Is there a calling within you to step into your power?

This book provides you with the inspiration, motivation and practical advice to show up as a leader and take your place in the world.

So often ambitious women are held back from greater success because of limiting beliefs, fear and self doubt. Our dream is to shine the light on the path for these women. To inspire more women to overcome their doubts and truly step into their power as leaders by providing real-life role models and the inspiration and motivation to find their inner strength and take their place in the world as heart-centred leaders.

MEET THE AUTHORS

Allison Rahman

Allison started out in the legal industry and later moved into the human services sectors. She is currently running several successful businesses, including a disability support organisation. She is also an Assessor within the Human Services Quality Framework and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

 Her goal is to share knowledge, create other leaders and stand up for what is right.  Her ethos is to lead by example even when faced with hard times. She believes life throws us many challenges. However when you do choose the right people to be in your life you will find success and strength comes naturally.  

Amy Jackson

(https://www.nurturingconfidence.com.au/)

Amy Jackson, B.Psych(Hons I), PCC, helps women to pause in the moments day-to-day when the world needs them to do hard things, to have the impact needed to create change. She helps them to build the skills to pause, shift their body and nudge their thinking forward with kindness, learning to feel confident enough to take the next step. Cultivating habits of practical confident enough action, she nurtures their confidence and capacity to lead the way. 

With a qualification in psychology and experience of leadership in complex workplaces, Amy is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation, with extensive professional expertise and accreditation including Conversational Intelligence, Team Coaching, and Mindfulness Coaching. Amy’s clients include state and federal governments in Australia, universities and mid-level business leaders from Michigan to Melbourne via Mauritius.

Anna Barwick

(https://pharmonline.com.au)

Anna Barwick is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Rural Medicine at the University of New England, Armidale NSW. She is currently working on her PhD in telepharmacy at the University of Queensland, holds a Master of Clinical Pharmacy, and is a practising consultant pharmacist, researcher, diabetes educator & immuniser.

Anna is passionate about improving the health of all Australians through education, advice and advocacy. Anna’s vision is to put a pharmacist into every household in the country, 24 hours a day, whenever people need help. Equipping and encouraging people to be able to advocate for themselves in the health system is an important legacy that she intends to leave behind.

Dr Aparna Kahali Baruah

Dr Aparna Kahali Baruah is a Consultant Radiologist, currently working at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia. She graduated from India and migrated to UK to pursue further training and now lives in Perth, Australia.

 Aparna has multifaceted interests and currently she is pursuing music professionally and has her own YouTube channel. She is passionate about dance, yoga and meditation. As a woman of multi dimension, mother of 2, working part-time, having diverse interests with a parallel career in professional music, Aparna is passionate about engaging and guiding the newer generation. A role model to show that one can pursue their passions, and have a healthy work-life balance. Her Mantra is- create the life you want in your vision board first, and “We can Have it All.”

Dr Chaitanya Unni

Dr Tanya grew up in Kerala, India, the birthplace of Ayurveda. “Ayur” meaning ‘longevity’ and “Vedic” meaning knowledge — Ayurveda originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. This philosophy believes many diseases are preventable when people find balance across all areas of their health — from how they think and what they eat to their lifestyle choices and habits. She decided to study medicine in 1997. When she first started studying, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she could help people and find solutions to their problems. 

After moving to Australia, Dr Tanya started her own business, which was just the beginning of a rewarding and fruitful journey. Today, she is the proud owner of eight medical centres, a skincare brand and clinic, and multiple health businesses. With over 18 years of experience delivering premium medical care to my patients, she’s excited to continue incorporating her expertise and passions to find new ways to help people improve all areas of their health to live healthier, happier, and more confident lives. 

Clare Reilly

(https://www.instagram.com/clare.reilly)

Clare is an advocate for those living with MS and other chronic illnesses. She shares funny, sometimes confronting and thought provoking posts and Reels on Instagram and TikTok. Clare hosts the podcast MS Understood – conversations about multiple sclerosis with people from all over the world. She loves the community feel and support she both gives and receives via Instagram and through the podcast. A question Clare asks at the end of every podcast episode is “what is the best thing to have happened because you were diagnosed with MS?” Clare’s answer is the incredible community that she has discovered, the empathy she has developed and the self awareness and confidence that has emerged since diagnosis.

Emma Barrett

(www.coralcoastvet.com.au)

Dr Emma Barrett is a mother, veterinarian, acupuncturist, investor and practice owner of Coral Coast Veterinary Hospital. Coral Coast Vets is a mixed practice veterinary hospital in the North West of Western Australia, a vast and isolated regional area at the gateway to the Ningaloo Reef. 

