Our Team

Samantha Payne

 Co-founder & CEO 

Sam experienced the heartache of multiple miscarriages and couldn’t find the support she needed. Together with Gabbi, she brought to life a vision of a #circleofsupport, a community where women were supported, nurtured, and empowered along their journeys. She has a degree in Media and a PostGrad in Education with a background in business development and she is currently studying for an altMBA.  Sam’s a change-maker with a passion to make a difference.

Anna Kratovil 

Peer Support Manager 

After experiencing the devastating loss of her second baby at 19.5 weeks pregnant, Anna realised just how many women go through the silenced trauma of early pregnancy loss, especially under 12 weeks. Anna joined Pink Elephants in 2018 as one of our first Peer Support Companions so she could help support other women and families going through the same grief. Discovering that this was her new path, she is now completing a double degree in Psychology & Counselling and is our Peer Support Manager.

"I want to help remove the cultural taboo and societal stigma incorrectly given to miscarriage and early pregnancy loss by increasing knowledge, conversations and empathy. In addition, I want to be part of improving the emotional care and support given to the 282 women each day in Australia going through the heartbreak of grief when they lose their much-loved babies."

Marianne Trinder

Counsellor 

Marianne is an accredited psychotherapist and counsellor, as well as a mindfulness instructor with over twenty-five years of experience in mindfulness practice.  Having spent years grappling with the heartache of pregnancy loss, Marianne was inspired to undertake further study and training in order to support others.

“Pregnancy loss had a profound effect on my life. My experience was treated as a medical condition, but the significant emotional toll was rarely acknowledged or validated and I found it difficult to find support or understanding. I am excited to be part of an organisation which not only offers support but also focuses so strongly on raising awareness and reducing stigma around the emotional impacts of pregnancy loss.”

Amanda Tipping 

National Partnerships Director

Amanda spends her days sharing our mission to normalise early pregnancy loss through evidence, empathy and compassion. Her focus is to promote our ‘Fertility in the Workplace Program’ in hope that workplaces get the appropriate training and support they need to ensure their people have access to the right tools and support material if they are going through pregnancy loss or associated fertility challenges.

"At 13 weeks I had to medically terminate my second pregnancy. My workplace gave me the time I needed to grieve and heal – but not everyone gets this level of support. I know firsthand how important it is for every workplace to provide employees going through early pregnancy loss the time, support, compassion and help they need to validate this grief."

Michelle Bussler 

Digital Marketing Manager 

Michelle is the face behind a lot of what you see online from Pink Elephants. She has worked in marketing and communications for 16+ years and was searching for an organisation who is changing the world - for the better.

"When I saw the ad for this position at Pink Elephants, I knew the role was meant for me. After losing three pregnancies, I feel so grateful and honoured to be part of such an inspiring, purpose-driven organisation. Some days I cry my way through content creation and some days I smile from ear-to-ear when I hear how we are helping people through their heartbreak."

Gabbi Armstrong

Co-Founder & Beneficiary Content  

Motivated by her own experience of both recurrent miscarriage and infertility, Gabbi co-founded Pink Elephants along with CEO Sam Payne. She firmly believes that all couples should receive validation of their loss, empathy for their grief, and valuable connections for support when experiencing the heartbreak of miscarriage and associated infertility. Through her writing, Gabbi provides a strong voice and is a passionate advocate for much-needed support in this area.

"Creating Pink Elephants with Sam is one of my proudest achievements. Having experienced recurrent miscarriage as well as undergoing two years of IVF, I knew all too well the devastation that comes with losing much-wanted babies. The #circleofsupport we have created continues to grow and reach more and more women, and our commitment to righting the story of pregnancy loss will be ever ongoing." 

Katie Luelf

Hospital Liaison 

Katie trained as a nurse and spent six years working in the NICU, which she adored. She then moved on to medical sales, specialising in neonatal ventilators, which enabled her to remain working with her precious neonates.

"My husband and I embarked on the struggle of our lives to have children. Many rounds of IVF, many miscarriages, and many tears, but we were eventually blessed with four beautiful children. I will never forget the pain and angst of a miscarriage. I have so much to give as a mother, nurse, and medical sales representative. Sam and Gabbi have started an amazing charity and I am both proud and honoured to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to watching it grow."

Jane Carland

Grants & Research 

Jane is a Senior Hospital Scientist in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. She is also a conjoint senior lecturer of the St Vincent’s Clinical School, UNSW Sydney. Outside the lab, she has been involved in the set-up and running of programs to extend research into the community, from pre-school science classes to School Outreach programs.

"Being involved with Pink Elephants gives me a way to help Gabbi and Sam expand their network, but also enables me to quietly support friends who have suffered through infertility or pregnancy loss."

Jacqui Grant 

People & Culture (HR) 

Jacqui is an HR professional with over 15 years experience working in both London and Sydney. More recently Jacqui has worked as People & Culture Manager at Accent Group, where she oversaw the HR functions for a number of their retail brands and support offices. After taking maternity leave to have her third son, Jacqui has started working as a Career Development Facilitator at the UNSW.

