About

Hi, I’m Penny.

I’ve been curious about how to live an extraordinary life for as long as I can remember.

And I’m still exploring.

I won the birth lottery

I grew up knowing I was incredibly lucky. I was deeply loved, and my parents opened the world up to me from the very beginning.

Athens, 1979 - the exploring started early

By 8 I was asking why.

My Dad’s work took us to India. The contrast between extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty was impossible for me to understand.

I remember looking at the Taj Mahal and wondering how so much could be spent on a magnificent tomb while women and children were begging and starving in the streets.

For the first time, I understood my privilege, and I’ve never taken it for granted.

India tattooed that awareness into me. I began questioning money, fairness and what we value. I still do.

By 11, I knew life was precious.

Just before my 11th birthday, my parents were in a serious car accident while travelling in NSW.

I spent my birthday visiting Mum in hospital. They had both survived, but I understood how easily things could have turned out differently.

My Dad was older than all my friends’ dads, so I was already conscious that our time together might be shorter than I wanted.

I learnt not to take time with the people I love for granted. I tell them I love them. I don’t assume that we have time. Life can change in a moment.

Dad’s 60th birthday, 1983.

I wanted to help people make the most of their life.

Psychology felt like a way to do that. I wanted to understand what makes us think, feel and behave the way we do, and imagined a career helping people thrive.

But my life didn’t follow a straight line. I followed my curiosity, and often my heart.

Behavioural Sciences Graduation, 1998

I created a life I loved.

Following my heart led me to Josh. We lived overseas, travelled some more, and eventually made Melbourne home.

I tried HR, moved into the community sector and kept learning, exploring and following what interested me.

I became a mum, got married, grew our family, and became deeply involved in our kinder and school communities, bringing people together, creating experiences and making things happen.

And there was still so much I hadn’t discovered.

Granada, Spain, 1999