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Ruth O’Brien is a singer-songwriter from Canberra, ACT/Ngunnawal Country. 

 Her girlish yet powerful voice combined with her metaphorical, storytelling, songwriting-style effortlessly draws the attention of people of all ages. 

Influenced by the sounds of jazz, soul, pop, folk and classical music, Ruth is able to create a sense of vulnerability and intimacy in her performances, leaving people feeling connected to the experience.

 In 2014, she received funding from the Australia Council to write, record and release her debut EP, Invaluable. In May, she will release her second EP, Songs for Abby.

 Ruth has had many amazing performing opportunities as a vocalist and songwriter including at the 2016 Australia Day Live Concert, at the National Folk Festival 2022, as a support for Sydney singer-songwriter NGAIIRE. 

 Join me on the ConFab to gain an insight on her life story and passions.

The photo was taken  by Meg Houghton

 Irina will take us through her life journey, starting from her early years as a child growing up in the Soviet Union, following her sports accomplishments, academic journey that took her to the U.S. and Ireland, moving onto her international corporate career that had Irina globetrotting across 4 continents. 

Returning to her entrepreneurial roots due to a family relocation to Australia, Irina will take us on a journey of her passion for organically grown food & sustainable agriculture as well as the decision to leave the corporate world in order to run a family farm in NSW, Australia. 

Join me on the ConFab to gain an insight on her life story and passions. 

Frank’s farm story started over 25 years ago.  He purchased a 100-year-old farm that was tired and needed passion and devotion to bring it back to life. In its past life it was a thriving apple, pear and quince orchard with fruit taken by train to Sydney markets and by ship to England, often winning prizes there.

He always knew that one day our farm will become our sanctuary. However, a corporate international career kept pushing this idea back until the world turned upside down and many families reached a crossroads and had to make some life changing decisions. 

His was to return to Australia and focus on sharing our passion for organically grown food with our family and friends.

Today the family farm, which is less than an hour drive from Canberra and a bit more from Sydney, is a place for a peaceful getaway with our produce carefully grown in the most organic ways we know while maintaining eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

Join me on the ConFab to gain an insight on his life story and passions.

Tina is a barrister practicing almost exclusively in the area of native title. She has been a barrister for 17 years and has been briefed to appear as junior counsel for the applicants in a number of fully contested native title proceedings, including on-country hearings.

She has appeared before the Full Federal Court and the High Court in native title appeals.

Tina is highly respected for her ground-breaking work in the area of native title law. One of the few women who specialise in this area, she is respected for her tenacious yet approachable style with First Nations clients and legal professionals alike.

Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her lifes journey and passions.

By 30 Gary ran the protection team for the Australian Prime Minister and by 38, the office of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner. Silently struggling, by 40 his 10 year path to self-destruction was complete. 

Gary has called on his unique experience and expertise to coach individuals and teams in high pressure fields manage mental barriers for high performance.  In March 2023 he established Strong Men'd based in Brisbane Australia.

Join me on the ConFab to gain an insight on his passions and life journey.

I first meet Sandra in the Block a famous heritage arcade in Melbourne.  Sandra is the owner of the concept “The Alpaca Collection” is a boutique-clothing store for both women and men.

The concept was established in 1998, with clothing made exclusively from alpaca yarn from Australia and around the world, the business has continued to diversify.

Once considered a gift from the gods and the most important relic of the history of the Incas. Today, a world concerned about the environment and its sustainability has the opportunity to know and understand the importance of Alpacas and their fibre. Sandra understands this concept, and wants as many people to understand the contribution of Alpacas to the environment and our sustainability.

Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passions.

  
Tommy is a rapidly rising multi-disciplinary artist from Canberra, Australia.  His work is represented and collected both nationally and internationally.  

He fuses organic abstract painting and light to create a new beast in his futuristic and emotive light reactive artworks.

