Hi! I am a lawyer and environmental sustainability specialist with a passion for collaborating with people to build a more sustainable future.
I have recently returned home from nearly a year of vagabonding through Asia and Brazil with my husband Dan, enjoying the adventure and exploring new places, perspectives and ideas.
In my spare time I love spending time in nature and continuously learning. Some of my favourite activities include martial arts, mountain biking, hiking and surfing.
For more on my background (early years, uni days, professional life and travels) feel free to peruse my story below.
Early years
I grew up in Warwick, Queenland, a small town about 160 km south-west of Brisbane (Australia). Some of my best childhood memories are being outdoors with friends and family – exploring nearby bushland, climbing trees, playing soccer and tennis, riding bikes, swimming and so on. As a teenager I took up karate which I still enjoy practising today.
Uni days
When I finished high school I moved to the “big city” (Brisbane) where I worked full-time for a year before starting university. In my first year of Uni I dabbled in a variety of Arts subjects, including economics, philosophy and German, before committing to a dual degree in Law and Environmental Management (Sustainable Development). I have a strong interest in the environment and how humans can live more sustainably, and found myself intrigued (and concerned) by the complexity of issues like biodiversity loss, pollution, water management and climate change.
During these Uni days I was thrilled to volunteer as a paralegal with the Environmental Defenders Office Qld and as Volunteer Coordinator with the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA). These opportunties connected me with an excellent network of passionate, engaged people and gave me first-hand experience of how community and not-for-profit organisations are working to address some of our most pressing environmental sustainability issues.
Professional life
At the end of 2014, I moved to Melbourne and started professional life as a sustainability consultant, specialising in carbon (i.e. greenhouse gas) and energy. I loved this opportunity to cut my teeth on real, practical issues, helping clients across a range of sectors with their environmental compliance needs and strategic sustainability goals. I also enjoyed working with an engaged team with diverse backgrounds including engineering, environmental science and business. A lot of our consulting work was underpinned by environmental legislation and with my legal background most of the trickier law-related questions came my way. This gave me a fantastic working knowledge of Australia’s carbon and energy laws, as well as the surrounding policy and political landscape.
I realised I enjoyed legal problem solving in this practical context more than my experience at law school led me to believe I would. With a desire to further progress my legal skills I transitioned from consulting to legal practice. I was fortunate to land a role in the environment and planning team of a global law firm, working alongside one of Australia’s leading environmental and climate change lawyers. This immersion into legal practice within a fast paced corporate environment was both challenging and rewarding.
Vagabonding
After about five years of full-time professional life preceded by seven years of study, work and volunteering, I decided with my husband Dan to take a year off “normal life”. We sold and gave away almost everything we owned and set out on an adventure, commencing June 2019. For us, this year was about exploring new places and ideas, gaining fresh perspectives, reflecting on our values and life direction (both as individuals and newly-weds), slowing down, playing and connecting with our intrinsic interests and creativity.
Dan has published a great short reflection on our trip which you can read here.
You can also check out my blogs page to see some of the projects we’ve been working on, spanning topics including investment, sustainability and travel.