By providing a space to grieve in an empowering and positive way, and offering support as they navigate life and it’s many milestones without mum - daughters and families alike can become stronger together.
Embracing women's lived experiences of mother loss is at the centre of our work. Bringing together women of all ages and backgrounds to comfort and support each other in a non-judgmental space, Motherless Daughters provides the platform to facilitate discussion that might otherwise not have been possible.
For us, it goes beyond care and support of daughters and families, it’s about raising awareness in the community of the often overlooked impacts of mother loss. The more aware families, friends and colleagues are of what to look out for, the more we can all support daughters in coping with the loss of one of life's most precious relationships.
Creating awareness - we’ll educate the community to equip them with the skills to support women and girls who have experienced mother loss. Present evidence - we’ll research and always remain curious about our community’s experiences to inform future activities and services, so they remain relevant and valuable to our members.
We deliver on these promises through a range of events and support programmes.
Everyone processes their grief in their own way, at their own pace. We respect how our community chooses to cope.
We strive to understand the emotions of our community and create a space to share and be open, together.
Every daughter's experience is different. We will foster an environment where experiences and emotions are shared without judgement.
Together we’re stronger, so we’re committed to working closely with our community to provide the best possible support.
As a registered charity, we’ll provide you, our community and stakeholders, with transparency in all we do.
We’re on this journey ourselves, so we’re committed to being authentic and sharing our own journey with you.
As Danielle had such a close and special relationship with her mum, she felt as though her whole world had fallen apart and found it difficult to contemplate the finality associated with death. Not knowing anyone her own age that had also experienced the loss of a mother left Danielle feeling misunderstood and lonely.
Danielle longed to connect with another woman who was in the same shoes, but there was no support specific to losing a mother.
While riding the waves of grief, Danielle decided to invest her time and channel her energy into creating the support network she would have liked available and to change the path for future motherless daughters. In 2013, she reached out on an American Mother Loss Facebook page with the hopes of finding a Victorian-based woman in the same shoes and who might share her vision to connect girls and women whose mothers have died.
Eloise Baker responded and the two met where they discussed all things mother loss. It was here the idea of Motherless Daughters was born.
Eloise grew up living with her dad, step mum, two older brothers and step brother in Melbourne. As a teenager, Eloise often longed to have her motherless life understood and supported by her fellow peers at an all girls school and also in the wider community.
A chance online connection with Danielle made for an instant friendship and special connection In 2014, in fact, Danielle was a bridesmaid in Eloise's wedding. The opportunity to help create and establish Motherless Daughters Australia was an absolute dream come true for Eloise as its vision and ideas spoke strongly to her heart.
Eloise has faced many of life's milestones without her mum, but was fortunate enough to have had her maternal grandmother by her side supporting her for most of these milestones until 2020 when she passed away. In 2020, Eloise became a first time mum to daughter, Matilda.
Michelle’s career spans 25 years of executive leadership and includes a wealth of in-depth experience in a variety of National and Global Executive roles across a range of industry sectors. Previously holding CEO, COO & CMO roles for several well-known brands, as an entrepreneur at heart, she has also started a number of companies throughout her career.
These days Michelle has a ‘portfolio career’ which means she gets to do lots of fun, interesting things every day that are incredibly varied. She’s a Non-Executive Director on the board of ASX listed Experience Co (ASX:EXP), recently finished a term on the board of BSA Limited (ASX:BSA) and held a Director role on the Board of Tourism Tasmania for eight years.
“Having sat on boards for over twenty years, this is the first board I have a strong emotional connection to and I'm thrilled to build upon the incredible work done before me. Having personally experienced the profound loss of my mother when I was 26, I deeply resonate with MDA's mission to support and connect women and girls who have lost their mums. If an organisation like MDA existed when I and my young siblings lost our mum, our lives would have been much different. We would have had support and understanding from others who comprehend the profound loss when you lose your mum prematurely. I feel honored to be the Chair of this board and work with the founders, Danielle and Eloise to serve our members at such a difficult time in their lives.”
Since becoming a mum at the age of 41, Julie has reflected on how the time we have with our children can influence their experience of the world and their attachment to others. For so many this time is all too short, and that is why organisations such as MDA are fundamental in being there and advocating for women and their supporters.
As a Clinical Psychologist, CEO of Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Australia (PANDA), and a nationally recognised leader in clinical governance, health care and mental health reform, Julie brings a wealth of expertise. Having worked across a range of health care settings, Julie’s extensive track record of organisational growth, governance and accountability, community engagement and advocacy place her in an ideal position to support the growth of MDA. Julie is “thrilled to be a Board member of this great organisation”.
Mark connected with Motherless Daughters through his wife’s experience; “both my wife and mother had amazing close relationships with their mothers who they talked to just about every day. The bond between them was incredible and I wish MDA had existed then so that there had been an opportunity to engage with other daughters when their mothers passed.”
Over the course of his career, Mark has been part of executive leadership teams and led professional service teams. Mark brings expertise in developing national capabilities and competencies.
Prior to joining the MDA board Tim was the audit committee chair of an independent not-for-profit organisation that works with people to enhance their mental health and wellbeing. Tim is the father of two daughters in their twenties and has a passion for empowering young women to succeed and realise their true potential; “When I met Danielle and Eloise for the first time I was absolutely blown away by their passion and commitment for the work they were doing to support young women to cope with the loss of their mum”.
Tim grew up in Jersey, a small island which is part of the United Kingdom and moved to Brisbane, Australia in 2002 which he now calls home
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