She’s got

KATE FLANDERS (1999)

Kate’s Loreto education inspired her passion for social justice and bettering the rights of women and girls. Kate loved the Mary Ward ethos and remembers wonderful guest speakers coming to assembly talking about their work to make the world a better place – including a passionate speech by Sally Trench about the war in Bosnia and her work with refugees.

Kate pursued a dual degree at the University of Queensland in Science and Law. After a year of full-time study and parttime work, Kate needed a full-time job and started a traineeship at the Queensland Public Sector Union representing public servants in workplace matters. Kate thought “I’ll just do this for a year and then go back to full-time Uni” but fell in love with the work and stayed for nearly two decades. Her advocacy focused on gender pay equity, recognition for school support staff and public health workers.

In 2022, Kate became the State Secretary of the Labor Party in Queensland, a role dedicated to advancing education, women’s rights, equality, and fairness in politics. Kate is fortunate to have remained in contact with many of her friends from Loreto, an amazing group of exceptional women.

Kate’s daughter will also be joining the Loreto community in the next few years.

CATHY DAVID (NEE FREE, 1983)

Cathy started her career in nursing, specialising in general and midwifery practices. Later, she transitioned to the medical and pharmaceutical industry, devoting over 23 years to it. During this time, she discovered her true passion for fertility medicine and women’s health. For the past 18 years, Cathy has worked in various roles such as sales, sales management and medical affairs, all dedicated to this field.

Cathy believes in lifelong learning and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Health Administration in 2002. However, her deep interest in women’s health motivated her to pursue further education. Cathy successfully completed a Masters in Reproductive Medicine and subsequently obtained her Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at City Fertility, Cathy strives to raise awareness and promote understanding about women’s health and fertility-related matters. She is committed to fostering open conversations in these areas.

Cathy’s journey showcases her dedication to her career, her passion for women’s health and fertility medicine, and her commitment to lifelong learning. She continues to advocate for addressing women’s health concerns and advancing the dialogue on fertility-related issues.

JESS QUINN (2018)

Jess graduated from QUT in 2022 with a double degree in Information Technology (Information Systems) and Communication (Digital Media). She has been working in digital marketing since 2021 and was involved in advocating for women in STEM as part of the Women in Technology executive team at QUT. She completed a digital marketing internship with Elevate Communication in 2022, which led to her promotion from a Digital Marketing Assistant to a Digital Marketing Executive. Jess was recognised for her achievements as a finalist for the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Student of the Year Award at the Golden Target Awards in 2022. Her passion lies in UX/UI design, where she focuses on creating efficient user experiences for desktop and mobile applications.

During her time at Loreto, Jess played the alto saxophone and classical guitar, participating in various music ensembles such as Concert Band, Big Band, Sorelle, and Guitar Ensemble 1. Since 2019, she has been playing with Paul Svoboda’s Aurora Guitar Ensemble. Jess cherishes her memories from Loreto, particularly her studies in Graphic Design, Ancient History, and Japanese.