Karen Robertson, Rehabilitation and Wellbeing Team Manager, AIA Australia, had just returned from a two-year back packing trip around Europe, Africa and Asia in 2001, when a work colleague suggested she might like to apply for a short-term contract at Mercantile Mutual (which became ING Life, then One Path and now Zurich). 

‘I never looked back — and that was 20 years ago,’ Robertson says.

Heath and wellness journey

Born in England, Robertson emigrated to Australia with her family when she was a teenager. Initially, she studied orthoptics (eye therapy) and worked at the Royal Blind Society before deciding to complete a Master of Applied Science (Rehabilitation Counselling). 

It was after graduating that Robertson found her calling for working support people on their journey from disability or illness to recovery at the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service (CRS) in Rehabilitation Counselling.

‘It was inspiring and satisfying to realise that I could make a real and positive difference to their lives,’ she says.

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