Power Up Breakfast – Fuelling Connection

The Power Up Breakfast brings together people from across Australia’s seafood industry, from boats to boardrooms, to celebrate leadership, share stories, and spark ideas that drive a stronger, more inclusive future.

Power Up creates a welcoming space where people can meet, collaborate, and “power up” for the day ahead. Its mix of inspiring keynote speakers, premium breakfast experience, and structured networking makes it the ideal model for conferences seeking to foster belonging, visibility, and meaningful exchange.

Keynote Speaker - Mindy Woods

Women in Seafood Australasia is honoured to welcome Mindy Woods as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Seafood Directions Power Up Breakfast.

At the Power Up Breakfast, Mindy will share her journey and her vision for a future where native ingredients, sustainable food systems and cultural knowledge are recognised and celebrated.

First Nations women were skilled gatherers and fishers, providing food for their families and communities. In coastal Sydney, Eora fisherwomen paddled bark canoes across the garrigarrang (sea), fishing with finely crafted lines and shell hooks, often with babies at their breast and fires burning in the belly of their canoes to cook the day’s catch.

These women were not only fishers, they were knowledge holders, providers and leaders, sustaining their communities through deep understanding of land, sea and seasons.

From the Eora fisherwomen of Warrane to the seafood leaders of today, women have always shaped the story of seafood in Australia.

In 2026, we will gather not only to power up for the conference ahead, but also to honour the long tradition of women whose knowledge of the sea has sustained communities for generations.

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Biography

Mindy Woods is a proud Bundjalung woman, celebrated Indigenous chef, native food expert, educator and owner of Karkalla Byron Bay. She is a passionate educator on the significance of native foods and the role it plays in Australia’s cultural identity. Through her work preserving and sharing Indigenous food culture, Mindy combines native ingredients with sustainable, community-focused cooking to tell powerful stories of culture, place, and connection.

In 2020, Mindy founded Karkalla in Byron Bay, named after a native succulent, as a space to connect diners with Aboriginal culture through food. Here she became the first female indigenous chef to be awarded a Chef’s Hat by the Australian Good Food Guide in 2023 & 2024. After its closure, she launched Karkalla On Country, offering immersive outdoor dining experiences that honour Country and celebrate native ingredients in their natural environment.

Mindy is also the author of Karkalla At Home, a cookbook encouraging Australians to use native ingredients in everyday meals.

In 2021, she proudly represented Australia at the World Expo in Dubai, returning to the global stage again in Osaka, Japan, in 2025 to continue championing Indigenous Australian cuisine.

Mindy’s contributions were recognised internationally when she won the World’s 50 Best Restaurants “Champion of Change” award in Turin early this year, June 2025.

Mindy will once again represent Australia as a guest speaker at international food symposium Para bere forum in Barcelona.

Want to know more about WISA’s Power Up Breakfasts?

Since its inaugural event in 2017, Power Up has become WISA’s flagship event being held across industry events to celebrate and promote the contributions of Women to the Seafood Industry.

Power Up is a key feature of the Seafood Directions Conference, selling out year after year. At the 2024 Conference, the breakfast attracted almost half of all delegates, confirming its reputation as the must-attend event for connection and inspiration in seafood.

Why It Works

Power Up Breakfasts are more than a meal, they’re a movement. Each event offers:

• Inspiration: Trailblazing speakers who challenge thinking and ignite motivation.
• Connection: Opportunities to meet peers, mentors, and industry leaders in a safe, welcoming environment.
• Momentum: Attendees leave with fresh ideas, new collaborations, and renewed confidence to create change in their workplace and community.

A Model for Connection

The Power Up Breakfast model can be easily adapted for other seafood and primary-industry conferences to:

• Create a warm, inclusive start to the conference program.
• Showcase leadership and diversity in the industry.
• Provide partners with visible, values-aligned engagement opportunities.
• Deliver an experience that participants describe as “the heartbeat of the conference.”