From Classroom Prodigy to Global Changemaker: The Transformational Journey of Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw

At just six years old, most children are playing pretend, but Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw wasn't pretending—she was leading. On a family trip to a rural town, while her mother and cousin, a school principal, toured the school grounds, she slipped away into a classroom of Year 2 students, noticed the absence of a teacher, and with the unwavering confidence only a born educator possesses, began to teach. That defining moment—a child’s instinctual takeover of an unattended classroom—was the unmistakable first spark in a lifelong devotion to education, exploration, and ultimately, innovation.

From that classroom to countless others across the globe, Dr. Yashin-Shaw's journey has been guided by an insatiable curiosity and a deep desire to liberate human potential. After graduating as a high school math and science teacher, she launched into her career through the traditional “country service,” where young educators were sent to regional areas. The learning curve was steep—there were near disasters involving ether and biology lessons—but she loved every minute. That early teaching experience ignited a fire for learning, not just for her students but for herself. Her hunger for knowledge was insatiable and untamed. So, like many young Australians of her generation, she packed her curiosity into a one-way ticket to London and took off, transforming from classroom teacher to global citizen.

By the time she returned, it wasn’t just a deeper appreciation of culture she carried with her—it was a broadened sense of possibility. She returned to teaching, albeit in unorthodox ways. Though trained in science and mathematics, she fluidly taught French, English, and Art, reveling in the challenge of interdisciplinary learning. Simultaneously, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Queensland purely for the joy of learning, diving into art history, drama, languages, and literature. It was less a career requirement and more a love affair with ideas, the beginning of her lifelong identity as a polymath.

Teaching evolved into something else. She soon found herself in the halls of Griffith University, teaching across faculties while completing a Master of Adult Education and later, a PhD in creative problem-solving. The idea of creativity fascinated her—not just as an abstract quality, but as something concrete and, perhaps, teachable. She devoted seven years of research to probing questions that continue to drive her work: What makes some people more creative than others? Can creativity be learned? Her doctoral thesis, A cognitive model for understanding creative thinking, remains a cornerstone in her efforts to demystify and democratize innovation.

At Griffith, she also became deeply immersed in how knowledge transfers across contexts—how the same insight that powers a laboratory breakthrough could solve a leadership problem, or how soft skills cultivated in one industry could be critical in another. This interest in the adaptability of knowledge—the ability to repurpose thinking for new challenges—only grew more relevant in a world changing at accelerating speed. But after a decade in higher education, Dr. Yashin-Shaw felt the gravitational pull toward something new. It wasn’t discontent—it was a bold surge of purpose. She wanted to put her theories into practice, outside of institutional walls.

And so she walked away from tenure, from the safety and routine of university life, and began her next chapter—entrepreneurship. Like so many iconic ventures, hers began in a garage. It was humble and precarious, driven not by profit but by purpose. Overnight, she had to rewrite herself. No longer an academic writing for journals, she had to create sales copy. No longer behind a lectern, she had to pitch, promote, sell. The leap was dizzying, at times disorienting, but it was also exhilarating. She described it as tumbling down the rabbit hole into an alternate reality—one she would eventually help redesign.

Dr. Yashin-Shaw didn’t just build a business; she built a platform for transformation. Speaking engagements began to snowball. Her passion for public speaking—something she called her version of extreme sports—took her across Australia and around the world. Through keynotes and training programs, she worked with governments, corporations, SMEs, nonprofits, and individuals, each time igniting conversations around innovation, creativity, and intrapreneurialism. Her message was consistent and clear: that real transformation begins with liberation. Innovation thrives when organizations abandon outmoded processes. Creativity flourishes when individuals break free from rigid thinking. And intrapreneurialism—her chosen mission—emerges when people are trusted to take initiative from within.

It was in 2018, however, that her legacy began to crystallize. That year marked the publication of Intrapreneur: How leaders ignite innovation, break bureaucracy and catalyse change. Though not her first book, it was the one that resonated most powerfully, touching a nerve in the global workforce. Readers from around the world reached out—corporate innovators, restless visionaries buried in red tape, changemakers without a name. In Dr. Yashin-Shaw’s writing, they found not only validation but a vocabulary. They now had a word to describe themselves: intrapreneurs. Dreamers who do. Individuals who don’t wait for permission to improve things—they just start doing it.

The momentum didn’t stop there. Consultants and trainers came knocking, eager for frameworks and materials to bring the intrapreneurial mindset into their own work. What had been a concept waiting in the wings since the late 1970s, introduced by Gifford Pinchot III, was now becoming mainstream. And Dr. Yashin-Shaw, with decades of research and practice under her belt, had become its ambassador. Her organization, Global Intrapreneurs Institute, now serves as a hub for this worldwide movement, connecting trailblazers and cultivating leaders who are remaking their organizations from the inside out.

In an age where agility, innovation, and creativity are the currencies of success, Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw has carved out a legacy not by climbing a conventional ladder but by forging new paths—and encouraging others to do the same. Her story is not one of linear progression but of bold reinvention. From an unsupervised classroom at six years old to the helm of a global movement, she has always been an educator at heart—but now, she educates not just with chalk and talk, but with transformation.

Dr. Yashin-Shaw, founder and CEO of the Global Intrapreneurs Institute (GII), has cultivated a global movement dedicated to unlocking human potential and reshaping the future of work. Under her leadership, GII empowers individuals to move beyond merely responding to change—they become the catalysts driving it. Through initiatives such as the Professional Certificate of Intrapreneurialism (PCI), countless professionals around the world are transforming their organisations from within, applying creative problem-solving and entrepreneurial thinking to real-world challenges.

Dr. Yashin-Shaw’s mission is deeply rooted in a belief that intrapreneurs—those enterprising individuals embedded within organisations—are vital to sustainable innovation, productivity, and workplace fulfillment. GII supports them through education, resources, research collaboration, and a vibrant international community. Her work bridges sectors, cultures, and disciplines, with partnerships and speaking engagements that stretch from corporate boardrooms in Australia to academic institutions in Paris, South America, and India.

She is also the force behind the Global Intrapreneurs Summit & Awards (GISA), a platform that not only celebrates standout intrapreneurs but also explores how leadership, intrapreneurialism, and artificial intelligence are redefining modern work. For Dr. Yashin-Shaw, GISA is more than recognition—it’s a catalyst for greater impact.

What distinguishes her work is a long-term vision: to elevate intrapreneurialism as a recognised discipline central to organisational resilience. Through GII, she is championing future-ready workplaces where talent is unleashed and innovation is systemic. The Institute’s expanding reach and influence testify to her conviction that tapping into underutilised human capacity will shape not just businesses, but communities and societies.

Dr. Yashin-Shaw considers the founding of the Global Intrapreneurs Institute her greatest accomplishment—a culmination of a lifelong commitment to education, innovation, and human empowerment. Drawing from roles as an academic, author, coach, and consultant, she has dedicated her career to equipping individuals with the mindset and skills to lead with confidence in a rapidly changing world. Through GII, she has inspired thousands of professionals across sectors to become intrapreneurial changemakers. In an era of disruption, her work champions a future defined not by fear, but by purpose, agency, and the transformative power of people within organisations.

For Dr. Yashin-Shaw, GII is far more than an institution. It’s a living, breathing legacy of transformation—one she continues to guide with passion, insight, and unwavering dedication. The Global Intrapreneurs Institute partners with organisations across the globe to bring the world’s first Professional Certificate of Intrapreneurialism to their regions. Book a meeting to find out more.