A Lover Of Life

Part 1

First and foremost, I am a lover of life in all its expressions. As a biomimicry educator, mentor and regenerative design project manager, I experience the deepest joy and fulfillment when guiding individuals and organisations to deepen their connection with life, helping them to integrate the wisdom of living systems into ways of being and creating.

Through my studies to become a certified biomimicry educator, I explored biomimicry through the lens of the Spiral Dynamics model of human development. I was invited to recognise the inextricable connection between humanity’s relationship with nature and our collective evolution—how our inner journeys of transformation shape culture and landscape.  This catalysed a determined desire to create interventions for mindset and paradigm shifts as the centrepoint of my work, from where all of my other endeavors would radiate out from.

Now, as co-director of BiomimicrySA and the founder of the Naturally Conscious mentorship program, I focus on translating nature’s wisdom into practical pathways for holistic alchemy. I also work in the areas of education, and guiding projects that are activating regenerative development in South Africa.  All of my work is rooted in a vision of deep connection, where the sacred rhythms of life are honored, and the wisdom of natural systems guides us toward restored harmony.

The journey to this point, however, has been a winding one. Over two decades of leadership experience have led me through peaks and valleys, from managing large-scale technology projects in database systems, IP and optics, and nanotechnology to co-directing projects with the United Nations Development Program and CSIR.

Eager to begin my path of growth and discovery, I completed grades 11 and 12 through self-study in just six months. At 16, with my certificate in hand, I left South Africa for the United Kingdom to navigate the first chapter of adult life, working entry-level jobs to find my footing. By 19, I had qualified as a certified systems engineer, and soon after, I transitioned from technical roles to leadership in commercial technology business units. At just 22, I held my first significant leadership position, managing a key division of one of the UK’s largest IT distributors.

It was during these early years that I began facing some of the challenges associated with the corporate landscape that were rooted in far deeper systemic issues.  Some of my most intense and life-shaping experiences occurred during this time, but it was only later that I came to fully understand that it was these very experiences that had begun to shape my personal ethos.

I learned through contrast, as well as mentorship, that true leadership is a state of being that allows wisdom to emerge through a diversity of perspectives, and that one of the most important functions of a leader is being in service and support – creating the space for individuals to be the most authentic expression of themselves, and bring their unique gifts, unbounded, to their work.

After a decade in the UK, I returned home to South Africa and continued in business leadership roles until I was called to pivot completely.

A Deeper Calling

Part 2

It was in my mid-thirties that I began awakening to a deeper calling—a vague but persistent memory that began to slowly come into a clearer focus. Emerging from my inner depths was a remembrance of the fascinations and passions that had been left behind in childhood - my immense love, respect, and compassion for nature in all of her glory. This deeper aspect of myself was now urgently seeking expression, and I realized that I needed to begin channeling my energy and experience in this direction, and to bring my work in this world into alignment.

It was during this search that I discovered Biomimicry, and in that moment, I knew I had found what I was seeking to begin my journey.

Biomimicry reconnects us to nature as our most profound mentor, guides us to emulate the wisdom of natural systems for regenerative solutions.  It calls us to remember our place within the living world and to align with this genius to foster conditions in which all life can flourish.

Eager to immerse myself in this new way of being, I began my studies with Learn Biomimicry and deepened my understanding under the mentorship of the late Claire Janisch, founder of BiomimicrySA and a pioneer of biomimicry in Africa. Claire’s invitation to work with her was a synchronistic gift—one that allowed me to explore living systems thinking more deeply and to see how the brilliance of nature could be applied to address the very challenges I had encountered in my own journey.

Recognising the infinite, untapped potential available to us when we’re cognisant of our interconnectedness with every aspect of the world around us, I now avidly advocate for and educate on returning to wholeness through reconnection, living systems thinking, and regenerative design.  I continue to explore what it means for me personally to live regeneratively, and what the values and mental models are that enable us to align with the absolute genius all around us.

The mentorships and experiences I curate open a space for deep re-connection to occur where we’re able to experience and integrate the repeating patterns and principles we see succeeding brilliantly in nature over millennia, to our own everyday lives - both internally (spiritual, mental, and emotional) as well as practically for health, abundance, community, and environment.

“We are offering a world of more beauty, more joy, more connection, more love, more fulfillment, more exuberance, more leisure, more music, more dancing, and more celebration. The most inspiring glimpses you’ve ever had about what life can be – that is what we are offering.” – Charles Eisenstein

I extend a heartfelt invitation to join me on a journey of deep reconnection—where we explore the profound possibilities of living in harmony with nature and ourselves.