Dr Shona Bass
Trailblazer, Leader, Coach, Author, Original Matilda
Shona has lived her life as a trailblazer. She proudly wears the mantle of an ‘Original Matilda” – as a player in the inaugural Australian National Women’s Soccer team. Her passion and achievements power the beacon she represents for women and young girls not only in sport but through her successful professional career.
Shona’s experiences in breaking through a male dominated sport environment, her leadership and collaboration with team members and traversing through prejudices in relation to women in sport and leadership are an outstanding model of strategy, resilience, and stamina.
Shona has exceptional intuition that she brings to her professional mentoring and coaching roles that garner her thirty years of experiences underpinned by theory and practical strategies. She draws on and shares her learnings from her roles as an elite athlete, mentor and executive leader. Shona is inspirational, engaging and entertaining in her presentations in keynote, dinner and breakfast sessions, conferences and seminars. Shona is highly skilled at building trust and resonance with audiences, enabling her to challenge and motivate reflection.
“Shona was an inspiration and motivated me to keep on going, to not give up and to remember the importance of having a voice. Loved her stories. ”
“Could have listened to Shona all day and night. A great dinner presentation that was mixed with humour, poignancy and inspiration.”
“I love listening to Shona, she is so passionate and engaging. I always leaver her presentations feeling excited and inspired to take up the challenge.”
Earned it, Lived it, Survived it – it’s the 1970’s the Victorian Football League (AFL) is King and so is the male workforce. So how does a 12-year-old girl with a passion represent her country in a sport that never makes the ‘back page’. This presentation will make you reminisce, laugh, cry and leave inspired.
Still doing it all? So here we are in the 2020’s and contrary to the narrative women are still expected to be doing it all. How far have we really come from the 1970’s and are we losing traction? Be prepared for a reality check and validation that you are likely to be feeling exhausted for good reason.
Parenting – who said it was easy? Feeling under pressure about getting your parenting right? How to juggle children, work and a quality of life. In this presentation Shona draws on theory and decades of experience working with parents, educators and sports coaches. This presentation will offer strategies and confidence to step up, while enjoying a laugh about the ‘joys of parenting’.
Communication – having trouble speaking up, feeling like you can never get your message across? How to find your voice. Give the communication textbooks and podcasts a break and enjoy this opportunity to listen to Shona take you through strategies to empower you and your voice to be heard.
Women in Sport – After a 33-year hiatus, women have returned to the world’s most-watched sporting event: the Tour de France. AFLW might just be lucky enough to secure full time status. The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and NZ in 2023. So have women really finally made it in sport? This presentation will take you through a historical journey of women in sport and challenge you to question … are we there yet?
Motivation how to persist and reach the place in life you want to be. In this presentation Shona draws upon her own experiences on how to keep the inner wheel of motivation turning.
Leadership – More often than not teams are left disempowered and in disarray because of the absence of quality leadership. In this presentation Shona uses her vast expertise and experience to unpack the X factor for successful leadership? She will share stories that will resonate, challenge and inspire you to lead with courage.
“I found Shona’s talk amazing and uplifting. She gave me courage and stamina to believe in myself and my goal, to not give up.”
“A very learned person speaking not only from hands on experience but from an enormous amount of knowledge, research and expertise. Her stories were fantastic, and it was great to have a laugh”