We are WELA: Dr Louise Duxbury

Louise has a PhD in sustainability and technology policy, and experience in directing and managing landcare, farm forestry, watercare, bushcare, sustainable farming, revegetation, environmental protection and research projects in Western Australia. She also facilitates leadership programs, particularly for women working in environmental and community development fields – as she does at WELA as the Lead Facilitator.

Louise is a Director of Gondwana Link Limited and founder of Green Skills Inc, a not-for-profit environmental organisation focused on sustainability and integrating project management, training and employment programs for Western Australian industries.

We caught up with Louise to hear more about her inspiration and what she’s learnt from her extensive time in the WELA Program. 

What is your favourite part of the WELA Program to facilitate?

I love all aspects of delivering WELA, probably my favourite is personal resilience and relational practice. I also love the interventions in the system, power mapping and critical paths. AND, I love facilitation, group dynamics and conflict resolution.

What I love about WELA is that we acknowledge how important it is to address systemic change and the current paradigm, develop the skills and tools to be effective change makers and the leadership skills and personal confidence to step up as leaders.

What has been your biggest personal learning over the years of facilitating with WELA?

I have understood the grip that the imposter syndrome has had on me, that it has held me back in subtle ways and that I worked harder than I needed to as a result and that it was hardly about me at all! My kind of relational, collaborative, inclusive leadership is the kind of leadership the world desperately needs if we are to get out of our current mess. 

What is the footprint you want to leave behind on the planet?

I want to leave a better world than the one I came into.  I think I have demonstrably contributed to that in where I live on the Wolery Ecological Community and in the town of Denmark, also through my involvement with Gondwana Link and WELA but the larger landscape is a lot harder and I hope to have had a positive impact on a whole lot of other people who can steer the world in a more caring, equitable and positive direction to amplify the impact I can make as a single person.

Who or where do you look to for inspiration and hope when things feel hard?

My 93 year old, creative, positive Mum is awesome. The natural world is a continuing source of wonder and awe. I love the desert where I feel tiny in the face of huge landscapes, endless night skies and the longest continuing First Nations culture in the world. My efforts are both important and also small at the same time. It’s an important reminder to keep things in balance and just do your piece.

The 2023 WELA National Leadership Program is now open for applications.

The program is transformational for women who want to accelerate positive change for our environment and climate.

WELA’s National Leadership Program has successfully supported the leadership, career development and influence of over 135 women and gender diverse changemakers since 2016. 

Want to know more?

Come along to our online information session. Monday, 13 February 2023, 8-9pm AEDT. Register now.

Check out all the information on our program page including retreat dates, program fees and scholarship information, testimonials from previous participants, and the application form.