Milk and Margaritas

One woman's story of health, heartbreak and career that speaks on behalf of all women, carrying a critical message for workplaces across the globe.

Naomi's story is one of turning tragedy into personal and professional triumph as she navigated the difficult process of trying to create milk (i.e. make babies) and ultimately ended up drinking margaritas at her favorite Mexican restaurant each time her and her husband were presented with more and more difficult news. Naomi suffers from chronic endometriosis and two blood conditions. In the space of approximately 18 months, Naomi had 9 surgeries, over 100 tests and went through 3 rounds of IVF and then had a hysterectomy. Naomi lost 4 babies but ultimately had twin girls via surrogacy. Her daughters Savannah and Adaline were born prematurely at just 28 weeks. They spent 3 months in the hospital fighting for their lives. Naomi then went through a very public legal battle to obtain parental rights in Australia where commercial surrogacy is still illegal.

Naomi is now on the board of Surrogacy Australia advocating for change in this area but all of these experiences were had while building her career and being appointed as a partner in a law firm in the US. Throughout her journey, Naomi learnt a lot along the way about humans. Lessons about life, love, sacrifice, commitment, compassion, empathy, culture, diversity, the career ladder (and workplace politics), mentoring and sponsorship.

Naomi is now on a mission to change workplaces for women globally. As the number of women in the workforce is declining, it is more important than ever before to find better ways to support women at work, to support women to stay in the workforce and to succeed at work and it is Naomi's strong belief that in order to do that it requires us to start thinking about the workplace, and more importantly, women within the workplace, a little differently.