The Modern Crone

Jean  Balfour is a coach and teacher fascinated by what helps us feel happy and fulfilled at work. She has spent her entire career in people development, starting as a primary school teacher, moving into corporate leadership roles, and, for the last 25 years, coaching and leadership development. She is a Master Certified Coach, and until recently was training leaders to become executive coaches - being the coaches’ coach. She also hosts a podcast – The Fulfilled Leader.

Jean has recently launched her newest venture – a membership community called ‘Flourish’, for ambitious professionals who want to grow and develop in their career, particularly today, when change is the new constant. 

In Flourish, Jean provides a space for members to reflect and learn tools and strategies for self-coaching. She draws on psychology, neuroscience, spirituality and organisational theory to help people make sense of the complexity of work and regain a sense of fulfilment they thought they'd lost.

 Join us as Jean shares:

How following her truth continues to open new trajectories in her life

How she sees herself as ‘a conduit’ for others to find their purpose and passion

How she sees her life as an ongoing process of being in alignment

The imperative of reinvention and the freedom of the ‘third act’ in a woman’s life

The magnetism of true fulfilment

Her relationship with her inner critic

What is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

The holistic nature of resilience and the power of prioritising pleasure

Experience as the medicine for Ageism

 And so much more! 

You can find out more about Jean and connect here:

Website

Flourish Community

 Instragram

 Linkedin

 Substack

Huge thanks for The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Jason de Wilde

https://jasondewilde.com.au/

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

https://[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Lisa Clifford grew up in Sydney. She moved to Italy when she was sixteen years old and returned to Australia after winning a scholarship to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. 

After a journalism career that includes reporting for 2GB, KIIS FM and Channel 10 News, Lisa served as an associate producer of the Channel 10 Late News. Throughout her career, she continued to travel to Italy, corresponding for 2UE, the ABC’s Radio National and the Voice of America News Service. 

Lisa contributes opinion pieces, guides and lifestyle articles on Italy to The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, Gourmet Traveller and a range of other international magazines and newspapers. She is the author of Walking Sydney (Pan Macmillan 1998), The Promise - an Italian Romance (Pan Macmillan 2004), Death in the Mountains (Pan Macmillan), 2009 winner of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for writing about Italians) and Naples, A Way of Love (Penguin 2013), awarded the Australian Illustrated Book of the Year. 

In 2013, Lisa founded The Art of Writing, a Tuscany-based international writers' retreat for emerging and established writers. Lisa Clifford lives in Florence and Sydney. In 2025, she received a NSW State Library Fellowship to research her book Poised, a memoir/biography of her Australian etiquette-icon mother, June Dally-Watkins. 

That said, please don’t expect her to have perfect table manners.

Join us as Lisa shares:

• What it was like growing up with a famous mother who was a household name in Australia and her newfound appreciation of her legacy.
• How living between cultures formed her worldview and what ‘belonging’ means to her.
• How her life has been a ‘forced series of pivots’.
•  Her current focus on how women changed Australian culture through the 50s and 60s.
•  How the ability to pivot is a woman’s superpower.
• The challenge many female writers feel: they’re ‘not good enough’.
• The importance of ‘watering the garden of your dreams’.
• How serious research into a desired vision is key to manifesting it. 
• How, in her ‘crone years’, she has returned to her true self, intentional alignment and purpose...

And so much more!

You can find out more about Lisa and her works here:

 The Art of Writing https://the-art-of-writing.com/

 Books: https://www.lisacliffordwriter.com/ 

So grateful for The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Jason de Wilde

https://jasondewilde.com.au/

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Paula Orbea is a mother of two daughters with a strong drive to fight for balance and justice. She has been a high school Drama teacher for over 30 years, using the classroom to inspire students to critically reflect on their world. 

Her biggest fight was against an Australian misogynistic van hire company called Wicked Campers; she eventually saw national legislation change occur after 5 years. 

Her social media presence @ultimately_to_what_end names the problem of MALE Dominance & Violence + its global effect on the FEMALE Sex. 

Join us as Paula shares:

• Paula's roots in activism and inability to stand idly by in the face of injustice and misogyny
• The trigger moment when her 11 yr old daughter was seriously impacted by a vile slogan on the side of a van
• How speaking out gives others permission to act and is the best kind of role-modelling
• The impact of her blog and Change.org petition
• The stunning inaction of various standards bureaus and levels of government to effect change and make our streets safe
• Her continued fight, over 5 years, even when she felt as small as a mosquito
• How she dealt with derision and death threats
• How a Senate enquiry tried to turn the argument against her
• How she deals with the immense and seemingly never-ending injustices of the world
• Why she is so passionate about teaching high school drama and debating as a form of critical thinking and essential communication
• The independence, freedom and peace of being a Crone

And so much more! 

You can follow Paula on Instagram here.

