It’s a role that I have always gravitated towards naturally. I enjoy working as part of a team and my organisational skills allow me to help projects reach completion efficiently and effectively.

I’ve been blessed to learn and work under several inspirational people, from my highschool years through to my employment in radio newsrooms and now in an on-air capacity. Many of them were women. I’m also an avid reader of autobiographies and can always find lessons to be learned from all walks of life.

I finished year 12 at Lynwood Senior Highschool in Perth, Western Australia in 1988. I was accepted into Curtin University there and graduated in 1993 with my Bachelor of Arts in English, double majoring in Journalism and Theatre Arts. While completing my degree I did a work placement in the newsroom at 92.9FM, a radio station I would later work at for three years. After graduating I was employed as one of the two Breakfast News Editors at 6NR, a community radio station on campus. During my tenure there I also worked weekends at 6iX – 1080AM, my first commercial radio appointment. I moved to fulltime breakfast at 6iX, and then weekend news at 92.9 – eventually becoming fulltime breakfast newsreader and ‘Morning Crew’ back-up announcer. In 1996 I decided to resign my position to travel overseas. I spent 6 months in the United States and then two years in the UK – the second year in a town called Derby in the East Midlands working as the breakfast radio newsreader. When my visa was up in 1998 I applied for and got a job as breakfast show co-host at FM104.7 in Canberra – which is where I met & started working with Marty Haynes, my current co-host. In 2003 we teamed up at i98fm here in Wollongong and we’ve just signed a two-year extension to our contract, which will take us through to 2011.

I certainly have the reputation of someone who is bossy, opinionated, and a control freak. It’s hard to say if the same words would be used to describe a man with my qualities.

Within work? A decision maker. A moral compass (in regards to on-air content). A voice of experience. From the listener’s perspective? A sympathetic ear. A champion of local people and issues. An equal.

If our radio program is rating well and the team is happy. If we are making a difference to our local community.

I truly enjoy coming to work every day and talking to people. I have a deep love of news so I could see myself as a news director one day.

It’s really hard to disbelieve the knockers but I think you have to press forward with what you feel in your gut to be right and try to never doubt yourself.

Sometimes not very well! I am outspoken and wear my thoughts and my heart on my sleeve. Many an email conversation has gone awry – it’s one area of my life I still need to work hard on.

Wayne Bennett. He is a man of actions, and not so many words. And he recognises that a team needs support much more when things are going badly than when they are going well. He said to us in an interview recently that success masks many failures, and shortcomings are only really revealed in adversity. And that is where the lessons lie. He’s a great man.

Previous employers! Many of whom have remained friends. Colleagues in the industry, including my co-host. My family & friends.