Founder of ThriveWise & Your Partner in Cultivating Connection
I believe the heart of a thriving school is the wellbeing of its adults.
My work is dedicated to a single, guiding question: How do we create school communities where both the staff and the students can genuinely flourish?
The answer, I have learned, does not lie in another student-facing program. It lies in building the capacity of the adults who are at the centre of the school's culture. When we support them, we create the conditions for everyone to thrive.
My path began with a deep focus on Social-Emotional Learning that took me to the University of British Columbia. There, researching alongside world-leading SEL expert Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, my Master's thesis confirmed a core conviction: an educator’s ability to cultivate student wellbeing is directly linked to their own self-awareness and beliefs about emotion.
This academic insight was the seed, but it was in the real world that it grew into an undeniable truth.
For eight years, I had the privilege of pressure-testing this conviction at Geelong Grammar School’s Institute of Positive Education, a global leader in school-based wellbeing. As a Senior Trainer, I worked on the ground with thousands of educators, translating complex wellbeing research into practical, sustainable classroom strategies. The evidence was irrefutable: a school transforms when its adults feel seen, supported, and capable.
Schools are not short on initiatives, but they are often short on the connective tissue that makes those initiatives stick.
I founded ThriveWise to be the partner that bridges that gap. I help you build a lasting Culture of Connection from the inside out—not by adding more to your plate, but by equipping your community with a shared language and a consistent toolkit.
This is why I chose to become an accredited facilitator of the ‘Tuning in’ framework and the iEQ9 Enneagram. These aren't just programs' — they are evidence-based frameworks and offer practical tools that build the internal capacity required for external impact.
My work is grounded in a simple philosophy: a school thrives when its people are connected. We address this across three levels:
Connection to Self: Building the self-awareness, resilience, and emotional intelligence that allow us to show up as our best, most authentic selves.
Connection to Others: Fostering the empathy, relational trust, and co-regulation skills that create psychological safety in the classroom and at home.
Connection to Purpose: Nurturing the feeling of being valued, engaged, and part of a meaningful, shared mission.
I am committed to grounding this work in evidence-based, globally-recognised frameworks.
Global Impact: Trained and mentored over 6,000 educators worldwide in the practical application of wellbeing science.
Strategic Design: Led large-scale educational projects, including the design of a strategic wellbeing guide for the United Arab Emirate's Ministry of Education, impacting over 600 schools.
Thought Leadership: Co-authored a foundational chapter in the Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning and served as a contributor for a landmark report for CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning).
Master's by Research, Human Development, Learning & Culture (SEL) - The University of British Columbia
Accredited Facilitator, 'Tuning in to Students®' - The University of Melbourne
Accredited Facilitator, 'Tuning in to Kids®' - The University of Melbourne
Certified Practitioner, iEQ9 Enneagram (Individual & Team) - Integrative Enneagram Solutions
Accredited Strengths Profile Practitioner - Cappfinity
If this approach resonates, the first step is a simple conversation to determine if it is the right one to help you, right now.