"I have been privileged to watch Pink Elephants grow from an idea that was born out of grief, to an amazing charity that is supporting thousands of women and their families across the country. The work that Sam and Gabbi have done to give miscarriage a voice, and bring it into the spotlight has been amazing. With my background in HR, I want to be able to assist Pink Elephants in reducing the stigma of miscarriage within the workplace and provide training to other HR and people managers on how to best support their team members in their time of need. I am also passionate about ensuring our National Employment Standards allow women and their partners the option for leave to provide them the time and space to grieve their loss."

Rebecca Page 

PR

Rebecca Page is a media relations and communications professional with more than 12 years experience working both in and with the Australian media industry. She works as Media Advisor for one of Australia’s most trusted and recognised brands, the NRMA. Prior to this role, she worked for NSW Health in a similar role. Before working in Public Relations, Rebecca worked as a journalist for Fairfax Media, the Seven and Nine Networks, and Sky News Australia.

"While on my first maternity leave, I struck up a friendship with PESN founders Sam and Gabbi in their local community, and felt compassionately compelled to volunteer my skills to help them reach more couples who need support, and to raise the profile of PESN among potential supporters."

Emma Nichols

Initially, I stumbled across the Pink Elephants Support Network at a presentation supported by Genea. Little did I know that some 6 months later, I would suffer a miscarriage myself. My partner was overseas at the time so I would have been at a loss without them.

"I choose to support this amazing charity as there is such a need for miscarriage awareness and support in our community. I hope to grow their workplace support programs and of course, assist with their fundraising needs ongoing. I am so proud to be a part of a group of incredible men and women who support PESN."

Sriyanthi Narayanan

Grants 

Sri previously worked in finance for over 10 years primarily in treasury in the banking and property industry.

"I chose to volunteer for PESN having gone through my own losses I believed in the benefit PESN provide through their support of women experiencing grief through pregnancy loss and those going through the fertility journey."

Belinda Foord

Graphic Designer 

Belinda is a graphic designer who lives on the sunny Gold Coast. She works for a PR company and also has her own freelance business on the side. Belinda is a creative person and loves everything design-related, including print design, magazine layout, and web design. Her family also owns a pet resort which enables Belinda to get her puppy fix!

"I started working for Pink Elephants a few months after my second miscarriage. The girls at Pink Elephants helped me so much through their Peer Support Program and I really wanted to give back to the community in some way. I thought this was the ideal way for me to support women in a similar situation."

Veronica Belot

Lawyer 

Veronica is a senior lawyer specialising in industrial and employment law, having been in the industry for over 10 years in private practice and working for employer associations, unions, and the Fair Work Commission.

"I chose to support Pink Elephants because they were there for me and my husband when we lost our baby 2 years ago. To have a resource that supports people who experience early pregnancy loss which touches so many is invaluable and to help them shows just a fraction of my gratitude in return."

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Jessie & Mitch Jordan

Production 

When we went through our two losses in our long infertility journey, The Pink Elephants offered so much love and support in a time where we had no idea how to cope with what was happening. After seeing all the great work they were doing, we knew we wanted to give back somehow.

"We run a small production company called Top Dog Productions, and after a quick call to Sam, we soon had a plan in place to shoot as many videos as we could, to spread the word about miscarriage and The Pink Elephants and to help other couples dealing with loss. It was such a cathartic thing for us to do and helped us see some light in a time when things were so dark. If just one of the videos we produced helps someone in a time of need, it will all be worthwhile."

Miranda Murray

Fertility in the Workplace Panelist 

Before she became a life coach, Miranda lived through the suffering of 10 unsuccessful IVF treatments which led to a heartbreaking and unexpected divorce.  Out of her own personal experience and an awareness of the lack of support in the fertility space, Miranda’s passion evolved for helping others in the same situation. She delivers programs specifically to help other women not just survive but thrive through the challenges of their fertility journeys and beyond. With her strong background in supporting people to thrive through challenging times, Miranda brings care, compassion, and a holistic approach with health and well-being a pivotal focus around everything she does.

Chloe Carr

Events Co-ordinator 

After 10 years in the retail sector, Chloë embarked on a career change after having her first baby. She stumbled headfirst into an Events role and has loved every day of work since! Working largely on fundraising events, Chloë very quickly realised the importance of philanthropy and giving and how to incorporate these aspects into her events- always with an element of meaning and fun!

Not knowing how to support her dearest friend through her losses, Chloë saw the desperate need for a charity like Pink Elephants and decided to help in any way she could. She is incredibly proud to be a part of the Pink Elephants team.

Rachel Haywood

Rachel helped us bring our vision for The Pink Elephants Support Network to life, and worked tirelessly and diligently during her time at Pink Elephants.

A large part of Rachel’s contribution was to the brand which is a huge and enduring part of our community support offering – almost like a virtual hug when women need it most.