His work is has been described as ‘transformative' and takes fluid art to places not seen before. He has calibrated with other artist to creat thought provoking art projects and experiences by transforming conventional spaces into places of wonder.

Join me on the Confab to gain an insight into his passions and life journey. 

Victoria Pearce (a specialist Textiles Conservator) is the Director of Endangered Heritage in Canberra, its a conservation laboratory serving the public and private collectors. 

Victoria has worked in museums and galleries and auction houses around the world mentoring and teaching in best practice for the conservation of movable heritage. 

Victoria project managed the Establishment of the National Textiles Museum of Malaysia and went on to do conservation needs assessments on built heritage in China and worked in Singapore.

Join me on the ConFab with Michael G to gain an insight to her life story and passions.

After arriving to Australia in 2003, Ali has completed his Master of Business Administration from Charles Sturt University, Master of Professional Accounting from James Cook University and a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from Griffith University. 

Prior to arriving in Australia, Ali obtained Bachelor of Business Administration from Gujarat University in India. Ali has had a successful career as an entrepreneur with business interests in vocational education, accounting and information technology sectors. 

Ali has also served on the board of various government and non-governmental organisations and regularly features on various current affairs and news shows as a passionate activist for human rights, social cohesion and race relations. Ali has served the board as a volunteer board member including the chairman since 2005. 

Ali was appointed as the CEO of Islamic College of Brisbane in 2020. Ali believes that educating the next generation is the best way to ensure the progress and growth of our community.

Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.

Mary is an Australian actress, comedian, television personality and writer.

In 1987 Mary became a member of the ground-breaking stage show ‘Wogs out of Work’, where her comic creation Effie was born followed by the creation of TV comic series Acropolis Now. Mary has a diverse range of TV, film and stage credits are numerous. Mary has also written two books. Mary has also won the Logie Award for Most Popular Comedy Personality in 1993.

Mary is hanging up the wig and letting her hair down for a tour of her most intimate show to date. Having garnered rave reviews with her premiere of This Is Personal at the Sydney Opera House in May 2022, she is set to take her masterpiece to audiences Australia-wide.

Join me on the ConFab with Michael G to gain a insight of her life’s journey and her passions

Costa is a landscape architect, environmental educator and television presenter who has an all-consuming passion for plants and people. As co-creator and host of Costa’s Garden Odyssey for SBS, he caught the attention of a nation. 

Since 2013, Costa has continued his journey as the much-loved host of one of the ABC’s most iconic and Logie award-winning programs, Gardening Australia. Costa is a must have TV and radio guest on talk shows, lifestyle programs, current affairs programs, gameshows and brings the comedy gold in unexpected places to audiences young and old. 

Join me on the ConFab with Michael G to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.  

  When NASA classified Karl as non-astronaut material in 1981 he walked straight into ABC Radio station Double J and offered to talk about the Space shuttle launch. They said ‘Okay’ and his radio career took off from there.

 ‘Great Moments In Science’ ran on Double J while Karl moonlighted as a medical student.

Karl has degrees in Physics and Maths, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine and Surgery and has worked as a physicist, tutor, film-maker, car mechanic, labourer, and as a medical doctor at the Kids’ Hospital in Sydney.

His enthusiasm for science is has become totally infectious and no one is better able to convey the excitement and wonder of it all than Dr Karl.

Join me on the ConFab with Michael to gain an understanding of his passions and life journey.

Grand Hatters is a unique boutique store that showcases some of the finest men's and ladies headwear from around the world. 

With over six decades of high end men's fashion experience, Craig have teamed up with a fellow colleague to create a iconic establishment where personalised service has made it a must go shopping experience in Melbourne.

Join me on the Confab with Michael G to gain an understanding of Craig’s passions and life journey.

Rev Tim Costello is one of Australia’s most respected community leaders and a sought after voice on social justice issues, leadership and ethics. 

For 13 years until October 2016, Tim was Chief Executive of World Vision Australia.

