Featured Member: Jodie Mortadza
We regularly interview, feature and promote Pollinators members. This time we’re learning more about Jodie Mortadza.
Jodie Mortadza works with regional people and organisations to help make lively, strong and enjoyable communities.
Jodie recently became a member of our growing community of Social Entrepreneurs. She lives in Chittering but her work as Principal Consultant and Trainer at Consult Innovate Create takes her all over the state. Before establishing her own business Jodie worked for Regional Development Australia as Project and Development Manager in the Wheatbelt.
With a passion for regional communities, Jodie is currently working on several projects. One that she is keen to pursue in the future is a deceptively simple idea called ‘Community 4 Community Events‘.
Jodie says Chittering can be a little quiet. There is not much to do, particularly after hours, so she has come up with the idea to get a group of volunteers together to run regular community events like quiz nights, talent shows a and youth activities.
“Generally nothing too grand, it is really about social engagement,” she said
“As a trainer with extensive experience in project and event management I also aim to build the capacity of the group by coaching them and encouraging their ownership of the events, circulating roles and maybe varying volunteers.”
The concept is similar to Lions and Rotary Clubs with a dedicated focus on running community events with all profits donated to local service organisations like the Volunteer Fire Brigade or Ambulance.
Jodie says while some might not consider the idea ‘mind blowing’ the project has three clear benefits for the community:
− more social events in her community,
− building capacity and confidence in local people; and
− supporting the local community groups/specialised support initiatives.
To find out more about Jodi and her projects go to www.consultinnovatecreate.com.au
Featured Member: Wendy Watters
We regularly interview, feature and promote Pollinators members. This time we’re learning more about Wendy Watters
Helping people find solutions to their life challenges and discover the path to emotional freedom is Wendy Watters’ passion.
Through her life coaching practice, My Coach Wendy, she offers parent coaching and grief support to people looking for new ways to approach and resolve problems.
Wendy is also a mother of two, an active community member as Vice Chair of the Leaning Tree Community School, an award winning small business owner and one of the inaugural Pollinators members.
Following many years of personal development work, a process that began in her twenties, Wendy wanted to share what she has learned about living a full, balanced and happy life.
“I felt like a real library and source of information on personal development I wanted a loud speaker to tell people if you are unhappy and it is miserable there is another way,” she said.
“It can be really easy if you make the choice, you don’t have to hate going to work, you don’t have to struggle in your relationships, parenting doesn’t have to be hard and you don’t have to get stuck in grief.”
Over the years Wendy found that friends and acquaintances would come to her with questions particularly about parenting. In 2009 she decided to formalise the process and offer coaching as a way to reach more people and build a fulfilling career.
Through her work she draws on personal experience as well as professional development including, facilitator coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming. She is seeks out approaches and offers tools that achieve rapid results.
Wendy says she is captivated by the idea of social entrepreneurialism.
“I am into new, different, things that make a difference for people and to me that is what pollinators represents. I believe it is the way for our world to really move forward”.
“It is something unique, a really special organisation supporting all of those people who work as individuals, think outside the square and maybe don’t fit anywhere else but they all fit together under pollinators.” she said.
Wendy offers daily tips and insights on her Facebook page My Coach Wendy where you also chat and ask questions.
Featured Member: Marcel Delfino
We regularly interview, feature and promote Pollinators members. This time we’re learning more about Marcel Delfino
Using technology to solve problems and demystifying the online process for small business and community groups is Marcel Delfino’s focus.
Marcel is the owner of Webtechnology Australia, a father and one of the helpful hosts at the Pollinators co-working space – City Hive.
After working independently, mostly from home, for around fifteen years Marcel says he now enjoys the collaboration element of Pollinators while CityHive is a useful space for creating work life balance.
“It puts me in a, I’m at work mind set. The first day I worked here I got more done than I would in a week at home,” he said.
“I leave my computer here so when I get home I’m home there is no work. That means I can be present for my family.”
Marcel has seen lots of developments in the world of computing since starting his Bachelor of Computer science at the University of Newcastle in 1988.
“I didn’t even own a computer when I first started at university. The university only had a couple of rooms with a few unix terminals connected to a big mainframe rather than PCs as we know them today,” he said.
Originally Marcel provided a variety of information technology services including technical support, repair and advice. But when the long distance relationship with his current partner kindled in 2008, Marcel found himself travelling a lot. As a result he began to focus on the web development side of his business due to its portability, finally settling in Geraldton permanently in 2011.
Webtechnology Australia currently provides website hosting, development, and management. Marcel is proud to help not for profit organisations with a sliding scale for fees and offers a transparent process that enables clients to be in charge of their own web presence with or without his help.
“Some of people in this industry like to baffle people with bullshit and the client thinks it all sounds technical and therefore it must be necessary so ‘oh well we better pay for that’. I am not like that, I like to explain to people what they are paying for.” he said.
Marcel is currently working on an idea to collaborate with other professionals to establish a not for profit technology co-operative. The organisation would deliver high quality products and services, generate employment and reinvest profit back into the community and do pro-bono work for selected clients.
To see more of Marcel’s work or contact him go to www.webtechnology.com.au
Featured Member: Chantelle Prince
We regularly interview, feature and promote Pollinators members. This time we’re learning more about Chantelle Prince
“Once Were Trees” is the slogan for PalletMorph, Chantelle Prince’s wooden pallet upcycling business; and a basic fact she would have us all be more aware of.
Chantelle’s roles include mother, woodworker, online activist and social entrepreneur. The furniture pieces she makes from discarded pallets are functional and beautifully rustic. She said the idea for PalletMorph came when she heard about the mountain of pallets at the Geraldton tip.
“It is awesomely huge there is so much wood there and it is all destined for landfill. You’re not even allowed to take it, that is a liability thing,” Ms Prince said.
“I get my pallets at the moment from the hospital. Basically what I am trying to do is stop them getting to the pallet mountain in the first place. There are plenty of businesses that want you to take their pallets because it saves them taking them to the tip and it is such lovely wood, chemical free and naturally anti-bacterial” she said.
Prior to the birth of her three year old son Hugo, Chantelle worked as a cabinet assembler for kitchen and cabinet manufactures in Geraldton and Perth.
“Virtually all built-in cabinets are made from formaldehyde filled, particle board and if there is the slightest mark on the laminate it gets landfilled, it’s such a waste,” she said.
“ I want people to remember that even chipboard was once trees.”
Popularity for Chantelle’s unique furniture is growing and she is currently preparing to exhibit work at the Geraldton Museum next month. The Reclaim Regain exhibition will feature three other upcycle artists including fellow Pollinators member Rose Holdaway. The exhibition will be on display from the 5th to the 28th of April Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 4:00pm.
Chantelle is also administrator for the “Sustainable Geraldton” open group on Facebook, this is one avenue she uses to spread awareness about global social and environmental issues, and local solutions.
Partway through a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development, one solution to sustainable living Chantelle is working on is a design for “family hamlets”. The design would use environmentally friendly dwellings to make the walls around a courtyard playground providing both community and a safe environment for children. The concept is posted on the City Of Greater Geraldton’s Civic Evolution site. To find out more about the project and discuss how it could develop go to http://2029.civicevolution.org/proposal/10070 .
To see Chantelle’s PalletMorph creations or check out links to DIY pallet upcycling ideas go to www.palletmorph.com or drop into the Pollinators City Hive to see the furniture in action.