And please take a moment to RATE & REVIEW The Modern Crone - this helps us enormously to reach more listeners.

Enjoy!

Big thanks to The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Jason de Wilde: 

www.jasondewilde.com.au

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Hilary is a strategist and futures thinker who spent thirty years inside the corporate machine before trading the analytical for the artistic and alchemic. As she approached 50, she took an intuitive leap from the limiting box she had created for herself to better align her inner and outer worlds, explore the unknown, and reach her true potential.  

Creator of the recent art exhibition ‘See: The Implicate Order- From Fragmentation to Wholeness’, she draws on metaphysics, psychology, and neuroscience, and practices Reiki and the ceremonial arts to help dismantle outdated societal notions through her creative work.

Join us as Hilary shares:

•  How not quite fitting in in her younger years became her strength in charting her own course
• How the theoretic ‘perfection’ of her life triggered a deep desire for change
• How her process of ‘individuation’ was not only internal, but also prompted by changes in her industry and life around her
• The lure of the unknown and trusting intuition to ‘make the leap’
• The perils of denying your creative spirit
• Navigating kick-back from loved ones when you choose to follow your purpose
• Reiki as a ‘magical conduit to consciousness’
• The active and retrospective nature of her artistic process
• The global arc of transformation happening in the world, and how we all have a role to play
• Painting as a portal, language as an activator
• The freedom that came with her recent diagnosis of autism and ADHD
• Alchemy, Hermeticism and the gifts of Magic
• Her wonderfully inspiring tips for all women to claim their ‘weirdy-bits’

 And so much more….

You can follow Hilary and her beautiful artworks here: 

https://www.instagram.com/hilary_ridley_lee/

 https://www.instagram.com/sundialstudiossg/

And please take a moment to RATE & REVIEW The Modern Crone - this helps us enormously to reach more listeners.

Enjoy!

Big thanks to The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Jason de Wilde: 

www.jasondewilde.com.au

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Sara Paz is a Chief Marketing Officer, known as a Chief Cheerleader, Chief Inspiration Officer, and Fun Crusader. She’s the Co-Founder of Crone Queen, a Board Member and a Charity Board Member. 

 Her favourite Quote: “If your life is your message, what will your message be?” Crone Queen, Sara Paz, Co-Founder of Crone Queen

Sara has been described as a ‘force of nature’ – a source of inspirational energy who exudes deep industry knowledge, a passion for business creativity, and award-winning credentials. Sara’s spent time at Oxford University, which led to a life as a professional nomad: her journeys have taken her all over the world for work and play, including career postings in the USA, Mexico, England, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. 

She has been named among APAC’s Top 10 Marketers, received Intel’s 2010 Marketing Innovation Award, and won Cannes Lions. Recent honours include Asia’s Most Admired Marketing Leaders 2023, Most Successful CMOs 2021, and Best CMO’s 2020. She is a marketing strategist who transforms companies and industries.

Join us as Sara shares:

• Her perspective that all of life is 'energy'
• Her approach to leading global teams
• The true nature of 'power'
• The 'Identity Foreclosure' she experienced in her 30's
• The expansiveness of authenticity
• How intuition is her main compass and how she can sense incoming change
• The abstract science of creativity
• Life as a gift rather than a counter force
• Fashion as a force
• The importance of the company you keep, and the content you absorb
• The mindset key to manifesting 

And so much more! 

You can learn more about Sara on LinkedIn and Instagram

As I wrap up Season 8 of The Modern Crone podcast, I realise that the stories of my incredible guests…have changed me! 

Not only because of their courage, resilience and sheer willpower…

Not only because of the powerful testaments their experiences give on the strength of the human spirit…

Not only because they remind us that ‘hardship’ and ‘challenge’ are relative…

But because they have expanded my understanding of TRANSFORMATION itself. 

I hope you enjoy my personal reflections.

Love,

Dani

Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Nicole Voltolina is compassionate, creative, always levelling up, living life with intention, with a big heart and a love for creating memorable moments. She is a successful small-business owner of a restaurant, a boutique, and a bar in the French Quarter. Her favourite thing in life is going on adventures. On February 10, 2019, Nicole was unknowingly exposed to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning over several days, which resulted in an unanticipated health crisis and very dire predictions for her recovery.

Join us as Nicole shares:

The hidden dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning in gas-heated spaces

Her horrendous slide into brain damage, severe memory loss and ‘off-lining’

How she was guided to find solutions that her medical team could not provide

The incredible booting up of her psychic and mediumistic abilities, when her cognitive function faltered

And so much more…

And if your spirit is stirred by these amazing conversations, don’t forget to like, subscribe and leave a review - so more people can find their way to The Modern Crone. Thank you for tuning in! 

