ABOUT
Creating a world
free from
judgement
and shame about
our bodies
The Embrace Collective is a health promotion charity with a vision for a world where young people are free from feelings of pressure, judgement and shame about their bodies. Through Embrace Kids, our focus is on building better body image from the beginning, as this has the power to minimise lifetime risk of issues like eating disorders, depression and anxiety – and help young people achieve optimal health and wellbeing.
Through our suite of age-appropriate programs, we get in early to teach the message of body appreciation to young people and support the adults around them to create shame-free settings with a culture of kindness in all the places where young people live, learn and play. Led by 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt and international body image expert Dr Zali Yager, along with a global team of academics, clinicians and lived experience advisors, our goal is to reach one million Australian children annually with the Embrace message and evidence-based resources to stop this body image crisis.
Our mission
To equip and empower grown-ups with the necessary tools and support to protect young people from body image distress. By embedding programs, and creating a culture of body appreciation and inclusivity in all the places where young people live, learn and play, we can reduce the pressure, judgement and shame that young people feel about their appearance and help them embrace their bodies and themselves.
Our approach
Evidence-
based
programs
Informed
by lived
experience
Changing professional practice
Advocating for change
Supporting young people- in all of the places where they live, learn, and play- to build better body image from the beginning. We blend the latest science with creative approaches to produce programs and resources that are safe, effective, and have epic impact.
Our team, advisory networks, and clinical advisors inform our approach by bringing the voices and stories of people who have experienced body dissatisfaction, eating disorders (clinical and subclinical), depression and mental health concerns, living in larger bodies; as well as those who identify as culturally diverse, neurodiverse, gender diverse, and disabled.
We educate the adults around the young people- in home and family, education, and sport and movement settings- to create cultures of kindness without the criticism, comparisons and comments that bring on feelings of body shame.
Our collaborative advocacy efforts have driven change in school curriculum and health policy, to ensure a focus on health, not weight.
The Team
Founders
Taryn Brumfitt
Taryn Brumfitt is an award-winning filmmaker, bestselling author and internationally sought-after keynote speaker. Recently named 2023 Australian of the Year, she is a fiercely passionate advocate for social change and her message has reached more than 200 million people around the world.
Taryn is the founder of the Body Image Movement, director of the inspiring documentaries EMBRACE and EMBRACE KIDS, and author of four books. Her global crusade to help people embrace their bodies has seen her recognised by UN Women, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and the Geena Davis Institute. Taryn has delivered more than 100 keynote addresses, and her talk at Google HQ in Silicon Valley was live-streamed to every Google office in the world.
In 2018, she was recognised in the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards and received the SA Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership from Women and Leadership Australia. She was also crowned EY Entrepreneur of the Year, South Australia, and has been named among GE’s highest-rated speakers.
With a powerful, universal message and unwavering commitment to her cause, Taryn Brumfitt is a true force to be reckoned with.
Dr Zali Yager
Dr Zali Yager is an internationally-recognised expert in the body image space, known for figuring out ‘what works’ to help people feel better about their bodies.
Zali is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University, with a background in health and physical education.
In 2021, Zali was awarded one of 10 Westpac Social Change Fellowships. She received a Creswick Fellowship to spend time at Harvard and Northeastern University in 2018, and a Leverhulme Fellowship in 2011 to complete her postdoctoral work at the Centre for Appearance Research in the UK.
Zali co-authored the Embrace Kids book with Taryn Brumfitt from the Body Image Movement, and was the body image expert advisor on the EMBRACE KIDS film. She is ridiculously passionate and driven by the desire to create a safer body image environment for the next generation.
Diverse voices
Sara Shams (she/her)
Policy and Project
Pharmacist, Speaker,
Disability Advocate, Model
Yemi Penn (she/her)
Speaker, Researcher, Engineer, Author and Filmmaker
Emily Unity (they/them)
Intersectional Lived and
Living Experience
Consultant
Lacey-Jade Christie (she/her)
Fat, LGBTQIA+,
Neurodivergent Activist, Content Creator and Public
Speaker
Sam Bloom (she/her)
Author, Speaker, Para Athlete
Amy Marks (she/her)
Disability Advocate and Freelance Filmmaker
Chevese Turner (she/her)
CEO, Body Equity Alliance; Founder & Former CEO, Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA)
Janu Dhayanathan (she/her)
Senior Analyst, Living with Neurofibromotosis and Ambassador for the Children’s Tumour Foundation
Henry Hughes (he/him)
Deaflimpian
Mental Health Advocate
Academic advisory network
Dr Marilyn Bromberg (she/her)
Director Higher Degrees Coursework, The University of Western Australia Law School
Dr S. Bryn Austin (she/her)
Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Director, Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders
Dr Beth T. Bell (she/her)
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Mental Health and Wellbeing, University of York
Prof Nichola Rumsey (she/her)
Professor Emerita, Centre for Appearance Research, UWE Bristol UK; Health Psychologist
Dr Jo Doley (they/them)
Lecturer in Psychology, Victoria University
Dr Marilyn Metta
(she/her)
Director, The Metis Centre
Rojina Parchizadeh
(she/her)
Law/Psychology Student at Macquarie University
Dr Yves Saint James Aquino
(he/him)
Research Fellow, University of Wollongong
Dr Fi Willer
(she/her)
Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, QUT; Senior Research Assistant at the UQ Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing; Board Director, Dietitians Australia; Director of Health, Not Diets
Dr Lyza Norton
(she/her)
Paediatric Dietitian; Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
Youth Crew
Angus Murray (he/him)
Rhea Werner (she/her)
Abbey Williams (she/her)
Rachael Burns (she/her)
TEC Board of Directors
Dr Zali Yager (she/her)
Executive Director
Adjunct Associate Professor, Victoria University
Taryn Brumfitt (she/her)
Executive Director
Founder of the Body Image Movement
Dr Ivanka Prichard (she/her)
Founding Board Member
Associate Professor in Health & Exercise Sciences, Flinders University, SA
Damon Hunt (he/him)
Board Member
Senior Advisor at FTI Consulting
Annabel Rattigan (she/her)
Board Member
Coach and Facilitator at Our Community
Who we are collaborating with
Be a force for good
Partner with us to empower young people and those around them with the inspiration, research and resources to build better body image, now and for generations to come.
Advocacy for Impact
- PARENTS, ROLE MODELS, TEACHERS
IMPACT STORIES
That’s when we smile!
Hear from the inspiring stories from professionals and the community.
IMPACT STORIES
That’s when we smile!
Hear from the inspiring stories from professionals and the community.