After completing her degree in Veterinary Science at Murdoch University in 2006, Emma returned to her home town of Carnarvon to begin her career. 

Emma gained years of experience working across a number of veterinary practices in the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions. 

With a ‘fear free’ policy and a philosophy that all animals deserve an exceptional life,  Emma leads a thriving, award-winning business and proudly serves her local community.

Fiona Holmstrom

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionaholmstrom)

Fiona Holmstrom believes STEM Education should be accessible for everyone, and believes helping children develop skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will prepare them for a future where they can make a difference.

STEM Punks mission is to “Inspire tomorrow’s Innovators” and teach children about 21st Century Skills by enabling a mindset of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Fiona publishes “Future Learning” magazine for STEM each month which goes into over 5000+ schools around Australia and overseas. Her customer-centric focus enables her to run STEM Punks by keeping children at the heart of every business decision made, and ensuring children everywhere are inspired to solve tomorrow’s world problems, today.

 

Georgia Graham

(https://empoweringfinancialsolutions.com.au )

Georgia Graham is the Director and Owner of Empowering Financial Solutions, a boutique bookkeeping and advisory firm specialising in small business bookkeeping, improving financial literacy, and business development. The idea for the business was born from her personal journey to find connection and to empower other women to lead with authenticity. Georgia found true connection within an incredible community of like-minded women who have given her the confidence to develop into an authentic leader.

Georgia also finds purpose through her advocacy efforts, having worked closely with PartnerSpeak Australia participating in university run research studies as well as training programs for Australian law enforcement designed at improving education around non-offending victims. Georgia is driven to enact change within the Family Court System of Australia and to spread awareness of the challenges faced by families impacted by family and domestic violence. 

Helen Whait

(https://www.activot.com.au)

For more than a decade, Helen Whait has been a powerful contributor and change-maker within and for her profession. As the founder of Australia’s first occupational therapy franchise business, ActivOT, she’s helped more than 50 occupational therapists Australia-wide build incredible businesses that provide life-changing services without sacrificing their own well-being. 

Helen is an active member of Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) and the Department of Veteran Affairs National Reference Group. Through this role, Helen aims to have a positive impact on government policy development.

Guided by her values and vision, Helen has continued to build her thriving business, creating a unique healthcare service model and franchise model that is vastly different from the way it’s always been done. She has supported occupational therapists in new ways to practice according to their core values as therapists and to deliver outstanding results. 

Helen has proven that as a mother and a woman, you can have it all – that you can put your family, your health and yourself first and still have a career. She has backed herself. As a result, she has fostered a culture within her business where like-minded occupational therapists can share resources and feel supported and empowered. And through it all, she has stayed true to herself. 

Irina Castellano

(www.irinacastellano.com.au)

Irina has lived and/or worked in eight countries. 

From being an expat child, she became an expat worker and an expat spouse. 

By learning more about how the brain heals from trauma as a neuro change practitioner, she has started her coaching business to guide others on their journey to find their purpose in life. 

Irina has found hers by being the coach and the foster parent (together with hubby and kids) to over 75 kids along the way. 

Her purpose is to find more safe homes for the many kids in need in Australia and anywhere else in this world.

She offers professional one-on-one support, training and guidance to potential and current carers and adoptive parents.

Irina has got a Diploma in Community Services and is currently doing a Graduate Diploma in Developmental Trauma.

Judy Cheung-Wood

(https://www.skinb5.com)

Multi-Award-winning entrepreneur Judy Cheung-Wood’s vision is to support people to feel confident and well with acne-free skin. She founded SkinB5™, a global brand that offers effective, holistic, everyday skincare treatments for healthy skin and acne control.

Knowing what it’s like to suffer the pain of teenage and early adulthood acne, Judy’s quest to create a highly effective treatment, based on a revolutionary, patented Vitamin B5 formulation, has seen SkinB5™ rapidly grow to become a thriving global brand.

SkinB5™ is a combination of highly effective, proprietary nutritional supplement formulations and healing skincare products that treat acne as naturally as possible, with zero nasties and without side effects.

SkinB5™ is trusted by an increasing number of health professionals as a workable alternative to prescription acne medication. 

