A different kind of professional profile
Most professional profiles tell you where someone has worked.
This page is about what life has taught me.
Over the past thirty years I’ve worked across hospitality, tourism, aviation, insurance, local government and technology. I’ve led teams, solved operational problems, supported customers through difficult moments and helped people grow into roles they never thought possible.
Alongside my professional career came another education—one I never expected.
Long-term caregiving. Grief. Burnout. Complex PTSD. Moral injury. Rebuilding health. Learning to live more slowly and more intentionally.
Those experiences changed not only how I see the world, but how I understand people.
This isn’t a résumé.
It’s a blueprint of the capabilities, perspectives and values I’ve developed through both professional leadership and lived experience.
If you’re wondering whether I’d be a good fit for your organisation, community or project, this is where I’d encourage you to begin.
Professional Journey
Hospitality & Tourism
1992 – 1998
Organisations
- Pizza Hut
- Novotel Northbeach
- Lizard Island Resort
My career began in hospitality, where I discovered that exceptional service has very little to do with serving meals or checking guests into rooms.
It begins with understanding people.
Working in one of Australia’s premier island resorts exposed me to an incredibly diverse clientele—from tradespeople enjoying a holiday through to business leaders, celebrities and international guests.
Regardless of who stood in front of me, one principle remained the same:
Everyone deserves to feel welcomed, respected and genuinely cared for.
Living on remote Lizard Island for almost two years also taught me resilience, teamwork and the unique strength of small communities where everyone contributes.
Capabilities Developed
- Exceptional customer service
- Building rapport across diverse backgrounds
- Working with high-profile and international guests
- Remote community living
- Team collaboration
- Adaptability
- Operational flexibility
- Attention to detail
Operations, Contact Centres & Leadership
1999 – 2023
Industries
- Insurance
- Aviation
- Local Government
- Technology
Organisations
- FAI Insurance
- Allianz
- SWISS International Air Lines
- Brisbane City Council
- Apple
Over the following twenty-four years I built my career across customer operations before progressing into leadership.
The final chapter of this journey saw me leading a fully virtual team of more than 150 people while working remotely for over a decade.
Technology made the work possible.
Trust made the leadership possible.
Throughout these years I learned that leadership isn’t about directing people.
It’s about creating environments where people feel safe enough to perform at their best, confident enough to grow, and supported enough to ask for help when they need it.
Capabilities Developed
- Operational leadership
- Leading distributed teams
- Workforce planning
- Coaching and mentoring
- Customer experience
- Stakeholder engagement
- Crisis management
- Executive communication
- Strategic planning
- Performance management
- Process improvement
- Change leadership
- Remote work leadership
- Building psychologically safe teams
Recovery, Reflection & Research
2023 – Present
This has been the most unexpected—and perhaps the most important—chapter of my life.
Following burnout, grief, Complex PTSD and moral injury, I stepped away from traditional employment.
Rather than viewing recovery as time away from work, I approached it as a period of learning.
I became curious.
What actually helps people heal?
Why do some environments leave us exhausted while others help us thrive?
How do ordinary routines quietly rebuild lives?
The Way Home Project grew from these questions.
It has become an ongoing exploration of sustainable wellbeing, human connection and what allows people to flourish after adversity.
My daily life has become both practice and research—testing routines, observing what works, documenting what doesn’t, and discovering that healing rarely comes from dramatic breakthroughs.
It usually grows through consistency.
One ordinary day at a time.
Areas of Ongoing Learning
- Sustainable wellbeing
- Trauma-informed thinking
- Burnout recovery
- Psychological safety
- Community connection
- Habit design
- Systems thinking
- Human-centred environments
- Reflective practice
- Storytelling
- AI-assisted reflective learning
Community Contribution
Giving back has always been important to me.
While rebuilding my own life, I’ve continued looking for opportunities to contribute to the lives of others.
Pyjama Angel
Supporting children through reading, learning and encouragement.
Helping build confidence one conversation at a time.
Australian Red Cross
Volunteer Coordinator supporting Emergency Services Volunteers and the communities they serve.
These roles continue a theme that has followed me throughout my career:
Helping people feel supported when life becomes difficult.
What I’ve Learned
Looking back across three decades, I’ve realised that my greatest strengths aren’t found in job titles.
They’re found in patterns.
I naturally gravitate towards environments where people need clarity, calm and connection.
The capabilities I’ve developed include:
- Seeing systems rather than isolated problems
- Remaining calm during uncertainty
- Building trust through consistency
- Listening before solving
- Coaching through curiosity
- Leading with empathy and accountability
- Creating psychologically safe environments
- Communicating complex ideas simply
- Balancing operational thinking with human needs
- Designing sustainable ways of working and living
- Building meaningful relationships across diverse communities
What Interests Me Today
The next chapter of my life isn’t about climbing another corporate ladder.
It’s about meaningful contribution.
I’m particularly interested in opportunities involving:
- Community wellbeing
- Volunteer organisations
- Recovery and rehabilitation
- Mental health advocacy
- Museums and education
- Animal-assisted wellbeing
- Storytelling
- Public speaking
- Mentoring
- Human-centred service design
- Community engagement
Whether those opportunities are paid or voluntary matters less to me than whether they make a genuine difference.
My Philosophy
I no longer believe extraordinary lives are built through extraordinary moments.
I believe they’re built through ordinary moments repeated consistently.
A sunrise before work.
A quiet conversation over coffee.
Helping someone feel seen.
Looking after the people—and animals—you love.
Creating environments where others feel safe enough to belong.
These moments rarely make headlines.
But they quietly shape who we become.
Why The Way Home Project Exists
This website is my portfolio.
Not of products.
Not of achievements.
But of ideas.
You’ll find reflections, practical frameworks, conversations and lessons gathered while rebuilding a life from the ground up.
Everything shared here has been tested through lived experience before being written down.
If my journey helps someone else navigate theirs with a little more hope, clarity or kindness, then every difficult chapter has found another purpose.
An Invitation
If you’ve found your way here because you’re considering me for a volunteer role, a collaboration, a conversation or a future opportunity, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I don’t claim to have all the answers.
What I do bring is curiosity, compassion, operational experience and a genuine desire to leave people and places better than I found them.
If those values align with yours, I’d be delighted to continue the conversation.
The Way Home Project 