 So grateful for The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Sam Joole: 

www.samjoole.com

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Nina is a 31-year-old third-culture kid based in Singapore. Originally from Denmark, with a touch of German heritage, she grew up across Southeast Asia, mostly in Singapore. She left at 18 to study sustainable development at the University of Edinburgh and then went on to work for the United Nations in Geneva. In 2021, she returned to Singapore to join her family’s industrial group as the fourth generation, which is pioneering sustainability within its sectors. She met her husband, Charlie, during a holiday back in Singapore ten years ago, and they married in 2023. Outside of work, Nina is a proud owner of three rescue furbabies, two dogs and a cat, and is expecting her first child in August 2026. 

In 2021, Nina was properly diagnosed with the mysterious and misunderstood condition of Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis, caused by an ovarian teratoma, bringing her close to death and permanent brain damage.

Join us as Nina shares:

Growing up as a ‘third culture kid’ - the good and the challenges

Her experience working at the UN and then joining her family business as the 4th generation

The day she collapsed with seizures at work, with acute inflammation of the brain

The arduous road to recovery from a coma, to psychosis, shut down of organs, to health and motherhood.

The incredible intervention of her mother and mother’s intuition

The gathering of a spiritual team, who ran spells and energy healing consistently, which Nina credits as the force that brought her back.

What it was like to be stuck in the dream realm between life and death

The moment when she chose to live.

The power of love and how the presence of her man surged her healing.

How she managed the resultant PTSD and survivor’s guilt from the experience through her spiritual journey.

How she understands the experience as her divine plan, the power of trust in that plan, and the intelligence of the body

So grateful for The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Sam Joole: 

www.samjoole.com

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Bradley Montag is an interior designer based in Sydney, Australia.  Prior to finding his way into the creative world, Bradley spent more than a decade in trial and error through various studies at university, including architecture, psychology, and, finally, law.  After pursuing a career in corporate law, Bradley could no longer ignore the pain that it was causing him and turned inward to find something more - his purpose.

By finding courage within, his passions and gifts slowly re-emerged, and the path ahead became clearer once more. Always fascinated by people’s homes and the powerful ways that spaces made him feel, interior design felt almost inevitable, and so it was a natural step into business to offer this to others.

Join us as Brad shares:

His journey to find his purpose and true expression 

The challenge of breaking free from family and societal expectations

How he dealt with others' fear projections when he quit his law career at a time when he ought to be chasing conventional success

How your body, mind and energy levels increasingly signal misalignment in your life path

His interesting take on when we deny our sexuality, we deny our creativity

Why listening to your inner compass is key

Embracing the in-betweens as sacred windows

How the spiritual arts of yoga, meditation and pilgrimage healed and realigned

His wonderful tips to nourish your dreams and find your path

How creativity moves through us, not from us, and we are all here to create

Find out more about Brad's work and writing here:

www.bradleymontag.com.au

www.instagram.com/bradleymontag

www.tiktok.com/@bradley.montag

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleymontag/

https://open.substack.com/pub/bradleymontag

And if your spirit is stirred by these amazing conversations, don’t forget to like, subscribe and leave a review - so more people can find their way to The Modern Crone. Thank you for tuning in! 

So Grateful for The Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Sam Joole: 

www.samjoole.com

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]

Juliet Stannard is British and spent her childhood living in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada as her father was in the British Military. She started work and moved to Singapore in 1993 with her then-husband, via a short stint in HK.

Juliet has worked in the Singapore Real Estate Industry for 26 years, and is now one of the Directors and owners of Citiprop – a very well-established agency on the island. 

Her life has been forged through a series of intense events and personal resurrections, which eventually led her on a journey of self-healing and exploring many types of therapy.

Today, Juliet is in a strong and happy place, and it’s a delight to welcome her to the podcast to share her story.

Join us as Juliet shares:

• Her experiences of infidelity and betrayal, and the impact on her self-confidence and intuition
• The challenging dynamics of a family that keeps secrets
• The warning signs of emotional manipulation, the small inner voice and gut feeling
• The deeper importance of allowing ourselves to grieve
• The varying degrees of betrayal
• The intriguing world of private investigators
• Her horrendous experience of the Boxing Day Tsunami and her daughter’s serious accident
• Her incredible ability to find light in the darkest places
• How the body keeps the score
• Does a series of ‘good luck’ factors evidence the presence of guidance and protection?
• The slow and steady road to reclaiming her life, finding herself again and opening to joy and love through spirituality and presence

And if your spirit is stirred by these amazing conversations, don’t forget to like, subscribe and leave a review - so more people can find their way to The Modern Crone. Thank you for tuning in! 

So Grateful for the Modern Crone team -

Theme music and season intro tracks:

Sam Joole: 

www.samjoole.com

Cover design and photography

Luana Suciu

https://www.instagram.com/luanasuciu/

[email protected] 

Voice editing:

Christopher Hales - Mask Music Studios

[email protected]

Studio and Reel production:

Kymberly Sng

[email protected]