Julie Okely

(https://julieokely.com.au)

Julie Okely is a proud Kamilaroi woman who grew up in a fractured family, with domestic violence and alcohol being present in her childhood home. Her mother passed away when she was 39 years old, taking the family’s Indigenous heritage with her. As a result, the author and her sister were raised on a small family farm in Kenebri with their non-Indigenous grandmother. She moved to Sydney at 17 and struggled with her education but found her calling as a hairdresser. She has trained over 100 apprentices, school-based apprentices, and casual employees during her career as a hairdressing manager/owner, technical advisor, and product developer. She has successfully opened and sold four salons and has since embraced her Indigenous heritage by renaming her business Dilkara Hair and developing the Dilkara Essence of Australia hair care range, which uses native Australian bush ingredients. She has been exporting her products globally and contributing to the sustainability of Indigenous communities. Julie leads with respect and understanding, communicating and educating her students, and encouraging them to grow their skills to become leaders. She believes that every new business purchase is a milestone and has learnt resilience, the ability to reassess and accept situations, and to embrace Indigenous culture.

Lisa Walker

(https://www.nationalcommunitycare.com.au)

In her words, Lisa is a bit crazy, a bit cooky, a bit extra, she likes to think outside the box, but she has a huge heart! She’s had a varied career in many sectors including Government, Accounting, Retail, and now Agriculture and Healthcare, yet she still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up! She completed her Bachelor of Commerce Accounting in 2002 and her Certified Practising Accountant qualification in 2007. She was honoured to be awarded a Fellowship of the CPA in 2022. She is the mum of two tweenagers – Mason, 11 and Serena 12, as well as her spoilt fur babies. Alonside her husband she has a number of businesses they have established or rebuilt together including two Healthcare businesses they rebuilt and two new ones they co-own which they are so passionate about. With the rest of their time (!!) they are working in their Truffiere with the first truffles hopefully coming in 2023!

Petina Tieman

completebs.com.au

Petina Tieman, Founder and Director of Complete Business Solutions (QLD), Australian Coach and Mentor, Cairns Holiday Letting, Cairns Business Hub and Indigenous Artists Hub has been recognised with multiple state and national awards, media articles and accolades for the outcomes achieved for clients across Australia and Papua New Guinea.

 

Petina is a serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to helping startups, micros, SMEs and Indigenous businesses to thrive. Coming from a life of adversity, abuse and constant transition, she is passionate about advocating for change and driving economic development opportunities to those from disadvantaged and , under privileged backgrounds. Petina is also renown for her counselling and empowerment work with women who have experienced domestic violence.

Mentoring startups and business owners for twenty-five years, she deeply understands the business ecosystem, and what drives business success without dependency on welfare, investment or funding. She lives her life through her passion of building business, empowering people!

The fundamental values across all her businesses are: to build skills, capability and capacity in others through education, empowerment, collaboration and connectivity!

Megan Harrison

(https://www.sansafe.com.au/

 https://www.formysisters.com.au/)

Entrepreneurial powerhouse Megan Harrison brings more than 15 years’ experience in the health, safety and sanitisation industry, both as former health and hygiene advisor in the mining industry and Founding Director of WA’s leading sanitisation company, SanSafe. With a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science and Nutrition, a post-graduate diploma in Health Promotion, and a Masters of Occupational Hygiene and Toxicology, Megan’s involvement in public health initiatives is substantial, including advisory services on developing and delivering complex industrial training and assessment programs, as well as designing protocols, policies and budgets.

Megan took SanSafe from a startup to a multi-million-dollar business within a span of only 12 months. Today, SanSafe continues to operate as a proactive solution to modern-day health challenges, and is supported and managed by a qualified, experienced and passionate team.

Recently, she launched For My Sisters, a company on a mission to end “period panic” at schools, workplaces and beyond by making period products reliably and freely available where they are needed most.

Molly Fullee

Molly was born and raised in Mauritius. With a heart full of hope and head full of dreams, she moved to Australia in 2000 to get her pilot’s licence. 

She holds a Master of Business Administration from RMIT University and was one of the youngest female Captain in a major Australian airline.

One of the main roles of a Pilot is to be constantly assessing the weather hence becoming a real-world climate expert. Over time she got a bird’s eye view of how the weather patterns have been evolving. She flew over floods, bushfires, storms and heatwaves, noticing they were becoming more intense and frequent. As a passionate open water diver, she has seen firsthand the devastation from the bleaching of coral reefs around the world.

Molly launched her start up in climate technology space with one mission: to help decarbonise transport. 

Today, Molly is leading the way as one of few female entrepreneurs who are taking charge of their future by dedicating themselves to creating sustainable solutions in our ever-changing world. 

Niti Nadarajah

(https://www.instagram.com/storiesbyniti)

Niti is a coach, freelance general counsel and DEI consultant and keynote speaker based in Melbourne with a passion for authentic and inclusive leadership. She advocates for a range of issues including gender and racial equity, and through her business, Coaching by Niti, helps to empower women who are feeling stuck in their careers to get unstuck by connecting them to their inner compass.

