As we step into 2026, we’re carrying gratitude, momentum, and a deep sense of purpose.
2025 was a year of growth for Preparing the Way. We’re stepping into this new year with steady excitement about what’s unfolding in our trainings, in our community, and in the wider end of life space across Australia and New Zealand.
To begin the year, we asked some of our team a simple question: What are you most excited about in 2026?
Here’s what they shared, in their own words.
Helen Callanan
In 2026, I am looking forward to a year that blends learning, connection, and a little more spaciousness. I am excited to be planning to visit my Master Teacher in the USA for a retreat and to expand my learning. It’s been six years since I visited due to COVID and then the demands of the business, and I am making it happen this year. It’s been too long!
Over the holiday period I have been doing some deep soul searching, reviewing and reprioritising, and will be making some changes this coming year by including more time in my calendar for self-care, fun, quiet and integrative moments.
One of the things I have done is join the Orange Aquatic Centre. So, some laps and aqua aerobics coming up! Also, I have registered and am excited to dive into learning bridge and join a bridge club here in Orange! Bridge is something that I learnt (a bit) when I was caring for my mum and another client as a way of supporting them to continue playing whilst they could. I totally loved it as I grew up on cards and games since we didn’t have a TV in the bush.
Professionally, I cannot wait to be back in ‘the room’, leading face-to-face training and community development with our Legends, and launching our corporate and workplace doula offering.
And alongside all of that, I am really looking forward to more time for digesting, transmuting, and gentle healing, working with my therapist and some artistic pursuits, and exploring more of the beautiful Central West region around Orange. Big year coming up!
Catherine Hutton
In 2026, I’m looking forward to the small rituals that anchor my days—dancing to a fab song every morning while the kettle boils to wake my body and mind up in a fun way and taking the time to truly tend to my pot plants as a divine moment of presence each day. I’ll be gently clearing away the things that no longer serve me and embracing my Crone years, planning to fully support her into the future. And I’m keeping the practices I already have in place to bring me back to what is real and brings me joy—love, kindness, nature, exercise, friends and family.
Gab Stokes
In 2026, I’m looking forward to my annual surf trip with my girlfriends, this time to Siargao in the Philippines. Each year we choose somewhere remote and awe-inspiring, a place to switch off, sink into nature, and be nourished by the ocean. Surfing and the ocean have a way of reminding me to slow down, feel grateful, and stay connected to what really matters.
I’m also looking forward to spending more time out in the community as a doula, helping people feel more comfortable talking about end of life, while continuing to connect with my wonderful fellow doulas.
I’ll be completing my 10966NAT Certificate IV in End of Life Doula Services in May as well, which feels like a meaningful milestone.
Ashleigh Dodd
In 2026, I look forward to starting the year on a cruise with my beautiful family before turning my focus to expanding my evolving work in the end of life space for babies and children.
We made such profound impacts for so many families this year, and I am determined to continue providing gentle, dignified care for children taken soon.
My vision is to ensure that every family has access to support, regardless of their financial situation. I am passionate about creating equal opportunities through grants, fundraising, and meaningful charitable initiatives.
I am also excited for the upcoming classes we have scheduled at Mother Moon, where we continue to guide more incredible women as they grow into birth and postpartum doulas. It is an honour to continue supporting Preparing the Way students in my role as assessor, a part of my work that I deeply enjoy.
Amidst the gravity and privilege of serving others, I equally look forward to time with my family in our caravan, living simply and appreciating every opportunity life presents.
Jacqui Williams
Change is one of life’s constants, and whilst much change kicked off in November 2025 when we put our home on the market, it has ramped up with vigour as we enter the new year. My partner and I are currently sorting through, culling, and gifting twenty years’ worth of sentimental keepsakes and other items—items that you have to wonder, why did we ever keep!
We are both eagerly anticipating downsizing yet maintaining our wonderful lifestyle by the sea. Whilst the process of this change is absolutely exhausting, both physically and emotionally, it is also bringing with it a sense of excitement, continuing gratitude and the promise of a new, fresh chapter.
Jo Fuller
My Fire Horse 2026 (the Chinese zodiac year) will be all about bringing my creative pursuits to fruition and into my life. I’m creating and developing my end of life courses which will be available in 2026. I’m also focusing on my health and wellness, as well as my bee, bird and butterfly sanctuary, and adding to my painting and writing skills—starting with some courses including Colours on canvas: Bumble bee with Adelaide artist Greer Tappert. Very exciting!
Cosette Paneque
In 2026, I’m excited to focus on integration—taking what we’ve built and making it more sustainable, more connected, and easier for our community to engage with.
That means continuing to strengthen our blog as a practical learning space, supporting the growth of our newsletter so people can stay connected between trainings and events, and sharing more resources that help normalise end of life conversations. I’m also looking forward to helping Preparing the Way reach more industry audiences, so more professionals understand what end of life doulas offer and how this work can complement existing care networks.
Outside of work, I’m focused on sustainable rhythms—learning Greek, spending more time at the beach, and taking up Afro-Cuban dance. It’s a year for choosing the great over the merely good.
We’re grateful you’re here
Whether you’re brand new to Preparing the Way, returning for more learning, or reading along as part of the wider end of life community, we’re glad you’re here. We’re ready for what’s next!
If you’d like to stay close to what we’re offering this year, you can join one of our free End of Life Doula Training 101 sessions, explore the Foundation Workshop, or take the deeper dive with our Intensive Course.
Want to learn more about Preparing the Way? Visit our About page for more about us and our team.