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ABOUT US

Harnessing decades of service to menstrual education the Chalice Foundation was created to gather and channel the expertise of educators and to promote menstrual wellbeing, quality menstrual education and above all a positive menstrual culture. 

Today, as we celebrate a rising tide of menstrual awareness, menstrual activism and widely-available menstrual education for all, we look forward to these becoming key features of all gender equity actions, public health initiatives, workplace and social policy, as well as life-long education. 

The Chalice Foundation was established in 2017 as a not-for-profit social enterprise (company limited by guarantee). All profits from activities remain within the organisation to further support the Chalice Foundation mission to promote a positive menstrual culture for the benefit of us all.

We are committed to providing respectful, inclusive services where all can feel safe, affirmed and celebrated.

The Chalice Foundation respectfully acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and First Nation peoples around the world. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waterways, culture and community, and honour the wisdom of the life-affirming rites of passage that were, and are in many cases still, practiced on these lands and in these communities.

Chalice Foundation Directors

Jane Bennett is the founder of the Chalice Foundation and a social worker, researcher, writer and educator with nearly 40 years in practice. After experiencing the revelations of Natural Fertility Management in the mid-1980s Jane began working as a Natural Fertility Management counsellor, then trainer and later authoring The Natural Fertility Management Kits with Francesca Naish. Jane launched Celebration Day for Girls in 2000, Cool on the Inside in 2002, Fathers Celebrating Daughters in 2004 and Mense-Ed in 2016. Jane co-created The Rite Journey girl’s Year 9 program, and continue’s her long-standing role with Natural Fertility Management. Jane is the author of A Blessing Not a Curse and Girltopia, and co-author of About Bloody Time – The Menstrual Revolution We Have to Have, Woman Wise Conversation Cards, The Complete Guide to Optimum Conception, The Natural Fertility Management Contraception Kit  and The Pill – Are You Sure It’s for You?, and is eternally passionate about nourishing healthy curiosity and best-practice self-care for women and girls.

Gayle Hardie is internationally recognised for her capability, enthusiasm and experience in the world of leadership and organisation transformation. She co-founded Global Leadership Foundation with Malcolm Lazenby and is passionate about and committed to making a positive difference to people, organisations and communities – both locally and globally.

Gayle brings over 30 years of experience and internationally recognised expertise in developing, strengthening and transforming individuals, teams, organisations and communities, and currently works with boards and senior leaders all over the world in a range of areas, including: transformational leadership and change in individuals and organisations, strategic planning and development, emotional health and leadership resilience, leading through facilitating, strengthening collaboration, and board and executive mentoring and coaching.

Gayle is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She provides coaching and mentoring to members of this organisation. Among other achievements, Gayle is a fellow and former board member of Leadership Victoria and is a recipient of the Business and Professional Women’s Community Leadership Award.

Mariah Watts has worked predominately in the financial sector of organisations since graduating in a Bachelor of International Business. However, leaning into her true career passions, Mariah has pivoted her career direction focussing on people, leadership and connection. She now works as a Manager of People and Culture, implementing frameworks within her organisation, and also facilitates leadership camps.

Additionally Mariah is passionate about music and performs her original work in Melbourne.

Throughout her personal and professional life, Mariah has gravitated towards working in an empowering space for women and girls. She believes that women who understand their bodies establish an intrinsic confidence and connection to both themselves and other people. With this, she believes contemporary menstrual education as taught and supported by the Chalice Foundation is both powerful and essential for female agency and wellbeing. Mariah is honoured to support these initiatives through her directorship of the Chalice Foundation.

 

We’d like to take this opportunity to honour and warmly thank Sam Slicer, Angela Fraser, Jane Mallick and Veronica Moule who have recently transitioned from their roles as directors of the Chalice Foundation. Each has left an important legacy in their generous work supporting the establishment of the Chalice Foundation, which will continue to spread the benefits of a positive menstrual education far and wide.