Tim is a spokesperson for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which campaigns for law reform to prevent harm from poker machine gambling.

In earlier roles Tim was National President of the Baptist Union of Australia and Mayor of St Kilda, as well as Executive Director of Urban Seed.

Tim was named Victoria’s Australian of the Year, was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO); and in 1997 was named as one of Australia’s 100 National Living Treasures.

Join me on the Confab to gain an insight into his passions and life journey

Meet Andrew who is the ACT Chief Minister who is passionate about supporting Canberra’s diverse community. 

Through a range of innovative policies, he has helped shape Canberra to become Australia’s most inclusive city and the most LGBTIQ-friendly city in the country.

He has lived in Canberra for more than 40 years and attended Holt Preschool, Turner Primary, Lyneham High and Lake Ginninderra College, before studying a Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies) at the Australian National University, majoring in economics and political science.

Join me this Thursday to gain an insight to Andrew and his journey.

Lisa Millar is an Australian television news presenter and journalist. Lisa is currently co-host of the ABC's breakfast program News Breakfast alongside Michael Rowland.

Lisa has previously been a foreign correspondent for ABC News based in London and Washington DC. In December 2018, Lisa joined News Breakfast as co-host  In the following year .

Join me on the Confab to gain an insight into her passions and life journey. 

Meet Sam a Gold Logie-winning actor and Victorian Australian of the Year 2018, Samuel Johnson, he is also the cofounder of Love Your Sister which is a million-strong village of everyday Aussies committed to vanquishing cancer with hard science and the best new technologies. 

Love Your Sister supports precision treatment for ALL cancer patients, whatever the cancer, regardless of location, income, or status. We strive for the right treatment for every cancer patient, first time, every time.

Love Your Sister is Australia’s hardest working cancer vanquishing charity, and since its inception in 2012 has raised over $16M for medical research.

Join me this Thursday to gain an insight to Sam and his journey.

Gemma is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and medical doctor and a Reverend in the Anglican Church. Gemma went on to win gold, silver and bronze medals at two Paralympic Games — in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. Gemma was born in Canberra.

Gemma has an interest in music, playing the organ and cello and singing, and plays the cello with the Australian Doctors' Orchestra.

Join me on the Confab with Gemma to gain an insight into her life journey and passions.

  Meet Mim, an artist who used to reside in the Southern Highlands and is now a resident of the local area, who has exhibition in a local emporium. We hear her story about making the transition from the medical profession to a portrait artist with a unique style.

Her reasons for painting are simple. Through life’s journey, sentimentality never became part of her state of being. Thus she paints in order to preserve and maintain a memory, of places, people and things, through painting I keep the location, the people alive, reminding others of what exists. Once she paints something, Mim give it life, even if it’s only in her own heart. John Singer Sergeant best sums it up by saying, “every time I paint a portrait I lose a best friend”. ….thus I continue to paint. 

 Join me on the Confab with Gemma to gain an insight into her life journey and passions. 

 Ashley is a leading philanthropist with a deep appreciation for performing and visual arts. She is currently a trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW, and has served as director of Opera Australia Capital Fund since 2014.

Over the last thirty years, Ashley has been a member of the board of Festival of Sydney, the National Art School, the National Gallery of Australia Council and Foundation, the National Institute of Dramatic Arts and more. She has written three books: Ripe Energy (Pemberly Press, 2005), On Our Terms (Pemberly Press, 2011), and A Particular Woman (Ventura Press, 2020).

Ashley continues to study and lecture on French decorative arts and history, and in early 2020 was awarded the Chevalier des arts et des lettres by the French Government. 

Join me on the Confab to gain an understanding of her life and passions.

 You will meet Nate a meteorologist, oceanographer, Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant and the weather presenter on the National ABC’s News Breakfast.

When Nate Byrne left his job as a Naval Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy to present the weather on ABC’s News Breakfast it was a dream come true. In fact, it was the beginning of a surprising whole new chapter. 

