Jennifer - Director and Founder

I’ve been an athlete for as long as I can remember — chasing the black line up and down the pool, spending weekends at swim meets, and recovering just in time to do it all again. While training more than ten times a week at an elite level, I was also navigating my academic journey. By Year 12, I was wrapping up VCE while taking university subjects through an enhancement program.

Although I eventually made room for more serious academic pursuits, I never stopped training for something. During my Honours and PhD studies, I continued to compete at UniSport Nationals in swimming, train in the gym, and transitioned into Masters-level swimming — where I medalled at State and National Championships. Alongside this, I threw myself into every opportunity at university: volunteering, leadership programs, open days, mentoring… if it existed, I was involved in it.

My academic research was focused on adolescents. As a young student myself, I explored what motivates university student volunteers. My Honours research — published in Personnel Review (an A* journal in the ABDC ranking system) — showed that young people often volunteer with a clear purpose: to gain experience, enhance their CVs, receive recognition (or merch!), or build networks. They’re strategic, driven, and goal-oriented.

This research laid the foundation for my PhD, which focused on adolescent leadership, comparing servant and narcissistic leadership behaviours in high school students.

But what struck me most — through teaching at postgraduate level and working on numerous research projects — was what happened after adolescence. Even the most focused, ambitious, and gritty individuals often seemed to lose that spark as they transitioned into adulthood. Life got crowded. Careers, responsibilities, burnout, and never-ending laundry took over. The mindset shift was real — from thriving to surviving.

And that’s where Jennifer Chelsea Advisory was born.

My mission is to help high-performing adults reconnect with their inner ambitious selves — not in a superficial “set goals and grind” way, but through structured, supportive, and sustainable coaching. I draw on a decade of experience in teaching, research, project management, and curriculum design across Australia’s major universities, as well as my lifelong passion for high performance and personal development.

Together, we’ll work to reignite that spark — with strategy, clarity, and purpose.