FOUNDER & SECRETARY

Shelly Langford is a birthworker and perinatal bodyworker with more than 10 years experience supporting women and families of Far North Queensland throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

As the founder of Gulagbi, Shelly’s reach has extended to Papua New Guinea where she works alongside remote communities to help plant the seeds for long term growth, sustainability and self determination in areas of infrastructure, maternity care, healthcare, food supply and nutrition.

Locally, Shelly is working to improve access to Birthing on Country and culturally supportive maternity and birth care practices for First Nations women and families, as well as creating access to birth skills training opportunities for local midwives.

Shelly also volunteers with the Laos Birthwork Project providing birth skills training to doctors and midwives in remote mountain communities as well as prenatal education and period care to local girls and women.

Shelly is a devoted mother and foster parent, deeply committed to nurturing the children in her care.

2025 Cairns International Womens Day Women’s Recognition Award

TREASURER

Sarah Smits is a registered midwife committed to reconnecting with midwifery as a holistic practice.

Sarah's diverse experience spans various countries and settings, including home births and regional and remote hospitals throughout Australia, a birth centre in India, and learning with traditional midwives throughout Latin America. Her experience has been about bridging the clinical and modern midwifery needs of women, resourcing herself with knowledge to work in low to no resource settings, whilst honouring diverse tradition and cultural.

As Treasurer on the board of the Gulagbi Foundation, Sarah applies her global insights to support the foundation's mission of creating lasting positive change for maternity and birth care.

CHAIRPERSON

Tahlia Burchill-O'Brien, is a Kuku Yalanji-warra Bama from the rainforest and saltwater country of the Daintree region in Far North Queensland. She also has Maltese and English heritage.

Tahlia is multi-passionate and fulfils many roles, including being a devoted wife and mother of three children. Tahlia is a passionate language advocate, qualified teacher, professionally trained dancer, innovative choreographer, published co-author and positive leader.

Tahlia is enthusiastic about learning and is continually looking for ways to improve both personally and professionally, and is currently studying a Masters in Indigenous Languages Education (MILE) through the University of Sydney. 

Tahlia’s deep connection to her heritage, combined with her dedication to Indigenous language revitalisation and cultural education, makes her an invaluable asset to Gulagbi, where she helps champion the preservation and celebration of First Nations knowledge, identity, and storytelling.

PUBLIC RELATIONS | COMMUNICATIONS

Michelle Daga is a seasoned public relations and communications professional with almost 20 years experience as a journalist, researcher and copywriter.

Over the past decade, her work has intertwined with her passion for women’s health, leading her to train and certify as a Nutritionist, Birth Educator, Postpartum Doula and Perinatal Counsellor, now specialising in integrative health, neuroaffirming and trauma-informed care for mothers.

Michelle’s journey into birthwork was profoundly shaped by the unwavering support of Shelly as her doula during her own pregnancy and homebirth - a transformative experience that unveiled her calling. Her pathway has evolved as a mother of a neurodivergent child, navigating autism, autoimmune disease and homeschooling.

Her deeply intuitive understanding of the media landscape and PR, heartfelt approach to communication, and dedication to perinatal and infant health make her an invaluable part of the Gulagbi team.

Jaye Seal is a dedicated perinatal bodywork practitioner and teacher of Hawaiian spiritual traditions.

Her journey began with yoga teacher training in 2004, followed by global travels to deepen her knowledge. In 2007, she embraced Hawaiian bodywork, seeking further spiritual growth and by 2021 she achieved the esteemed title of Kumu Pa’a (Teacher of Foundation) entrusted with preserving ancestral teachings.

Jaye welcomed her son with the support of Shelly as her doula, further deepening her passion for nurturing women in pregnancy and postpartum.

Her deep connection to cultural wisdom and community healing makes her an invaluable leader as ????? of the Gulagbi board.

Jo O’Callaghan is a first-generation daughter of Aotearoa, born of Irish, Welsh, and Scottish lineage, and one who now calls Australia home. She carries the stories, songs, and silences of those who came before her and honours the ancestral wisdom that shapes how she walks in the world.

Within the Celtic tradition, the Banfháidh (pronounced “ban-faw”) is the woman seer, one who listens deeply, sensing what moves beneath the surface and attending to what longs to be heard. In te reo Māori, the concept of matakite speaks to a similar way of seeing and knowing: an attunement to what lies beyond words, holding reverence for what emerges. Jo honours both understandings, listening for the wisdom carried within and beyond the individual, the land, and the lineage.

Jo is a clinical psychotherapist with three decades of soul-centred, integrative practice. Her work draws on expressive therapies, somatic practices, ritual, dreamwork, eco-psychology, and lineage-informed practices, creating inclusive and compassionate spaces where clients feel seen, held, and supported.

At Gulagbi, Jo offers not solutions but companionship, walking alongside those she serves as they reconnect with their inner knowing, ancestral roots, and the deeper belonging that sustains transformation.