She was recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice (Gender Equity) in 2022 and is also a certified Master NLP practitioner, Coach and Gender Equality Expert with Grace Papers, DEI practitioner on the NASA Astrophysics IDEA practitioner database, legal adviser to, and consultant with, The Creative Co-operative, an angel investor at Nobody Studios, a founding member and DEI Ambassador at Human Leaders, a Mentor at Future Women (recently awarded Mentor of the Year), a Peer Support Companion at The Pink Elephants Support Network and Community Partner for White Ribbon (Australia) and mum to two.

Dr Olivia Ong

(https://www.drolivialeeong.com)

Dr Olivia Ong, known as the Heart-Centred Doctor, is a Melbourne-based rehabilitation medicine and pain physician with 15 years of clinical experience, and an expert in resilience and burnout.

After being hit by a car in 2008, Olivia was told she would never walk or practice medicine again. She spent years as a patient in hospitals and rehab facilities in Australia and US in an attempt to regain some of the capabilities that were torn away from her. Little did she know she was going to get a whole lot more than she’d bargained for. After an intensive three-year recovery process, she walked again. Today she shares her experience with others.

Olivia has been featured in and written for Thrive Global, Yahoo Finance, International Business Times Singapore, and Australian Business Journal.

Robina Savidis

(https://panemorfi.shop)

Robina is a boisterous young woman, full of life and ready to take on whatever curve ball life has to throw at her. She has been in the beauty industry for 23 years, starting with an apprenticeship at her dream salon, working independently in her parent’s garage when she was just a teenager, to eventually owning her own salon for 10 years which was followed by the creation of her baby, Panemorfi Skin Care. Robina juggles being a wife, mother, and businesswoman, all with a smile on her face. She is no stranger to hard work and believes there is no other way of getting there with her life motto being, “you can’t go over it or under it, best to break it down and go through it”. 

Sarah Cremona

(www.themummanest.com)

Sarah Cremona has become a leading figure in the Conscious Motherhood space in a short amount of time, who wears many hats as a mother of three, wife, coach, mentor, speaker & birth trauma advocate. She is a Professional Life Coach, trained in NLP & Meta Dynamics.

Sarah founded The Mumma Nest with a deep understanding of the unique challenges & experiences that arise for women transitioning through motherhood & beyond & it’s Sarah’s mission to provide women with the necessary resources, guidance, and support to make personal transformations, which in turn will enable them to effectively guide and support their children, breaking unresourceful patterns that may have been passed down through generations.

Sharon Collon

(https://www.thefunctionalfamily.com)

Sharon is a business owner, ADHD coach, podcaster, author and advocate.  She is passionate about helping families with ADHD have functional and fun lives. Sharon uses her lived experience, 13 years of research and training at ADDCA to help and support those living with ADHD. 

When her first son was diagnosed with ADHD, she felt incredibly alone. She had heard her husband talk of the trauma of growing up misunderstood with ADHD, and was determined to change the storyline for her own children. 

Sharon began to realise through working with families that often the parents had ADHD too.  So trained as an ADHD coach to be in a position to help the adults directly.  

Sharon’s company, The Functional Family, has assisted over 20,000 families. She has created online support groups where parents can ask questions, connect and support each other. She offers one on one coaching, a regular blog, podcast and a membership and an incredible 6-week online program, ADHD and Families.

Sonia Marta

(https://linktr.ee/soniamartauthor)

Sonia is one of the youngest authors in Romania, at 14 years old, having already 3 books published. She is proud to have inspired other children to publish their books after participating in her sessions or reading her stories and discovering that they too can be a child author.

Sonia is an avid reader and loves the world of books, especially fiction. Her first book was published when she was 10 years old, on Children’s day in 2018. Since then, she has met more than 2000 children on her journey, visiting schools and kindergartens talking about the importance of reading and creativity. She partners with World Vision and donates books to schools and high schools in rural areas, including a session with children during their English lessons, inspiring them to follow their dreams. 

Stacey has built an impressive 30 year career over a number of industries however nothing has made her heart sing more than her current role as the Founder and Managing Director of Goddess Cleaning Group. This registered Social Enterprise is in its 12th year and has supported more than 150 men and women who have faced barriers to employment. 

With a beautiful tribe of 3 boys who are now 21, 18 and 13, she has juggled single parenting with business building.  Knowing the constant challenge of raising children, racing to appointments and attending extra-curricular sports and events, Stacey understands the balancing act required to enable her to have the best of both worlds.  Being present at all times. 

