Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa as the youngest of 9 surviving siblings during the apartheid regime, Vanessa is passionate about addressing social injustice and its long-term impact.

With close to 20 years’ experience in executive leadership roles, developing and implementing strategic plans in the NFP sector, Vanessa is committed to serving marginalised and vulnerable communities.

Vanessa has intentionally sought and found appropriate ways to transfer her extensive governance, strategic planning and operational experience to the nonprofit sector.

A Member of IML (Institute of Managers and Leaders), Vanessa’s qualifications include Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Diploma in Management, Certificate IV in TAE (Training & Assessment) and Public Relations.

Dr. Janice Kreltszheim, known as Mrs Janice Smith when not at work, has been in General Practice for over 25 years. She is particularly interested in Women’s Health including Family Planning, Antenatal Care and Menopause management.

She believes that better sexual and reproductive health is essential for communities to thrive all over the world – from her hometown in Melbourne to under-served, vulnerable  communities all around the world.

Janice enjoys a game of tennis and is also an accomplished fundraiser who ably heads up Wise Choices for Life’s Fundraising Subcommittee.

Janice’s qualifications include: MBBS (Hons), FRACGP, DRANZCOG and several Certificates in Family Planning, Skin Cancer Medicine and Skin Cancer Therapeutics.

Lachlan has hands-on experience with systems procedure analysis, process auditing, improvement and training. These skills have been acquired and refined across a number of industries namely; hospitality, music industry warranty repairs, TV entertainment and the National Broadband Network.

Lachlan has a passion for continuous improvement and developing and reinforcing positive corporate culture. He is keen to explore how he can serve the not-for-profit sector in this regard.

His career has taken him overseas on more than one occasion in relation to training and quality assurance.

Lachlan holds a Bachelor in Communications and is currently undertaking an MBA.

Michael has a background in Financial Services having held Executive level positions in banking and superannuation. He commenced as our Treasurer in December 2018.

Michael was introduced to ‘Wise Choice for Life’ by his daughter Emily, who is a midwife. Emily first met Marg Docking (Founder and Executive Director) and her husband, John Docking in Ethiopia in 2015 and has been involved with the Midwifery Study Days and the Kampala Conference in 2017.

Michael spent 3 weeks in Uganda in 2008 and saw first hand the critical need for the life-changing work of ‘Wise Choice for Life’ .

Michael has a Bachelor of Economics with Honours, is a CPA and also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jen has held various administrative roles in private and public hospitals, banking and finance, local government and faith-based organisations. A heart for the people of Uganda, Jen has served there in different ministries at least four times in the early 2000s, witnessing first-hand the poverty around the large families and deaths during childbirth and as a result of AIDs. Seeing people helpless to make a difference in their lives because of the ignorance and defeat they were trapped in was very disturbing.

Then Jen heard about ‘Wise Choice for Life’ and their work in Uganda. Offering her skills in administration to benefit ‘Wise Choice for Life’ and the Ugandan community was a great fit and Jen is eager to be more involved as we gather momentum and expand to serve others with this important work. Jen is passionate about finding a way to end the vicious poverty cycle which she believes ‘Wise Choice for Life’ is so proactive in addressing.

Lauren VanEnk is an international development practitioner with over twelve years of experience working in design, implementation and management of global health programs. 

Lauren is particularly passionate about building the capacity of faith-based organizations and religious leaders to be champions for health and development in their communities. She brings technical expertise in the areas of family planning, gender, HIV, strategic scale-up, and social and behavior change. 

Serving with World Vision US, Lauren’s current position is Senior Regional Engagement Manager for East Africa. Previously, she was a faculty member at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health where she designed and led several family planning projects and research studies in Africa. 

Lauren holds an MPH from George Washington University and a BA from Calvin College.

Dorinda is a qualified nurse and midwife who has worked extensively in our Aussie Outback and the Horn of Africa.

She has managed various health projects, from acute care clinics to diverse community health projects. Most of her career has been focused on the reproductive, maternal and child health care areas.

Anyone who knows Dorinda will attest to the fact that she is a fun-loving and compassionate person. Despite being raised in the city, Dorinda is just as at home in the country as she is in the suburbs. She loves being out in the fresh air, growing her own veggies and even finds time to do some knitting and hand stitchery.

Notwithstanding her aversion to the internet, Dorinda currently enjoys her work as an After-Hours Coordinator, making full use of the skills she has gained over several years.  

Dorinda holds a Bachelor of Nursing, Post Grad studies in Midwifery and Tropical Diseases.

A Registered Nurse / Midwife, Marg Docking is the highly acclaimed Founder of Wise Choices for Life.

With certificates in comprehensive family planning, sexual health, and vocational training, Marg also graduated in Leadership Matters Course and Arrow Leadership for Not for Profit Executives.

Having had extensive experience working in Australia’s Indigenous, remote communities, Marg’s passion grew to help at-risk communities. It was not surprising then that Marg resigned after 16 years in the birthing unit at Wodonga Hospital to undertake a two-year internship with African Enterprise. She took up residence in Uganda where the alarmingly high maternal mortality rate motivated her further to dedicate her life to training others in reproductive health and life skills.

Marg served on the Australia Board, led the Operations in Australia as Executive Director and coached and mentored the Ugandan Country Director for nearly 12 years. Sadly, Marg retired from all her duties at Wise Choices for Life on 15 August 2020.