About Us
Company Vision (Our Dream)
Together we hold a dream and see a vision of a time when women 45+ are empowered, celebrated, and highly respected members of the community that live sustainable, personally fulfilled, economically independent lives with access to all the support they need including complete holistic health and wellness.
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Company Mission
To contribute to the empowerment of women, especially women over 45 through practitioner wellbeing services, information, education, and where applicable, recovery pathways and interlinked community and other support services.
Our Goals
Primary
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To enable women 45+ to access the information and relevant support services they need to achieve economic independence and improved physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing;
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To help women 45+ strengthen their L.E.G.S. (c) (self Leadership, Empowerment, Growth, and capacity to Shine) through a unique and bespoke pathway program;
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To provide, wherever feasible, income opportunities;
Secondary
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To provide research and relevant data to third party advocates fighting against ageism and for equal rights for women 45+, including affordable housing.
Founders
Stage Management - Opera Companies
Army Reserves - Signals & Admin
Royal Australian Air Force - Signals Int Analyst
Dept of Employment, Workplace Relations & Small Business - Project Admin
USQ - BCA, Theatre - Stage Management
Adv. Cert Parapsychology (energy, spiritual)
General Nursing & Midwifery Certificates
Diploma Health Science - Holistic Counselling Practice
Lifeline Psychological First Aid & Aboriginal Psychological First Aid
Certificate Meditation Teaching & Holistic Human Development, Chair Yoga Instructor
Holyoake Drumbeat Facilitator & Trained Protective Behaviours Facilitator Lvl III
Canberra Uni - Adult Education/Program Development, Management, HRD
Sales Consultant, Web Designer, Copywriter, Trainer, Researcher
General Manager - Boutique Investment Company (co-founded)
CertIV Small Business Management, Life Coaching,
Training and Assessment
Blue Knot Supporting Adult Survivors of Complex Trauma
Millionaire/Billionaire Coaching & Training - Sales, marketing, copywriting, social media, mindset for success, & personal development programs
Master Neuro Linguistic Programming Certificate
Helum Yumba Aboriginal Cultural Training
Monica Kennedy
Gayl Regina
Registered Nurse/Midwife
Community Nursing
Activity & Service Coordination
Youth Support Worker and Contact Supervisor
MJ Holistic Counselling & Natural Therapies + Workshop & Program Facilitator (co-owned business)
Lifeline Community Disaster Response Team Counsellor
Bidgerdii Community Health Service - Social & Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Counsellor
LGBTI Training
BCHS Aboriginal Cultural & Historical Training
Carers Qld (Regional) - Carers' Services Counsellor
UQ - GradCert Business (HR)
Director, Senior Life Coach, Personal Development Program Designer & Facilitator (own business)
Understanding Amphetamine & Other Substance Abuse, Family Support Training
Understanding Dementia Certificate
AIPC - Bachelor of Counselling (final year)
Sole Trader - Business consulting, business support services, L&D, etc.
QUT - GradCert Education: Digital Learning & Leadership
QUT - Master of Business: Philanthropy & Non-Profit Studes (inc. Social Enterprise)
Monica Kennedy
In this life, my passion is more than one thing - it is everything I place my focus on. Within my core I feel the pain of each injustice women feel. Why? Why do others feel they have the right to take away our right to self-determination, to believe they own us! From a young girl I looked out at the world of inequality, how women gave of themselves selflessly without regard for their wellbeing and being taken advantage of. I screamed inside. WHY? No one gave me an answer I was happy with other than it was tradition, the way it has always been done, just accept. Well, I refused to accept. Women have a right to be free to make choices that feels right for them, to be happy, to feel safe and respected for themselves.
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I am married to a gentle man who has his own expectations, however life with me and my ideals brings with it our own challenges. I struggle to push the boundaries to demand respect and equality. I live and breathe with a passion to make it better for my daughters and for my sons to understand respect, unity and equal rights for each gender.
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COVID-19 raised my awareness of the fact ageism is rife in our communities and this leads to my commitment to empower the 50plus women. We are not old, not on the scrap heap and will not go quietly into the aging process. Respect is our right and the loss to society is expansive if the younger generations do not accept that we all have a place in society standing beside each other sharing skills and knowledge.
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My purpose then is to shake up the world like our grandmothers before us and demand change. My passion is not to be silent - to have a voice, even as a quiet achiever. It's about taking one step at a time, helping another woman to feel she belongs…
Gayl Regina
I've always worked: in management, in defence, in government, & with many SME's and I've always been great at my job. I've run my own businesses and always had amazingly positive feedback. But when in the background, you are unaware of the slow mental, emotional & psychological breaking down of your personality, your friends and family suddenly wonder why you aren't operating at your usual effectiveness and have suddenly gone quiet.
As a professional woman who has experienced long term DV, and had to leave abusive relationships, I suddenly found myself unable to gain meaningful employment. With a lost self-esteem and as single mother for so many years, I often struggled to pay the rent and my situation further impacted my holistic health and wellbeing - my ability to cope. I understand first hand the challenges so many women in similar circumstances face. I felt like I was trapped in a cycle of poverty & pain on a never ending treadmill of stress, anxiety & depression - helpless - hopeless - lost; and caught in a system that was not conducive to my recovery. I wanted to die - many times - the secret life behind an exterior of confidence and academia. It was my two beautiful boys that I chose to live for, to keep safe, to take care of. I knew I had to take action to get back on my feet - on my LEGS - to find myself again so I could move forward. I found truly amazing and loving friends who have since become my family. I learnt how to manage and accept emotional support. These were new experiences for me.
In early 2021, after several discussions with Monica, I made the decision to focus my final master's project on looking at the viability of a social enterprise that could support women like us. We looked at underlying causes, current services and gaps. It became clear immediately that the situation for women over 45 was becoming a pandemic! Desperate needs for affordable housing, flexible income opportunities, holistic health support and more. Women were suffering and more needed to be done. Based on the research, I developed a holistic collaborative recovery model that linked with a past integrative & collaborative health care model I had worked on for years. Monica had years of experience in Holistic Counselling and had other models that linked in with the recovery model and with our awesome friend Judi Cowlrick (natural medicine, kinergetics, body talk), we started to develop a holistic recovery program (L.E.G.S.) that, together with integrated and collaborative health care, would help women get their lives back.
'One beautiful being at a time' !
Chi Balance Holistic Wellness & Education was born. And we are excited to be here to help you live your potential and fulfil your dreams. You are not alone! And with the right support and knowledge, anything is possible. :-)
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Information about our team and participant profiles: coming soon
Our Values
Our values drive our behaviours.
Non-Discriminatory
Although our primary focus is on the needs and welfare of women 50+, we will never discriminate based on an individual's personal health & lifestyle choices including cultural diversity.
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Compassion
We are empathic. We practice stepping into the shoes of another. In so doing, we feel compelled to alleviate their suffering and equally, celebrate their joy.
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Integrity
We do what we say we are going to do. We are honest and ethical.
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Collaboration & Co-creation
We understand the value and vital importance of collaboration. We believe that we all have something of value to offer and that together, we can create positive change. We especially ‘love’ working with those who are aligned with our vision!
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Passion & Commitment
We are committed to our goals. We work hard towards the outcomes we have set for ourselves. It’s more than a commitment – it’s our passion!
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Learning
We are committed to continuous growth and development. This includes research, and formal and informal learning opportunities to ensure that we always have the best to offer our stakeholders.
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Holistic
We know that to address issues, we must look at the person’s ‘whole’ self. We are committed to filling gaps in services that ensure women can achieve their goals. Our programs are driven by a holistic framework.
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