Nerida spent her career reshaping the legal profession, from one of only four female court registrars in 1980s Victoria, to CEO of the Law Institute of Victoria, to founder of Transformation Management Services, where she helped pioneer mediation practices now standard across the country. She studied law after hours while working as a court registrar, before the internet existed, and was told early on that a law degree would make people take notice of what she said. At 35, a high-risk birth nearly took her life, and she came back, she says, because her daughter needed her.

Her message to other women: do not stress the small stuff, most things work out, read, learn, listen, and throw out a wide net, it will all be useful later.

Find Nerida on LinkedIn at Nerida J W.