Meet Our Trainers: Jodi Woodroff – Moments That Matter during World Menopause Day 2026
In the lead-up to World Menopause Day, we’re inviting people to share a Moment That Matters. Because when small moments come together, they can create meaningful change.
Meet Jodi Woodroff – our Brisbane based facilitator and trainer.
Tell us about your background…
I’m a Brisbane-based corporate leader, menopause awareness trainer, yoga teacher and mum to an adult son. I’ve spent more than 30 years working across insurance, legal services and government, including two decades in senior operational leadership and transformation roles. I’ve led large teams, complex operations and significant organisational change, so I understand both the commercial realities workplaces face and the human impact of the decisions made within them.
I’ve also navigated endometriosis, adenomyosis and, more recently, perimenopause often while doing what so many women do: continuing to show up, lead and meet expectations without fully understanding what was happening in my own body.
Creativity has always been part of my background too. My family performed in vaudeville singing, dancing and acting and that love of storytelling and performance travelled through the generations. As a child, I put on plays, wrote poetry and could daydream up a storm. I’m far less fearless standing in front of people now than I was then, but the love of stories, words and human connection has stayed with me.
These days, my work spans corporate leadership, workplace education and yoga. They may appear to be different worlds, but they’re all grounded in helping people feel understood, supported and better equipped to navigate change.
What has been your work life journey to date?
My career has taken me through complex, people-focused environments across insurance, legal services and government, with most of the past 20 years spent in senior operational leadership and transformation roles. I’ve led large and geographically dispersed teams, built and reshaped operations, and helped people and organisations navigate periods of significant growth, pressure and change.
In midlife, my career expanded in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. Alongside my corporate work, I became a menopause awareness trainer and qualified yoga teacher. I now have what might be called a portfolio career or, less formally, a rather eclectic professional triangle of corporate leadership, workplace education and reminding people to breathe.
Which part of your own story or lived experience most drives your commitment to this work?
What drives me most is knowing how different those years might have felt if I’d understood what was happening sooner.
I experienced a myriad of physical and psychological changes without recognising or connecting them with perimenopause. I was accustomed to being capable, dependable and able to carry a great deal. When that became harder, I didn’t ask, “What’s happening to me?” I asked, “What’s wrong with me?”
I can’t go back and give that knowledge to my younger self, but I can help make sure other people and the workplaces around them have it. With accurate information and an understanding workplace, people are far less likely to struggle alone or make life-changing decisions while believing they’ve somehow lost their capability. They are also better equipped to recognise when they may need help, where to find it and how to advocate for themselves.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
The answer changed regularly. First, I wanted to be a teacher, then a dancer, and briefly an air hostess until it became apparent that I was never going to make it past 157 centimetres. By Year 12, I had become Youth Mayor, was considering public relations or journalism, and had been voted by my classmates as most likely to become Australia’s first female prime minister. My ambitions were broad and not especially domestic; becoming a wife, mum and homemaker certainly wasn’t part of the plan.
Life took me in directions I never predicted including becoming a mum at 23 after being told I couldn’t have children. Best surprise ever. But elements of those early ambitions survived. I now teach and facilitate, communicate for a living and still love dancing although these days a festival requires both enthusiasm and a carefully considered recovery period. I genuinely don’t know how I once managed it in heels all night.
Which participant story still sticks with you, and why?
One that has stayed with me came from a young woman in her early twenties who said she couldn’t wait to share what she had learned with her mum.
It was such a simple comment, but it captured the ripple effect of this work. Menopause awareness doesn’t only benefit the person experiencing it. It can help children understand their mothers, partners better support one another, managers respond with greater confidence, and colleagues recognise when someone may need understanding rather than judgement.
I’ve heard many deeply personal stories, but hers stayed with me because it represented something previous generations rarely had: the opportunity to begin this conversation before reaching menopause themselves.
What part of this work genuinely lights you up?
Knowing that the conversation doesn’t necessarily end when the session does.
Someone may leave recognising their own experience for the first time. Someone else may think differently about their mum, partner or colleague. A manager may feel more confident beginning a sensitive conversation, or a senior leader sharing their own story may make it safer for others to speak.
I love the questions, the honesty and the lightbulb moments, but it’s that ripple effect that really lights me up. People leave with language for something that may previously have felt confusing or unspeakable—and with practical ways to make things better.
How do you recharge after holding space for big stories all day?
I usually begin by reading the participant feedback. It keeps me connected to the “why” and reminds me of the impact a single conversation can have. It also never fails to make me feel incredibly fortunate to be involved in this work.
After that, it depends on what I need. It might be a quiet yoga practice or a hectic hot-yoga class, time in nature, walking the dog, disappearing into some music or dancing around the house with very little regard for dignity. Those are definitely “ors,” not “ands” I’m recharging, not entering a wellness decathlon. Balance is important.
What do you wish your younger self knew about menopause and work?
Growing up, I knew menopause only as “the change” something mysterious and vaguely ominous that happened to old ladies. It wasn’t discussed in my family or among my generation, and I had no idea that changes could begin in your forties or affect you physically, cognitively and psychologically.
When I began experiencing a bewildering collection of symptoms, menopause wasn’t even on my radar and I most certainly did not consider myself an old lady.
I wish my younger self had known what to look for, where to find credible information and that asking for information or support wasn’t weakness. I also wish I’d understood that “pushing through” is not always resilience. Sometimes resilience is recognising what you need and being willing to say it.
Outside of training, what’s your secret passion or hobby?
Yoga is my not-so-secret passion. I’ve established The Reset Room to share it with others, and I love seeing what can happen when people are given permission to pause whether that’s through a 15-minute workplace reset or a longer practice in a safe space where they can simply be.
The less expected answer is electronic dance music. I love going to festivals, dancing up a storm and completely letting go. These days, I just need to factor in sufficient recovery time for my hips. Apparently, the spirit of the rave remains willing even when the connective tissue has lodged a formal objection.
To host a session with Jodi in Brisbane or online – reach out to us at hello@menopausefriendly.com.au