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ABOUT

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.

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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

Academic advisory network

Youth Crew

TEC Board of Directors

Who we are collaborating with

Be a force for good

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

 

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IMPACT STORIES

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That’s when we smile!
Hear from the inspiring stories from professionals and the community.

IMPACT STORIES

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That’s when we smile!
Hear from the inspiring stories from professionals and the community.

Annual reports

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ABOUT

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.

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