The Roots of Connection and Creativity

I was born in Tasmania and spent my earliest years on a farm, raised by my immigrant mother from Hamburg, Germany, and my father, a cattle farmer from King Island. My parents and grandparents, who worked hard on the land, and in family businesses, instilled in me the values of nature connection, creativity and entrepreneurialism. The move to Melbourne to take over the family cake-making business, Rose Marie Cakes, brought turbulence—my parents' divorcing and my mother's struggle with generational trauma from post-war Germany. In reflection, it feels like most of my life has been a journey to get back to that earliest, land-based life. In my new project, I look forward to helping connect our diverse and vibrant city of Melbourne with the experience of small scale organic farming and nature connected living and leadership at The Eco Retreat. 

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​​Finding Presence and Purpose

My mother, involved in psychology and neuroscience research at Swinburne University, introduced me to meditation and Jung in my early twenties, sparking my interest in deeper, ancestral self-understanding. Since then, I’ve explored Western philosophy, history and psychology, the goddess religions, eco-feminism and women's spirituality of Old Europe. I have facilitated a women's circle for a decade, weaving in many of these themes and exploring how to bring the ancient earth-based wisdom of Old Europe to our modern lives as female leaders. Both my grandmothers were creative practitioners; I continue to paint on her easel and treasure the folksy textiles I've inherited from my ancestors. Through my own creative arts practice at the studio, I explore cultural and nature themes through painting, sculpture, textile and earth-based materials.

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In my early twenties, I traveled west along the coastline of Australia, making it as far as Darwin. Spending time with remote Indigenous communities in Fitzroy Crossing, Katherine, and Shady Camp, I fell in love with the spirit of Country and I witnessed initiation ceremony—a pivotal experience that deepened my awareness of what true belonging looked like.

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I've had a long journey, studying contemplative practice and the Eastern philosophy of my children's paternal lineage.​ Finding authenticity in teaching mindfulness that is embedded in a 30-year practice and training in the international gold-standard, evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). I draw from Zen, Tibetan and Insight meditation (Vipassana) with decades of silent retreat experience. I’m currently undertaking Dharma teacher training in the Western Insight Meditation tradition. I have been fortunate to teach mindfulness in leadership and the community.

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Wholeness in Complexity

My career path has been driven by a desire to bring heart and wisdom into the world of work. Always a creative, I founded several businesses in creative production, coaching, and mindfulness (including Melbourne Coach and Artists on Location). I formalised this expertise with a Coaching and Counselling degree (ACAP) and ICF certification, integrating these skills with mindfulness to create a framework to take people on transformative journeys. More recently I am focusing my coaching on purpose-led leaders helping transform the world of work to support a more life-sustaining culture.

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I have facilitated hundreds of events in corporate workplaces, education, allied health and the community as well as private practice coaching and counselling. After working at all levels of organisation—from coaching executive leaders of large corporations to providing well-being counseling in the public and private sector—I observed a crucial pattern: many successful professionals feel profoundly disconnected from nature and other parts of life like creativity, some are burning out. The sense of fragmentation is the great sickness of our culture and our technology is mostly compounding the isolation. My training in Ecopsychology supports a social approach to cultural healing that doesn't pathologise the individual human condition, leading me to focus on weaving a community and environmentally centred growth, joy and leadership, supporting people's wellbeing, creativity and personal development. This is about not just surviving but thriving.

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​Life-Sustaining Systems and Global Hope

By bringing mindfulness, insight, systems thinking, compassion, creativity, and nature wisdom to my leadership programs, my work aims to empower you to be more eco-centric and connected to the wider web of life in your career, community, business and home. I support leaders who are globally aware and interested in creating "islands of sanity," locally in community and in their organisations. Those working to build a more life-sustaining world that actively supports us to rise to the challenges of our time with clarity, strength, moral imagination, creativity, joy and collective purpose and action.

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Life as an Adventure, Lived Joyfully

Life continues to be an adventure. My family life—raising four daughters and supporting my husband's executive leadership journey as a co-founder of a successful global sustainability technology company—has profoundly shaped my perspective on ethical leadership, work-life balance and purpose. I'm a bi-racial mother and proud parent. From teaching English in a Buddhist temple in Japan to sailing the Whitsundays and crewing on a tall ship I have had a diverse life experience. We are now planning our next chapter—beginning a land-based project in 2026 on the Surf Coast—my journey embodies the mindfulness I teach. I am currently learning about small-scale organic farming and establishing an eco retreat while continuing my creative arts practice exploring eco-feminism and working on a community leadership project. I’m privileged to still wake up feeling incredibly grateful and energised for the opportunity to serve both people and the planet. I continue to offer a small boutique consultancy and leadership coaching program in Glen Iris, Melbourne, helping you create your vision with wholeness. In late 2026 I hope to offer small weekend retreats on the Surf Coast Victoria.