Keeping people at the heart of education when the system pulls in every direction

Education Conferences | School Leadership | Staff Wellbeing

School leaders know that people are at the heart of education. But knowing what matters most and having the capacity to protect it aren't always the same thing.

In many schools, staff are exhausted and experienced teachers are leaving. Leaders are often running on empty themselves. The demands of compliance and accountability are real and necessary, yet as they grow, leaders can find themselves stretched between the system and the people who make it work.

Throughout my career, I've stepped into schools and outdoor education centres facing significant challenges, helping them regain stability and rebuild. Those experiences taught me that sound policies aren't enough when the people delivering them are running beyond their capacity.

We all know the instruction to put on our own oxygen mask before helping others. On Everest, I learned firsthand what happens when the oxygen you're counting on isn't there. Yet how often do we expect school leaders to keep supporting everyone else without the support they need themselves?

Drawing on three decades in education and leadership, and my work in positive psychology and Human Structural Integrity, this keynote helps leaders see where their school's human structures are under strain, and what they can do to strengthen them.

It's not about choosing between accountability and wellbeing. It's about building a school community that can meet its responsibilities without exhausting the people at its heart.

Your audience will take away:

• How to recognise when system demands are exceeding the human capacity available

• Ways to identify which pressures can be eased within the school and which need action beyond it

• Practical approaches to shared responsibility, so the same people aren't always carrying the load

• How to protect their own capacity to lead while supporting staff and maintaining high standards

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Who Are You Becoming?

How identity shapes the people, teams and school communities we're becoming

Education Conferences | Educators | School Leadership

Who are we becoming, individually and collectively, as the world of education continues to change?

Schools are more than buildings, policies and curriculum. They're communities shaped by the people within them, the stories they tell, the values they live and the relationships they create.

Yet when expectations shift, familiar roles change and the demands of education keep growing, it's easy to lose touch with the sense of identity and purpose that once brought people together.

I've experienced the unsettling nature of identity change personally, through career transitions, an MS diagnosis and the devastating end of my first Everest attempt. I've also experienced it professionally, leading schools and teams through periods of significant uncertainty and change.

Those experiences taught me that identity isn't simply about knowing who we are. It's also about recognising when our old understanding of ourselves, or our organisations, no longer serves the future we're trying to create.

Drawing on positive psychology, narrative approaches and my original Identity Realignment Cycle™, this keynote explores how personal and collective identity influence belonging, leadership, school culture and our capacity to adapt.

Because navigating change isn't simply about protecting what we've always been. It's about consciously shaping who we're becoming, both individually and together.

Your audience will take away:

• A fresh understanding of how individual and collective identity shape school culture, belonging and behaviour

• Ways to recognise the stories, assumptions and expectations that may be holding people or teams back

• Practical approaches to reconnecting with shared values and purpose during periods of change

• New perspectives on how leaders and educators can help shape the future of their school communities

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An unforgettable, real-life adventure that leaves audiences inspired, energised and wondering what might be possible.

Education Conferences | Staff Events | School Communities

What does it take to turn a childhood dream into an extraordinary reality?

From a little girl captivated by stories of mountaineering to a woman standing on top of the world at 54, while living with multiple sclerosis, my journey has been anything but ordinary.

Six peaks above 6,000 metres. Years of preparation, remarkable people, breathtaking landscapes, unexpected setbacks and moments when everything seemed to hang in the balance.

In 2023, I came within 848 metres of Everest's summit before missing oxygen brought my climb to an abrupt end. In May 2026, I returned and, guided by Nepal's only female Everest guide, stood on top of the world at 54, becoming the first Australian with MS to summit Mount Everest.

But the magic of this keynote is in the adventure itself.

Through spectacular photographs, mountain footage and storytelling filled with suspense, humour and heart, I take audiences into a world few people ever experience. It's the closest thing to a real-life adventure film you'll experience in a keynote.

For educators, it's also a powerful reminder of the dreams that begin in childhood and the extraordinary difference encouragement and opportunity can make.

Above all, this is a keynote designed to leave people uplifted, energised and inspired.

Because sometimes an extraordinary story is all it takes to make someone think, "Wow. If she can do that, what might I be capable of?"

Your audience will experience:

• A spectacular journey through the world's highest mountains, brought to life through photographs, video and storytelling

• Adventure, suspense, humour and remarkable human moments

• The extraordinary journey from a childhood dream to the summit of Everest

• Renewed inspiration, motivation and curiosity about their own possibilities

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Using the classic Hero's Journey to help young people take ownership of their story and shape their own future.

Students | Schools | Student Leadership Events

What if the story you've come to believe about yourself isn't the whole story?

Since I was a little girl, I've loved reading about mountaineers and their adventures. I dreamed of climbing mountains too, but it felt like a faraway dream made for other people, not me.

At school, I was bullied so severely that I was once padlocked to the front fence. I struggled with confidence and belonging, and left Year 12 before finishing.

I later completed Year 12 through technical education and discovered the outdoors, where I slowly began finding the self-belief I'd been missing. That's when I decided I wanted to stop being just the reader and become the protagonist in my own story.

That decision eventually led me through university, into leadership roles around the world and, decades later, to the summit of Mount Everest while living with multiple sclerosis.

But every hero's journey includes challenges, uncertainty, unexpected setbacks and people who help us along the way.

Drawing on the classic Hero's Journey, I guide students through the stages of their own developing stories, exploring the choices they make, the influences around them, the obstacles they face and the role they can play in shaping what happens next.

This isn't about becoming fearless or achieving something extraordinary. It's about recognising that even when we cannot choose our circumstances, we can make meaningful choices about how we respond and who we become.

Because you don't have to climb Mount Everest to become the hero of your own story. You simply have to recognise that it's yours to help shape.

Your audience will take away:

• An understanding of the classic Hero's Journey and how its stages relate to their own lives

• Greater awareness of how labels, expectations and personal stories influence their choices

• An appreciation of the role of challenges, mentors and supportive relationships in personal growth

• Practical encouragement to exercise self-determination and take meaningful steps towards the person they want to become

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