Michelle Shackleton

Activist, Change agent, Concerned citizen, Connector, Environmentalist, Global soul, Scientist, World traveler, Writer/Editor

I'm a Global Campaigner with Avaaz, a online community of citizens from all nations working to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. I started as a researcher in animal behaviour, but realised later that people were pretty interesting too and I became fascinated by the way we are inspired by other people's stories. Since then, I've found tales of inspiration from my time as a traveller, a public servant, a bar manager, a sustainability consultant, a divemaster, an environmental educator, and a National Campaign Coordinator with GetUp Australia.

Feelings of disempowerment arise because we aren't aware of the choices we make that direct every step in our lives. Learning to tell our story is the most powerful medium for us to connect, through our shared values, but it also helps us realise that we MADE the choice to be as amazing as we are -- there is no such thing as "it' just happened".

Behavioural Ecology, Community Organizer, Story as the fiber of community, Sustainability - changing behaviour and attitude

A friend invited me to join him in the foyer of TEDxSydney in 2010 to watch the talks, to which I said "Who's Ted?" When I started to explore the TED universe, the clarity and inspiration I experienced has propelled me into new stages of personal growth. Each talk breaks my scientific and creative brains through their walls, and ideas I never thought I could have are sprouting from the seeds planted by the greatest minds on the planet.

helping them tell their story.