Hi! I’m Lara. Thanks for visiting!

Not sure how you’ve stumbled on this here corner of the internet…? Maybe you’re a question asker, meaning chaser or ethical meat connoisseur? Perhaps you’re a fellow op shopper, cat lover, or super human in training?

There’s nothing I love more than connecting with clever, curious folks. So if any of this vibes for you, feel free to send me a lil note using the form below.

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In any event, here’s a bit about me…

ABOUT ME

I spend a lot of time thinking about tricky problems, why they persist, and the structural levers for positive change.

What I'm really good at is bringing together different perspectives, asking useful questions and helping people find practical pathways through complexity.

I see potential and possibility everywhere, and I can’t help but chip away away at making things better.

PLACE

My husband and I moved to his family farm in Dederang in March 2020 - fortuitously just days before the first COVID lockdowns. In between remote work and zoom trivia nights, we built a house with views of the Kiewa Valley. Here, we operate a free range beef farm in the beautiful Victorian high country under the banner of Rogers Lane.

In 2021 and 2022 we supplied direct-to-consumer beef, lamb and curated wine to some good people all across Victoria. Juggling our on-farm priorities with full-time jobs off-farm, we made the call to put this aside in 2024… for now.

WORK

Professionally, I've spent 15+ years working across state and local government and the social purpose sector, with a focus on rural and regional Victoria. I'm interested in how policy, legislation, governance, organisations, people and incentives interact. I'm happiest working on messy problems without obvious answers, especially if my consultative research, strategy and policy skills can add value.

These days, I work across strategy, policy, governance and reform in the Victorian public sector, with recent adventures including legislative reform and regulatory systems to support public sector integrity, information governance and digital transformation. Before that I worked on high-priority industry transition initiatives, helped regional communities to build resilience to climate risks, supported rural women to step into decision-making and leadership roles, and championed the role of rural councils.

For me, moving between disciplines and policy areas has turned out to be something of a superpower - the subject matter changes, but the work I gravitate towards rarely does: complex problems that cross organisational boundaries, involve competing perspectives and require someone to work out what is actually going on before jumping to a solution. The common thread is capability and agency. I like working with people rather than designing change for them, and I'm interested in reform that leaves people, organisations and systems better equipped to navigate whatever comes next.

PLAY

I spend a lot of my play time upside down, swinging from things, and picking heavy stuff up and putting it down again with a bunch of awesome folks I’ve been very lucky to find in my new home in North East Victoria. When I’m not doing that, I am likely perusing any op shop within reach, making something more colourful, or curled up with my feline fur child. I love reading, writing, learning languages, good tunes, travel, photography, and beautiful food and wine. I am constantly searching for great small businesses and creatives, especially rural makers of food and wine that honours place and process.

BACKGROUND

I'm a neo-generalist - by design and by nature. I have a Bachelor of Arts (French) from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma of Commerce from RMIT University, with bits and pieces of other study around sustainability, leadership, innovation, strategy, policy, with a sprinkling of extra-curriculars like photography.

I am a trained vinyasa and yin yoga teacher, and used to teach classes and run occasional retreats. I also used to send sporadic collections of musings and my favourite things on the internet. Maybe one day I will do either or both again… subscribe if you’d like to be kept in the loop if I do!

A bunch of nice people wrote stuff about me back in the day. Surprisingly I don’t cringe at these profiles from many years ago. My youthful optimism hasn’t waned too much since I spoke to Chelsea Morley, Treadlie and Peppermint Magazines…