In 2019, She was announced winner of the Victorian Business Excellence award at The Ausmumpreneur Awards for her commitment to building a strong, female led business.  Stacey has been featured in several local publications and across many social media platforms for her support of women from disadvantaged and domestic violence backgrounds.

Sue Stevenson

(https://www.keytobetterme.com.au)

As a Transformational Anxiety Coach, Parent Educator and Founding CEO of Key to Better Me, Sue has the privilege of being able to support both adults and young people to overcome what is holding them back, to progress forward, and be able to live a rewarding life full of possibilities and ultimate success.

Sue loves seeing the transformation her clients get to experience when they have the tools to know how. Every day, she is inspired by individuals who take the courageous step to improve their life.

In her previous role as a classroom teacher, Sue witnessed so many beautiful young people experiencing an array of life challenges which led to them coping in a range of ways. Some came from a place of extreme anxiety that prevented them from attending school, while others were rebellious and resistant, and some fell anywhere in between.

As a teacher, her resources were limited to help, and in her career, she came across so many parents who were at their wits end trying to figure out how to manage their children. This is what has led her to where she is today.

 

 

Dr. Vanessa Atienza-Hipolito

(https://www.wbi.net.au)

Dr Vanessa Atienza-Hipolito FRANZCR is a highly respected Breast Imaging Specialist and business owner at Women’s & Breast Imaging (WBI) in Cottesloe, Western Australia. With qualifications and fellowship training in Breast and Musculoskeletal Imaging, Interventional and Vascular Radiology, and Paediatric Radiology, she is an expert in her field. Dr Vanessa is also a passionate educator and Adjunct Clinical Senior Lecturer at several universities. She is a published co-author of three book anthologies, including Courage and Confidence, Global Girls, and The Power to Rise Above. Dr Vanessa is the recipient of several notable awards, including Breast Radiologist of the Year in 2022 and the People’s Choice Gold Award for the ‘Making A Difference (Local Community)’ category presented by AusMumpreneur in 2021.

 

As a wife, mother, and triathlete, Dr Vanessa understands the challenges of balancing a demanding career with personal and family life. She is committed to promoting physical and spiritual wellbeing and speaks enthusiastically on self-care, self-compassion, resilience, and overcoming difficulties. Her personal mission is to save as many lives as possible by spreading awareness of preventative medicine and detecting breast cancer early through advanced mammogram and ultrasound screening technologies at WBI. With her bright and engaging personality, Dr Vanessa is a shining role model who inspires others to be the best they can be, both professionally and personally.

Wadzanai Nenzou

(https://www.herconomics.com)

Wadzanai Nenzou AKA Wadzi is the Founder, CEO, Investment Scams Fighter, Financial Educator, Speaker, Commentator, Panellist and Writer at Herconomics a mission-driven education company that is passionate about people especially women building their wealth without losing their hard-earned money to investment scams.

Wadzi is a Financial Services Professional with over seventeen years’ experience in the Australian Financial Services Industry and over the years has had the honour of being spotlighted by ABC News Breakfast, Yahoo Finance Australia, and Bendigo Bank to name a few places.

Growing up in Zimbabwe she saw the limited choices open to many women due to lack of personal wealth and saw the opposite, the better choices women had when they had personal wealth. Even as a young girl, she knew she wanted more for herself and other women.

Wadzanai believes in a world where every woman has the knowledge to empower herself financially to live life her way and be the best version of herself.

She is also deeply passionate about the advancement of African Australians and volunteers her time to collaborate with organisations such as Incubate Foundation to provide mentorship to African Australian young people and women.

Maria Rafaela “Mafae” Yunon – Belasco

(https://www,mafaemanagement.com/)

Maria Rafaela “Mafae” Yunon – Belasco is best known for her success in the beauty pageant industry, having won prestigious awards locally and internationally, such as Miss Philippines Australia 1998, Binibining Pilipinas World 2003 (and prominently landing top 5 in the Miss World competition of the same year held in Sanya, China), and Mrs. Philippines Globe 2008.

She has since gone on to channel her expertise into image consulting for Binibinig Pilipinas (Miss Philippines Pageant) since 2003, taking on the role of Personality Development Director for the Miss World Philippines in 2021 and Pageant Director of kumu Global Pageants on the #1 live streaming app of the Philippines, kumu. She continued on in her journey in expanding her services & entrepreneur expertise, starting up her own company – Mafae Management Consultancy (founded 2015), wherein she manages talents, spearheads public relations & marketing, content creation, events management, online show production, and social media management for companies and individuals all over the world.