Project Brave
Season 1
Fear + Excitement = Go: Diana Di Fabio’s Brave Equation
by Tiana Iuvale
In this episode of Project Brave, we sit down with the luminous and fiercely self-led Diana Di Fabio. A woman who has rebuilt her courage one choice at a time and now lives life entirely on her own terms. Diana is a daughter of Italian migrants, the youngest of four, a team manager in a thriving mortgage broking business, an intrepid solo traveller, a samba dancer who has performed in the Rio Carnaval, and a woman stepping boldly into modelling in her 40s. But her story is far deeper than the titles. Diana’s journey is one of awakening. From a shy little girl who hid behind her mother at family functions, to a woman who dances on moving floats in Rio, travels the world alone, and says yes to herself even when she’s scared. She shares how she learned to follow joy, trust her intuition, and break free from the expectations placed on her by culture, family, and fear. We explore the moment she realised she was living life for others, not herself, and how a personal growth course cracked open her understanding of meaning, fear, authority and self-trust. Diana talks about the mantra that changed her life (“F*ck it, just do it”), the epiphany that time is passing whether she chooses courage or not, and the decision to stop waiting for permission. She tells the story of performing in the Rio Carnaval and the overwhelming sense of being cheered on by generations of women in her family who never had the freedom she now claims. She shares how she accidentally joined one of Rio’s biggest blocos, danced for hours in the heat, and felt more alive than ever before. We dive into solo travel, intuition, mindset, legacy, and the power of choosing yourself unapologetically. Diana explains how travel built her confidence, sharpened her judgment, strengthened her leadership, and taught her to trust her own voice above anyone else’s fears or projections. This conversation is a celebration of courage in its purest forms. Not loud or performative but lived. It’s about breaking patterns, stepping into visibility, and living a life your 80-year-old self will be truly proud of.
In this episode of Project Brave, we welcome Lucy Broadbent, an original member of the Project Brave community and a woman whose story captures exactly what this movement has always been about: courage built over time, purpose-led leadership, and the messy middle of navigating ambition and motherhood. Lucy is a senior leader in customer and product innovation, with a career shaped at the intersection of customer behaviour, product strategy, transformation and purpose. She’s worked across complex, regulated industries such as health, insurance, and education in organisations including Bupa, RACV, RMIT University and IAG. But today, she joins us from a very different chapter: maternity leave with baby number two, navigating the 24‑hour job of motherhood while preparing for her next evolution as she returns to work. In this conversation, we explore Lucy's current season of joy, exhaustion, identity shift, and the trade‑offs required to be the kind of mum she wants to be and the kind of leader she aspires to become. She talks about the realisation that you can have it all, just not all at the same time, and how she’s redefining success in a way that honours her ambition without sacrificing the moments that matter most. We explore Lucy’s early days in Project Brave, when she was a 25‑year‑old newcomer to Australia, sitting in rooms with senior women and battling imposter syndrome. She reflects on how those experiences (and the women who advocated for her, challenged her, and held her accountable) shaped her confidence and leadership philosophy. Lucy shares how courage is built like a muscle: through small, quiet acts of bravery, not just big dramatic ones. From asking for what you need, to negotiating flex, to having hard conversations, to backing yourself even when you feel underqualified, these are the moments that have shaped her into the assertive, values‑anchored leader she is today. We also dive into the sideways, peer‑to‑peer mentorship that keeps women progressing and the powerful advice that changed her trajectory: “If you only ever work for people who inspire you, you limit your impact on the world.” Lucy reflects on the leaders who shaped her, including the late Donna Walker and former IAG CEO Peter Harmer, and how their humanity influenced her leadership style. This episode is a masterclass in modern womanhood: ambition without burnout, leadership with heart, motherhood without apology, and courage built one intentional step at a time.