News
Lori’s journey to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.
A Career at the crossroads.
After 16 years with Canada’s sole national vision services organisation, Lori found herself at a career crossroads. The daily grind of commuting 100 kilometres each way from Niagara Falls to Toronto – sitting in traffic for hours, doing the same job day after day – was, in her words, “killing my soul slowly.” The arrival of COVID-19 brought everything into sharp focus: she was “too young to retire but too old to keep doing what I was doing.”
Then came that fateful LinkedIn message asking if she’d be interested in O&M work in Australia. “I took the bait,” Lori laughs, and after interviewing with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, she was offered a position. “I feel like things happen as they should, and things happen for a reason.”
Making Australia home!
What followed was a remarkably smooth transition. Selling her home, leaving her career, navigating immigration – everything fell into place with surprising ease. “Never felt any homesickness,” she reflects. “I just always felt very at home here.”
The welcome she received from Guide Dogs NSW/ACT made the difference. “I work with an amazing team who made it their mission to make sure I felt very comfortable and welcomed,” she says. Coming from an organisation with no career alternatives, the contrast was stark. “This is me running towards something pretty amazing.”
Life on the road: No two days are the same.
Today, Lori’s work looks nothing like her old routine. Her territory spans from the ACT to regional NSW, with regular six-week rotations to Dubbo and surrounding areas where she works with children and families in their own communities.
“No two days are the same,” she emphasises. Office days are spent catching up on emails, chasing down funding for families, and developing assessment and training materials with her O&M colleagues. But it’s the road days that truly showcase her commitment – spending nights in country towns, working with children in their daycare settings, and building crucial relationships with families who haven’t had consistent support.
Building bridges communities
In remote locations like Cobar, Lori has found unexpected allies. Local organisations go out of their way to support her work, offering spaces at youth centres and even turning down the gym music so she can work effectively with children. “They’re falling over themselves to give me a space,” she says with appreciation.
Her approach goes beyond traditional O&M services. She’s researching rare eye conditions like achromatopsia to create information sheets for childcare providers, helping them understand what to expect and how to support children with low vision. She’s educating daycare workers about promoting cane use and maximising comfort for her young Clients.
The power of professional development.
What sets Guide Dogs apart for Lori is the investment in professional development. Unlike her previous role, where she was “a jack of all trades but master of none,” here she has been able to specialise in early childhood O&M – combining her background as an early childhood educator with her O&M expertise.
“They want to invest in me as an early childhood O&M specialist,” she explains. “I love kids – that’s my favourite. It’s the best of both worlds. I’m not sitting all day in daycare, but I get that excitement of hanging out with kids.”
Looking forward.
Lori’s commitment to her work across regional NSW and the ACT continues to make a profound difference in the lives of our Clients. Her journey from sitting in Toronto traffic to travelling the roads of Australia proves that sometimes the best career moves are the ones that take you furthest from where you started, both geographically and professionally.
For the families and children who benefit from her expertise, dedication, and genuine care, Lori’s transformation represents more than just a career change – it’s a testament to the power of following your passion and finding where you truly belong.
