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High Calibre Attendee

Abbie Burgess

Abbie Burgess is a brave woman. If you've ever seen Lacrosse you might call her a tad crazy. This sport, employs the team field concepts of soccer with the skill to manipulate a stick as you would see in hockey, while employing the same offense and defense concepts as basketball, with the body contact of football. It's high paced, highly skilled and is now played professionally in the USA. 

Today we interview Abbie about her success as Lacrosse player and how she helps businesses become great places to work.  

Tell us about your journey as a lacrosse player. 

The lacrosse journey for me started out on the running track. A coach happened to spot me competing in (and winning) the state championships and suggested that I give lacrosse a go. At the relatively late age of 12, I started learning the technical skills and conditioning myself for the sport. I wasn’t a natural at first and that challenge only spurred me on. With lots of hard work, I represented Australia for the first time in the 2007 World Cup as an 18 year old and have remained a member of the team even since. This year I was lucky enough to compete as the only international player in the inaugural Women's Professional Lacrosse League for the Philadelphia Fire.

Can you describe what you do and how that impacts businesses?

I am a people, culture and talent leader who has for the best part of the last decade worked with companies to create Great Places To Work and Employers of Choice. I enjoy guiding teams through rapid growth and helping them to scale, fostering environments with attractive and engaging culture, shining a light on workplace inclusion, and supporting the development of current and future leaders. My focus is creating a space where people can be people. That translates to working on employee benefits and incentives, increasing engagement and developing our future leaders, overseeing talent acquisition and our external employer brand. These things enable us to attract and retain curious, engaged and motivated people. 

What attracted you to Nurture Her? 

An opportunity to meet with other business women who are like-minded. To share ideas and experiences in an environment that is relaxed and fun.

What are you hoping to get from your experience in Fiji? 

Meaningful connections and to come away with a new perspective on my career. 

If you were to have breakfast with one of our speakers who would it be and what would you want to learn from them? 

The guest speakers attending Nurture Her all look fantastic. If I had to pick just one, it would be Sarah Nally. I'd want to learn more about Neuro-linguistic programming and the intersection between communication and development. 

How do you currently deal with stress? 

My outlet is most certainly physical activity. I make time for this (a non negotiable) 5 days a week.

What is one thing people will be surprised to learn about you? 

I have a background in musculoskeletal therapy and have an interest in human anatomy. 

Will we find you down at the beach or at the poolside bar? 

Depending on the time of day, I will be taking advantage of both of these locations. 

Do you love a sleep in or will we see you at our 6:15am outdoor workout sessions? 

Early bird gets the worm - see you at 6.15am! 

Finally, if you were one of our guest speakers what issue would you address? 

Imposter syndrome and some basic ways to shift mindset on that. Particularly for young and aspiring leaders. 

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