My Story

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of helping people. I'd tell anyone who would listen that I wanted to work for the United Nations, advocating for people who couldn't advocate for themselves. It was my passion, plain and simple.

I studied human rights, international politics and criminology at university in Brisbane, my hometown. But I still didn't feel complete — so I kept going, first with a graduate certificate in organised crime, and then a Master's in strategic intelligence. I had a genuine love for research and writing; for diving into a topic until I understood it at its core, especially when that understanding meant I could help others make sense of it too.

When I finished university, I knew I needed to write for a living, so I joined the Australian Federal Police as an Intelligence Analyst. I worked all over — Canberra, Brisbane, Christmas Island, Samoa, Tonga and the Solomon Islands. Eventually I moved into research and policy writing, which let me do something I loved even more: developing answers to problems, rather than simply uncovering what was unknown.

Today, I work for the ACT Government in child safety policy, advocating for and developing policies that help protect vulnerable children from harm. My world finally made sense.

But there was still a gap — and I didn't know what it was until my best friend in the entire world got engaged to a strikingly handsome fireman. She asked me to be her wedding celebrant, and I jokingly agreed. As her wedding present, I actually became one — authorised just five days before her wedding day.

It was 40 degrees, and I was more nervous than I'd ever been in my life. But during that ceremony, something changed. I felt complete. I'd finally found a way to research, write and communicate something joyous, rather than something hard — I could write about love.

And in that moment, I knew I never wanted to stop.