MY IMPACT

Hi, I'm Lizette. I've spent most of my career in non-profit and education, fuelling innovation for a better future. As the first recruit at INCUBATE, the first university accelerator program in Australia, I've co-created award-winning programs and empowered countless entrepreneurs. Our alumni startups have impacts such as:

• Saving billions of litres of water wasted on carwashing

• Drastically reducing food waste by early disease detection in crops

• Saving lives through improving breast and lung cancer diagnosis by 34% across 150 countries

MY ORIGINS

I come from Manila, Philippines, where I grew up in the densest district in the world, Tondo. My parents worked hard for me to get a quality education for a better life. Unfortunately, I was expelled from university at 19 (I had an undiagnosed learning disability, ADHD, nobody knew about then.)

By luck, I had people who believed in me when I had nothing to show for. I eventually built a career without a degree (later even got one at the University of Sydney!). Had it not been for those who backed me, the stats on ADHD and my youth's academic performance show I was likely to have been a significant cost to society rather than being able to contribute to it. 

I've felt first-hand the difference individuals could make in how others explore their potential. I think this is why I've been so driven to help others find their way.

Stories not on my CV