At Scribblr, I deliver creative, strategic, digital-led, multi-platform content about the work of pioneering people in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe.scribblr.com.au

Establishing a digital publication as a news breaking, authoritative source on the technology revolution transforming healthcare led to audience growth beyond expectations for a global not-for-profit. One year after its launch, Healthcare IT News Australia won two international awards for ‘Best New Digital Publication – Editorial’ and ‘Best Overall Editorial – Digital’ at the CMAs for its coverage of the most consequential disruption of our time. It was also shortlisted as a finalist at the Pearl Awards in the US for 'Best New Program Launch' and 'Most Effective: Healthcare/Pharmaceutical'. As founding editor, I built a publication that reported on visionaries in the field, life-saving technologies, and politics in the health sector during a time of monumental change.

At a critical time in the asylum seeker debate, I managed the communications for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and Papua New Guinea. As the Syrian conflict pushed refugee numbers up to 50 million – the highest since World War II – and Australia stepped up its efforts to "stop the boats" through push backs and off-shore processing on Nauru and Manus Island, my role required me to: produce external communications materials, including digital content | implement communications strategies and social media campaigns | manage media liaison on high-profile and controversial issues | organise World Refugee Day events in Australia and New Zealand, including a photographic exhibition – ‘In Perspective’ – at the Nishi Gallery in Canberra and a two hour live broadcast by the ABC | organise stakeholder conferences in Australia and New Zealand for NGO partners, journalists, legal practitioners and refugee groups | promote global campaigns, such as #ibelong and urgent fundraising appeals | draft PI lines, talking points, media statements, media releases and briefing notes | manage communications staff and interns | project manage the redevelopment of the unhcr.org.au website.

There is something very special about radio, especially in the pre-dawn hours. At ABC Canberra I worked across programs, producing on the Mornings, Afternoons, Drive, Saturday Breakfast and Sunday Mornings shows, contributing to hours of live radio and producing digital content including website stories and social media posts. I also produced on emergency bushfire and flood coverage, a fast-paced and consequential role.

Interviewing Monty Python alum Michael Palin with probing questions relating to the fish slapping dance was, of course, a career highlight. Only to be rivalled by reporting on then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, and the swearing in of the first female Governor General Quentin Bryce. Within a creatively fabulous three years, I accumulated a sizeable complement of feature articles, opinion pieces, profiles and news stories documenting extraordinary people and events via the pages of The Canberra Times and the early Fairfax online platforms.

During a volatile period within the US occupation of Iraq, I edited the Iraqi Crisis Report, which led to the publication of ground breaking stories on life within the warzone. At the time, the major international publications were flying reporters in for two week rotations, such was the level of risk – with CNN's Michael Ware (another Australian) a notable exception for his lengthy reporting from the field. Kidnappings were rife in the south of the country, with ransoms for foreigners of up to US$10 million and Baghdad airport routinely shut down. Meanwhile, in Kurdistan in the north, where I was based, there were restaurants serving guests, an amusement park with a ferris wheel happily (if bizarrely) operated, and thousands of people spilled into the streets to celebrate Kurd Jalal Talabani's elevation to president of Iraq. In my role, I commissioned articles from reporters in Baghdad and Sulaimanyah, and sub-edited all of the copy prior to publication. Articles included those on corruption in the health system, as well as rising rates of self-immolation by women, executions and female genital mutilation.

“Every now and then in life the universe conspires to lend humility.” And so it begins. A first person narrative non-fiction, Hello Missus was HarperCollins' release of the month and the Australian Women’s Weekly’s Book of the Month upon publication. A political satire about East Timor’s transition to democracy, Hello Missus tells of the political intrigue and interrelationships within the United Nations peacekeeping missions and new government at the time of independence. Following publication I spoke at the Perth International Writers’ Festival and Brisbane Writers’ Festival, and appeared throughout the national media.

Following East Timor's vote for independence and the subsequent Indonesian violence that saw a significant proportion of the population killed and 80 per cent of the nation's infrastructure destroyed, I worked alongside local journalists producing broadcast content within the UNTAET peacekeeping mission. Then with the United Nations Development Program I worked to establish a media unit for East Timor's Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as part of the capacity and democracy building efforts.