1. What is your proudest achievement / moment in your career?

There are so many amazing achievements in my 44 year career as a nutritionist, it’s hard to pick just one.  But something that I never get sick of hearing is from the people who have followed me or read my book and tell me how it changed their way of eating, their health and their families health.  Just the other day I was messaged by a follower who told  me she met a woman in her 40’s who was completely self-sufficient and big on homesteading. When this woman was asked what made her get into this lifestyle in the first place, she replied saying that in her early 20’s she came across this book Changing Habits Changing Lives.  You never know how far reaching a message can get, but you keep putting the message out hoping someone will read, listen and then most importantly act.

2. What is your proudest achievement in life (outside of work)?

I have 3 incredibly well balanced children, who are now bringing up yet another generation.  My husband and I didn’t spoil them but taught them the basics of health and life, by taking them around Australia and other parts of the world, by home schooling, by teaching them to cook and take responsibility for their lives and allowing them to have horses and animals for responsibility for other living beings and exemplifying a healthy way to live.  I would say my nuclear family and nurturing the next generation would be my proudest achievement outside work.

3. What advice did you receive early in your career that has stayed with you?

I don’t think it was one piece of advice in my career that set me on my path, but rather a series of life experiences and education that led me to where I am now.  My parents were instrumental in my life philosophy of Vitalism, my anthropology lecturer at the University of Colorado gave me a love of cultures and traditions based on food, a friend of my mother’s said to me one day, “you’re a smart girl what are you doing in a town like this” (that town was my home town) she urged me to explore the world, it was she who convinced me to go to University in Colorado, to study anthropology which lead me to Nutrition and my life’s love now.

4. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to women in their career, their health and in life?

Do what you love, educate yourself  so that the choices you make are informed and not based on hearsay or propaganda.  Have inquiry on all matters and most of all do it for yourself and then by example you will influence family, friends, community and countries.

5. How do you empower yourself and the women around you?

I don’t know that I empower myself but rather am inspired by many things.  My daily inspiration is the beach where I live, the sunrise I see every day and my morning ocean swim and walk back in the warmth of the sun on the white sand.  There is something about this ritual that gets me excited for the day, then I believe my enthusiasm for life and inquiry has a knock on effect with not only women, but men and my children.  I have no illusions that I can empower or change anyone but my hope by example is to inspire people to find their own empowerment to live their best life.

6. How you do measure success in what you do?

Happiness and loved ones around me and that letter that tells me that someone had read my book and changed their life.

7. What do you see being the biggest challenge for the next generation of female leaders?

The biggest challenge moving forward for female leaders is to act like women and not men.  We are not ruthless for the most part, we are kind, loving, nurturing beings.  Culturally we were not the hunters we were the gatherers who nurtured the next generation. I have run my business, my family, my life, my friends as best I can this way and it has served me well.   We must also remember as women leaders, especially those with families, that bringing up the next generation to be resilient, healthy, focused, energetic and capable is an incredibly important responsibility and one that is not being executed well in this current generation.  Absentee mothers means nannies and other caregivers instil their life skills on their charges. 

8. If you could have dinner with three inspirational women who would they be and why? 

My Grandmother. My Mother and My Sister, all have passed and died within 5 months of each other.  I’d give anything to hear their insights from the grave.

Alternativaley, Vandina Shiva, Stephanie Seneff and Robyn O’Brien – three warrior women fighting against the goliaths of companies that are endangering the health of the planet future generations.

9. What does Inspired Inclusion mean to you?

When I was at university, I did an elective called The Study of Words.

It taught me to seek out the real meaning behind a word, its origin in English or Latin or another ancient language. So to understand ‘inspired inclusion’ I decided to first understand the words.

Inspired

Inspired to me is not motivation but rather someone who gifts you with the inspiration to make change or do something in your life.  The dictionary defines it as to influence, move or guide by divine or supernatural influence or action. Its origin is from 14^th century, Latin ‘inspirare’ from spirareto –  meaning to breathe or blow into.  In other words, we can see at work the very breath of a divine or supernatural force.  Perhaps even in spirit could define this beautiful word.  In other words it’s not by force but rather by love.

Inclusion

Inclusion is the policy or practice of making sure that everyone in society has access to resources and opportunities. Origin of the word is from early 15^th century Latin a shutting in materially, enclose, imprison, confine.

These two words seem to be opposing when you look at the origin of their meaning and there is no way that I want to confine, enclose or imprison anyone into my way of life.

I believe that inspiration comes from within, it’s not motivation, but rather something within you that you put energy and breathe life into because you want to, not because you must.

I live in a small area of the world, I have a small family and a small group of people that I have contact with.  I’m not inspired by any means to include the whole world in my small world, but I am inspired to have those beautiful people around me included in my life who-ever they are.  That is all I can do.  I have no jurisdiction about what the government in Australia or around the world does, but I have total control of how I treat other people in having them within my life.  There is nothing I can do about policy but I can do what I can with the resources I have.

So inspired inclusion for me is about including your family and friends in love, friendship, meal sharing, stories and connection.  If they would like to join in, rather than feel confined  then we are here with open arms.