2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
Audiologist who created the Ambient Menu; a quiet restaurant guide. Inspired by and created for my patients, this worldwide first website guides anyone hard of hearing or noise sensitive, to quieter eateries. This allows them to connect, relax and be social in restaurants; the most common place people with noise sensitivities avoid.
// Let’s get to know you
I’ve been in the emergency services since I was 19. After 20 years as a Paramedic I became quite disheartened with the health system, it was letting too many people down. My husbands’ noise induced hearing loss, tinnitus and vestibular issues sparked an interest in me about all things hearing. I decided to transition from pre hospital to allied health and completed a full-time master’s degree in Audiology. Fast forward two years (because I mentally blocked out those two stressful years of working as a paramedic with a young family and completing a master’s degree) I became an Audiologist.
Fast forward another few years, and I am now working as an Adult diagnostic Audiologist, and Rehabilitation and Vestibular Audiologist, all the while running the Ambient Menu community. I’m still working for SAAS, but now as a casual patient transfer officer. After 25+ years in the emergency services, I am somewhat institutionalized, it is a part of who I am. I love being an Audiologist and helping people hear and be heard. My patients inspired me to create the Ambient Menu website because I noticed there was a lack of quiet restaurants for them to go to, remain social, and enjoy themselves. I enjoy good company, delicious food, and easy conversation with a glass (or two) of wine when I’m not working. It is important to me that everyone has access to and enjoys the good times with friends as much as I do.
// How long have you been in your current role?
I started the Ambient Menu in 2020, the same year I started my internship as an Audiologist. In my late 40s I have found something that wakes me with excitement every day. Helping my patients live their best lives by communicating better, and being able to find a quiet restaurant so they can remain socially engaged is very worthwhile.
// What makes you a Woman to Watch?
I have created a worldwide first. A restaurant guide based on ambience / ease of conversation with a science based assessment system for restaurant ambience. This research inspired, science based, acoustic criteria determines if eateries are ‘conversation friendly’. I educate front of house staff on where to sit noise sensitive diners and how to communicate with them while they are at that eatery.
I’m currently developing an educational package for restaurants which they can access to ensure their restaurant is ‘hearing friendly’.
As of this moment I have:
6 accredited eateries
Over 1,100 eateries reviewed on ambience
9,000 subscribers
3,000 monthly searches for a quiet restaurant
Collaborations with Autism SA, SA Cochlear Implant Centre, Deafness Foundation, Onkaparinga Council, Business SA, Audiologists, Flinders University, Deafness Resource Council, all while working full time, running the Ambient Menu, and volunteering my time as a Committee Member of CICADA QLD.
My work has won multiple awards and been featured on multiple media channels, and I have been asked to present at multiple conferences also. I have taken the Ambient Menu from SA into QLD and I just secured grant funding to branch into Victoria.
// What would being a Woman to Watch in 2024 mean to you?
Being recognized as a “Woman to Watch” in 2024 would be a significant achievement. Knowing my work was not only being celebrated in the community, but by other women, is a great feeling. When other women are cheering for you, you are motivated to go even further. You are not only representing yourself, but a collective of all hard working women. It symbolizes not only what I have achieved so far, but what I am also capable of. I have never run a business before, I don’t think of myself as a business owner, or a leader, but this would celebrate my achievements, leadership potential, and innovative contribution. I hope it would inspire other women who have that same passion to help others, to do so. This recognition highlights not only my individual accomplishments but also the collective potential of women to shape a more inclusive and equitable community. The exposure from this would assist me in gaining more attention from peers, industry leaders, the restaurant community and the wider community, which could only help me achieve even more of the Ambient Menus goals in 2024. Because no one celebrates and spreads awareness, like other women.
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
This is a difficult question as we have all achieved and been valued and acknowledged to some degree. I am not naïve and am acutely aware of the effort women have to give with seemingly less reward, but the value in being maternal, feminine and nurturing by nature is not as highly regarded as what traditionally seems to be success. That is advancement in career and salary. Now, I am a careful to add that this advancement is notably slower for women on many occasions, but it is not necessarily the only thing of value. I just hope for a time when women are celebrated for all their singularly unique attributes, not just the ones that can be compared with men.
Get in touch with Laura:
LinkedIn: Laura Drexler
Website: www.theambientmenu.com.au
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
To become an SA Woman Member, check out our Membership Options here.