Sam thank you for contributing, amongst many other things, your years of experience in growing a successful business and your creative genius, Ange thank you for bringing your deep knowledge of menstrual education and profoundly practicality and clear thinking, Jane M thank you for your passionate and wise contribution gleaned from years spent in research, education/training and women’s health, and Ronnie thank you for the valuable lens you provided us as a GP specialising in obstetrics, and your holistic view and passion for supporting patients to be active decision makers.

We would especially like to honour Stella Clifford who, along with Sam Slicer and Jane Bennett, was an inaugural director of the Chalice Foundation. Stella brought her experience of rural business and training in for purpose directorship along with a great appreciation of the purpose of the Chalice Foundation, which she so thoughtfully and wholeheartedly co-gestated and -birthed. Thank you Stella, your strong clear heart-centred voice is ever with us. We miss you. Vale Stella 

Contributors

Casimira Melican is a Policy and Programs Officer at the Office for Women (Victorian Government) and has been co-editing The Leak with Jane Bennett since April 2020. Casimira has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Melbourne with a focus on policy, human rights and international governance. In 2016, Casimira co-wrote the VWT’s menstrual and menopause workplace wellbeing policy, co-authored Ourselves at Work: Creating positive menstrual culture in your workplace and led advocacy on the policy until June 2021 in her role as Manager of About Bloody Time and Research and Policy Officer at VWT. Casimira is passionate about the ability for policy and research to have real world impact and empower women, trans, non-binary and gender diverse individuals within our society.

Georgia Shepherd is a graduate sexology student with a Bachelor of Arts. She is a fellow Endo-warrior and is passionate about women’s sexual health and representation in politics. Georgia is inspired by the power of policy and advocacy to advance gender equality and is committed to achieving an inclusive, equitable, and socially-just Australia for all.

Georgia’s publications Post School Period Survey Report and Improving Victoria’s Menstrual Education: A Research Paper can be viewed or downloaded here

Georgia is co-developing the Chalice Foundation social media strategy with Jane Bennett and regularly posts about The Leak blogs and other news.

Natasha Blumer is a public health consultant and is currently managing the Lancet One Health Commission at Technical University Munich. Natasha has worked in a range of international institutions at ministry, donor and local NGO levels in Ukraine, Germany and Australia. Her technical expertise lies within monitoring and evaluation, project management and research skills and she is ardent about ensuring access to health care and increasing measurable impact for organisations working in this sphere.

Natasha offers ongoing monitoring and evaluation consultation with the Chalice Foundation to support our data collection and analysis endeavours. She is a passionate supporter of our efforts to create and sustain a positive menstrual culture.

Therése O’Brien is a Community Engagement Specialist with extensive experience working in organisations across southern Queensland: supporting young carers and vulnerable families, training and mentoring volunteers, networking to implement community garden’s for ‘healthy communities’, organising independent living and mobility support for the aged and people with a disability, improving access to services for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and liaising with and supporting Aboriginal Child Care Links.

After a positive experience of two natural active home births Therése advocated for CHOICES in birth, lobbying for a midwifery model of care at her local public hospital, and also lobbied for a women’s wellbeing hub to be established in the local community. Therése loves to see programs that support girls and women thrive, not just survive.

Therése trained with Jane Bennett in 2013 as a Celebration Day for Girls (CDG) facilitator and currently coordinates the CDG Outreach Team and the CDG Social Media Team, and is developing volunteer protocols for the Chalice Foundation.

Adriana Tantau is a global fitness consultant and host of The PMDD Podcast. She is on a mission to create a more menstrual friendly world through awareness and education. Adriana is especially interested in creating menstural health awareness programs in the workplace.

  • The Chalice Foundation is a not-for-profit social enterprise, registered as a company limited by guarantee (Ltd.) with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
  • The Chalice Foundation completes and lodges a Small Charity Income Statement annually.
  • The Chalice Foundation board seeks to perform best practice governance to help enable optimal realisation of the aims of the Chalice Foundation.
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