14th Annual GLS Breakfast

On a beautiful Spring morning in Melbourne, the students and alumnae of Genazzano FCJ College, Loreto Mandeville Hall and Sacré Cœur, came together in celebration of three inspirational women at the 14^th Annual GLS Breakfast.

Held in the hallowed grounds of the MCG in the Members’ Dining room, the event was attended by almost 300 women and a handful of men!

Although an early start, we were treated to wonderful speakers, each with a different story to tell of their life journey to date.

The first was Dee Madigan (Loreto), Creative Director and owner of Campaign Edge advertising. Dee began her professional career as a teacher and joined the world of advertising in 1996, a smart move as she has either won or been a finalist at most major awards, including Cannes. A panellist on the ABC’s Gruen, you can see her tonight, she has extensive campaign and social media marketing experience, and is the mother of three children. During breakfast, Dee acknowledged she has been successful thanks to a good education, and she tries to give back to people who haven’t had the same opportunities. Social justice is important to Dee, which is the reason for her keen interest and involvement in managing Election campaigns, the most recent being the NT last weekend.

Libby Lyons (Sacré Cœur) is the Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, responsible for driving change through working with employees and Government to improve women’s workforce participation, and reduce the gender pay gap. Libby has worked in both female and male dominated industries, heading up BHP Billiton’s Corporate Affairs for its Olympic Dam project! From Atlas Iron to Kalparrin, a disability charity, she has embraced workplaces that represented the communities she worked in. Libby is a passionate advocate for equality and she touched the hearts of everyone in the room when she talked about the difficulties we all face as we travel through life, however, the enduring message was the need for all women to be champions for each other and provide support in any way we can.

Monique Van den Boom (Genazzano) was the youngest of the trio, but her message of helping each other came through loud and clear. Monique didn’t know what she wanted to be when she “grew up”, but thanks to the advice and direction given by a careers counsellor at Genazzano, she followed a path into the health services, a career in which she has excelled. A Senior Prosthetist and now Director and co-owner of her own business ProMotion, her contribution both clinically and technically has helped grow the business. Again, the positive tone and message of the morning continued, as she described the way she helps her clients achieve their goals and accept their new self-image. As Monique explained, it’s not just about providing a device for a missing limb, it’s listening and helping them adapt and achieve their goals.

Thank you, Dee, Libby and Monique for giving your time so generously this morning. We are all the better for having heard your pearls of wisdom … three women on three journeys.