Since 2017 the boy from Mullaloo has been a familiar face to millions of early risers tuning in for their fill of morning news, sport and of course, weather.

Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into his passions  and life journey. 

Meet Dianne who has worked tirelessly with St Vinnies in one of their local night patrol vans, camp quality and the Orange Sky Van.  I first meet Dianne at the Griffin Center helping people wash their clothes.

The Orange Sky van provides a platform for every day Australians to connect through a regular laundry and shower service.  The focus is on creating a safe, positive and supportive environment for people who are too often ignored or who feel disconnected from the community.  

Their volunteers are not social workers or experts on homelessness - they are empathetic listeners and great conversationalists.

We talk about her passions and what supporting really means.

 Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into his passions  and life journey. 

Stu is an artisan (Chocolatier) who creates wonderful chocolate delights from cacao beans and other ingredients.

He has a passion and philosophy that chocolate is an ingredient full of characters, complexities and stories, and not just something that coats a confectionery bar.  

He is based in Canberra and specialise in handmade multi-award-winning artisan style chocolate truffles, bars and unique items using chocolate made from cocoa beans sourced from different regions all around the world.  He also has worked in a number of Michelin hatted restaurants.

 Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into his passions  and life journey. 

 Catherine Sarah is an emerging singer/songwriter, releasing her debut EP, In Plain Sight, on January 8. Catherine was born in Canberra, studied at the ANU and is currently studying Medicine in Newcastle.  

Her music is a reflection of her life experiences and is a talented singer and songwriter.  We gain an understanding what has influenced her life choices. 

 Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into his passions  and life journey. 

In part 1 you will meet 2 seasoned musicians who met by chance earlier this year and decided to get together to play songs they grew up with. Glenda (lead guitar and vocals) and Szusza (bass guitar and background vocals) and are both transgender women.

You will be privileged to hear two original tracks composed and written by the band.  

We talk about their musical careers, passions and life stories over two episodes of the Confab.  

 Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into their passions  and life journey. 

 In part 2 you will hear a narrative and provide you with an opportunity to understand what being transgender is like, as Szusza and Glenda cover a range of transgender issues and their stories We talk about their musical careers, passions and life stories over two episodes of the Confab.  

 Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into their passions  and life journey. 

 Michael is currently Director of Diagnostic Haematology at the Canberra Hospital, ACT Pathology and Consultant Haematologist with responsibility for inpatients and outpatients.

He is actively involved in teaching and lecturing medical students at Australian National University, ANU Medical School, and participates as investigator and sub-investigator for clinical trials and research in leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, thrombosis and inherited bleeding disorders. 

He is also passionate about participating in choir music. 

Join me ion the Confab to gain an insight into his passions  and life journey.  

  Meet Mike and Ruthie the founding members and principal songwriters of the US band the Mammals.  The Mammals are a contemporary folk-rock band based in the Hudson Valley area of New York, in the United States.

The band were going to perform at this year’s (2019) Canberra National Folk festival, and they would have returned for 2021, however this event was also be cancelled due to Covid 19. 

The Mammals sing and play in a style heavily influenced by traditional folk, soul, old-time, blues, Cajun, Celtic and rock and roll. Their lyrics sometimes address political and environmental concerns; topics such as war, social justice, and sustainability.
We talk about their passions, musical careers and their love of music.

Join me on the Confab gain an insight to their passions and life journey.  

Science journalist and broadcaster Robyn presents RN's The Science Show and Ockham's Razor. He has conducted countless interviews with scientists on ABC TV on programs such as Quantum and Catalyst, narrated the Nature of Australia series and appeared in World Safari with David Attenborough.

Roybn was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and London. He graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. During this period, he was active in university acting and, like many other notable students, made guest appearances in BBC series The Goodies, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Doctor Who.

Join me on the Confab with Michael G to gain an insight into his life journey and passions.