hear more of.
The people's storyteller
I’ve always been a dobber when I see injustice, so I pledge to always do good business with you (and to help you uphold your integrity as a business owner and professional in every brand and marketing move you make).
Along with a bunch of honest marketers from around the globe, I’ve signed up to the principles of The Ethical Move.
Once upon a time...
The Beginning
I wrote books as a kid and dreamed of being a writer ‘when I grew up’. I helped my Dad in his work as a youth leader and was full of ideas for changing the world.
I found myself a small fish in a big pond when I moved to the city for a journalism degree. It was the first knock to my confidence. A sociology subject made me doubt my intentions further. As a journalist, I risked becoming part of a world that used language to disempower, divide and dispossess.
I switched to a teaching degree (after failing to get into scriptwriting), graduated, and taught history and English lit to teens. I spent my days immersed in the writing of other people.
The Middle
I moved to London and was continually drawn to roles where I worked with people who were leaving their mark on the world: writers, artists, architects, and philosophers.
I ran networking events for children’s book writers and wrote design briefs for visionary new school buildings. I co-curated an Australian-New Zealand literature festival, drafted a novel and scored an agent.
With each new position, I reinvented myself and brought in fresh ideas from previous experiences. I developed resilience and got used to facing uncertainty with a brave face (and a little anxiety on the inside!).
But I was always juggling storytelling with full-time work. I could never commit to immersing myself in writing, or following my real dream to be a leader who inspired purposeful change for others.
The Conflict
When I returned to Australia after 12 years abroad, I began to find my voice. First a marketing role with a school, then a university and a design college. I was writing at last – even if I was using other brand’s voices.
I began to speak at conferences about the brand storytelling system I’d designed. People approached me for advice. I saw a glimpse of another life as a writer, storyteller and mentor.
But my fear made me let it go. I shifted to another full time role. Writing, again, but this time in finance. I was a person wanting to challenge, change, shake up the status quo, be experimental and creative. But my lack of courage led me to tie my own hands by working in a place I didn’t quite fit.
When my contract wrapped up just after COVID hit in March 2020, I realised none of us had anything to lose. It was finally time to take a risk. I launched The Storytelling Business and began offering marketing services to female-owned businesses. Gradually, I had the confidence to shed most of my services and focus on my true calling – leadership through story. Finally, I believed in myself.
The End (but really, the new beginning)
The Storytelling Business has evolved since its earliest days into a vehicle to help others create change. Change in mindsets. Change in communities. Change in our social fabric.
We cannot change ourselves – and find our stories – without being elevated beyond the ordinary. My workshops are therefore interactive, hands-on and imaginative. People re-capture a little of the adventurous, uncensored spirit they had as kids. And the stories emerge – stilted at first, and then with more confidence.
Today, I am incredibly privileged to be working alongside passionate, visionary leaders. People who are investing in their people. People who are offering a platform for diverse or marginalised voices to be heard. People who are challenging the systems that hold so many back. People who are reinventing what it means to connect, love, design, build and be.
It’s our time to reclaim our voice and change the world for the better!