Jo Pye is a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong, researching leader humility. With a 25-year corporate career and now her own coaching business, Jo is using her grounded perspective and speaking skills to guide Australians towards a healthier, sun-safe lifestyle.

Like many Australians, Jo’s life has been deeply impacted by melanoma. She lost her mother to the disease, one of her closest childhood friends faced Stage IV melanoma, and both Jo and her dad have experienced early-stage melanoma themselves. These experiences have shaped Jo’s understanding of the far-reaching effects of this disease making melanoma awareness not just important to her, but deeply personal.

This close-to-home experience has fuelled Jo’s commitment to melanoma prevention and sun safety.

“When you watch someone die from melanoma, especially when you know how preventable it can be you will do anything to help others understand the danger.”

Despite her mother having her first melanoma removed when Jo was just 11, Jo is the first to admit that this didn’t stop her from excessively sun baking in her teens and 20s. What she hopes for now is to stop the tanning trend.

“Growing up on the south coast, I spent every summer day baking at the beach, the goal being to get as brown as I could. Now when I see people sunbake, I feel completely disturbed by it.”

For five years, Jo has volunteered with Melanoma Institute Australia, serving on the Melanoma March Wollongong committee and now contributing through Speakers’ Hub. Her goal is clear: to reach as many people as possible with life-saving information and inspire them to adopt sun-safe habits.

Asked for her key message, Jo puts it simply but powerfully:

“Melanoma is not just a skin cancer you can cut out and forget about. Melanoma can be deadly and I want to debunk that misconception.”

Jo’s Speakers’ Hub presentation is moving, memorable, and filled with practical insight, combining, storytelling, and a call to action that audiences won’t forget.