A Communication guru, Comms goddess and life long story-teller!
Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer & Media Advisory
“My decades of communication training and evidence-based research enable me to build solid strategies using communication theory as the framework to unpack problems and inspire action. But ultimately, we all need to learn how to shape a story: as its the stories we tell and how we tell them that create the deep cultural, organisational and personal change we seek”
Speaker
Virginia has given hundreds of Keynote speeches and several orations throughout her career as a social commentator and celebrated women’s rights advocate. Yet, she’s never given the same speech twice! Fuelled by deep dive research, she brings a global view and informed understanding of audiences, their issues and cultural context.
Primary speech themes include: a blueprint for gender equity and women’s empowerment; the politics of power; the feminisation of leadership; the confidence gap and imposter syndrome; the art of failure; Feminism – failure, fanfare, or finished?; feminine power through the ages; patriarchy and the challenges of 21st century masculinity; childlessness and global infertility; democratic participation and the role of women in politics; Australian Women Changemakers; violence against women (VAW) prevention & media reporting; women in media; the UN’s Women, Peace and Security agenda; global feminist movements.
Facilitator
Widely recognised as a leading communication specialist, Virginia regularly facilitates and moderates a broad range of public forums, conferences and panel discussions, covering diverse fields of knowledge spanning academic, public and private sectors. She brings exceptional energy and verve to every occasion, be it an intimate one-on-one ‘In Conversation’, or a virtual panel with a global audience. Virginia also brings years of experience to help ensure every conference gets the best out of its panellists with thought provoking agendas, informed questions and clear speaker briefs. Her commissions have included global facilitation roles for Lend Lease (2022-2020); ASEAN 50th Anniversary, Philippines, (DFAT); EU-Australia Leadership Forum 2016; CHOGM 2011 (PM&C)… (see Events Summary for more).
Trainer
Virginia has worked across a broad range of Commonwealth and government departments on the design and delivery of bespoke communication and presentation masterclasses. She is an ANZSOG Fellow and sessional Lecturer in the Public Policy Program (faculty of Business, Government & Law) at the University of Canberra.
Click here for more on Virginia’s bespoke Masterclasses and Training Modules.
Clients Include
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C); Commonwealth Departments of Treasury, Attorney-General, Environment, Finance, Defence; Human Services; the ATO; EY & Grattan Institute (Global Symposium); ANZSOG Executive Fellows Program (Australia New Zealand School of Government); IPAA (Institute of Public Administration Australia); APSC (Australian Public Sector Commission); ACCI (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry); ACFID (Australian Council for International Development); ANU College of Asia and the Pacific; University of Canberra Future Forum; CHOGM Perth (Commonwealth Heads of Government); G20 Brisbane (International Women’s Dialogue); ALGA (Australian Local Government Association); QUT Graduate School of Business; Boardlinks; UN Women; FRSA (Family Relationships Services Australia); COAGSummit16 (Council of Australian Governments); ACT Government … (see Events Summary for more).
The challenge of facilitating high level discussion and maintaining energy flow…
Over the past two decades Virginia has developed an enviable reputation as the Facilitator ‘of choice’ for complex panel discussions, seminars and broadcasts.
With a TV veteran’s charm, Virginia has an exceptional ability to engage an audience on a journey of discourse and discovery. She brings warmth, wit and a sharp intellect to the most challenging discussions.
“Just to summarise in a few words: Virginia was amazing! She had so many brilliant ideas how we actually could achieve our objectives better in doing things differently, was super engaged and has made herself familiar with the complex topic we were discussing very quickly and really achieved to motivate, challenge and lead the 1.5 days full of discussion, workshops etc. We couldn’t have achieved such a great outcome of the forum without Virginia.”
Clients include: The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; COAGSummit16 (Council of Australian Governments); Commonwealth Departments of Treasury, Attorney-General, Environment, Finance, Defence; Human Services; CHOGM Perth (Commonwealth Heads of Government); G20 Brisbane (International Women’s Dialogue); EY & Grattan Institute (Global Symposium); ANZSOG (Australia New Zealand School of Government), IPAA (Institute of Public Administration Australia); APSC (Australian Public Sector Commission); ACCI (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry); ACFID (Australian Council for International Development); ANU College of Asia and the Pacific; University of Canberra Future Forum; ALGA (Australian Local Government Association); QUT Graduate School of Business; Boardlinks; UN Women; FRSA (Family Relationships Services Australia); ACT Government … just to name a few.
