Hi, I'm Si.

Strong Dads started in October 2023, after I ran a local dads group at Ocean Grove and finished the Working Out Dads program. What stood out wasn't the content — it was the connection. Real conversations. Friendships. Something most of us had quietly been missing.

It began as exercise sessions for dads and their kids. Relaxed. Natural. Well-attended. When winter hit, we moved online — and something unexpected happened. The conversations deepened. Dads started opening up. Supporting each other in ways that went well beyond a workout.

That shift pushed me further. I spent a year as a national dad mentor and facilitator with Dads Group, building toward a bigger idea: becoming the first Dads' Practitioner inside the healthcare system here in Geelong.

That's where the Wholehearted Dad Program came from — built from the ground up, combining my nursing background with real-world insight into what dads are actually navigating.

Today I work directly with local fathers, supporting them through the transition into parenthood and beyond. The vision is bigger than me: Dads' Practitioners embedded in hospitals and early parenting services, so fathers are properly supported from day one.