B2B with a Twist Publication - Work • Stay • Play October Edition Work Stay Play Autumn 2018 Edition | Page 18

for council. So, in 2008 I decided to do just
that, I was elected to council as a councillor
representing the Australian Labor Party. I
was privileged to have been re-elected in
2012 and then once both councils were
forcibly merged I was privileged enough to
be elected in 2017 on the newly established
Central Coast Council; representing the
fine people of The Entrance Ward.
Lisa Matthews
I grew up as a normal everyday girl from
Western Sydney. My parents were true
working-class people who raised me to
appreciate the need to work hard, to fight
hard and to never limit my goals. I went to
public school in an era when schools were
grossly underfunded, teacher to student
ratios were large and school, especially
in Western Sydney, was rough. It was
always expected that, back then, young
girls would get a limited education, finish
school get married and have children.
A career, especially in politics was never
really an option for young women.
In addition to the role as a councillor on
Central Coast Council, I am the president
of Kamira residential drug and alcohol
program, I am chair of Central Coast
Council’s Status of Women Committee
which I also served on in 2012 and I run my
own business Natural Beauty by Lisa and
have done since 2004.
I am so excited to continue to champion
the role of women on the Central Coast
and am committed, more so then ever, to
ensuring young women today have the
resources, education and skills to be our
tomorrows community leaders.
I however, always held dear the lessons my
parents instilled in me; to work hard; keep
my head down; and never limit myself. I
graduated high school and got my HSC
and, of course, during year 12 I was on a
debating team! I should have realised early
that a career in politics was going to be on
the cards.
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After high school I obtained a traineeship
in a bank before quickly moving into the
superannuation industry. I wasn’t overly
comfortable working in this industry. So,
I decided to move into a more worker
friendly role, auditing transport company’s
superannuation compliance and ensuring
each business paid their employees fair
share of superannuation.
I eventually moved from Sydney to the
Central Coast where I live with my husband
and 2 amazing children. Whilst working for
the then Wyong Council as a community
worker, I decided that if I wanted to
facilitate real change I would need to run
Relocating to the Coast 15 years ago with a
young family and little else, I found myself
concurrently working three jobs as well
as helping to run my husbands’ carpentry
business. Having start-up and management
experience under my belt, I worked in a civil
engineering firm and travelled to India and
Dubai in a bid to expand the company’s
market share.
However, corporate was not in my heart,
when I was about to turn 40, the age my
mother was when she died the penny
dropped; I had done nothing for myself, I
had simply lost the plot. Gathering all my
strength I put everything on the line and,
along with 90 other hopefuls, I attended
a mass interview for 18 positions in a
Certificate III Fine Art course. I secured a
spot and never looked back.
There is nothing simple about changing
careers, I was terrified of failing, but I knew
I had done the right thing because I was in
my element! I still worked two part-time
jobs. By the time I finished my Diploma
in 2015, I had successfully held two solo
exhibitions and had almost replaced my
part-time wages.
Over the last couple of years I’ve begun
achieving milestones. It took me years to
be accepted to any juried competitions and
then suddenly I was a finalist in the prestigious
Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Maritime
Art Awards (VIC), the Paddington Art Prize…
and others. For 10 minutes I even felt like I
finally knew what I was doing, and then my
marriage ended and for the next 18 months
my focus did too.
Karen Bloomfield
Everybody’s lives are the culmination of their
experiences and the choices they make as a
result of these. My upbringing was perhaps
atypical: incorporating sexual assault, a
broken home, loss of family and, ultimately,
losing my mother at 16, or perhaps it is
typical.
Currently, I am in my studio 4-5 days every
week; receive steady commission work,
exhibit, teach and sell my work all year
round.
When asked to contribute to this article,
I couldn’t fathom why my journey may
inspire others but if I’ve learned anything it’s
this: There is no destination; your life is ever
evolving and you can’t get it wrong, except
to stop believing that you are worthy to
have what feels right for you.