A little context.

My time at the National Retail Association was a particularly formative chapter, especially during COVID.

I spent hours each day watching individual state government press conferences, keeping up with changing requirements and translating announcements into practical information for retailers.

There was a lot at stake for businesses trying to understand whether they could open tomorrow, what they needed to change and how to keep their people safe. The information needed to be accurate, timely and genuinely useful. Another beautifully worded email wasn't going to help if it didn't answer the question people actually had: can I operate my business after 5pm today?

It was also where I was encouraged to try things I hadn't necessarily imagined myself doing.

My mentor and boss, Dominique Lamb, pushed me towards media interviews, speaking, events and responsibilities I didn't yet have much experience with. During COVID, I even organised and hosted a virtual National Retail Awards gala, attempting to make an awards celebration feel like an actual celebration when everybody was watching from somewhere else.

I learnt a lot about communication under pressure, but perhaps just as importantly, I became much more comfortable giving unfamiliar things a go. Along the way, I discovered I was more fearless than I'd given myself credit for.

Deaf Connect was where I learnt some of my most valuable lessons about leadership.

Working with Deaf and hearing colleagues, different communication preferences and teams spread across the country challenged assumptions I hadn't necessarily realised I was making.

The easiest way for me to communicate something wasn't always the most useful way for someone else to receive it. Sometimes a meeting needed a different approach. Sometimes information needed to be shared earlier or in another format. And sometimes the thing that appeared perfectly straightforward to one person was creating unnecessary difficulty for somebody else.

I became more conscious of how much good leadership depends on listening, understanding what people need and being prepared to change the way things are done.

I worked with some truly beautiful people and will be forever grateful for that experience. I also left with some Auslan, a much greater appreciation for language access and a commitment to keep advocating for it wherever I go.

I also had the opportunity to lead some substantial creative work, including the Deaf Lottery rebrand alongside our team and Brisbane agency Next Thursday.

We gave a long-standing brand a more distinctive identity and voice, then worked through the practical business of bringing it to life across its communications.

That experience brought together two things I particularly enjoy: creative ambition and making sure people have what they need to put it into practice.

These days, I'm Marketing Manager at Oztix, working in live events.

Events have a special kind of chaos that's hard to shake.

There are so many people involved in making something happen, often with very different priorities and responsibilities. And behind the experience an audience sees is an enormous amount of work that most people will never know about.

I'm enjoying getting to know the industry and the people who make it work. I'm particularly interested in helping shape how we communicate, supporting the people doing the work and finding useful structure in an environment where there's always something new happening.

I'm still relatively early in this chapter, and there is plenty left to learn.