About Us

Liesel Mitchell

Photo of Liesel Mitchell smiling with a black tote bag with white writing saying 'thesis done'.

Hi, I'm Liesel.

I know writing a PhD is incredibly tough.

I started The Finishing Club because I wish there had been a finishing club to join when I struggled with my PhD.

My thesis took a long time - ten years. I had my fair share of change during that time - relationships, cities, supervisors. I lost my motivation and direction. I even quit my PhD and thought I would never finish it. But life is surprising... and I decided I wanted to finish. So, I did.

You can finish too.

My experience teaching, learning, travelling and meeting incredible people along the way has shown me that we all have enormous capacity, often greater than we can imagine. While writing a PhD has its challenges, it is also an opportunity to unlock your untapped potential.

Whether you need a boost of confidence, a push to get going again, or a plan for the next week, I can help.

Let's get finished!

Gary Peters

Photo of Gary Peters smiling while sitting at a table against a bright green wall.

Hi, I'm Gary.

With 25+ years of being an artist and designer, I know what it takes to finish projects, whether paintings for an exhibition, websites for clients, or writing an exegesis and creating a body of work for my MFA.

I know the creative process inside out: the doubt, the exhilaration, the slog, what it takes to keep going, and the thrill of success.

And completing a PhD is a creative process. It's one that's coupled with project management skills, resilience, and more.

In a previous job, my colleagues described me as insightful, positive, thoughtful, caring, curious, a good listener, helpful, knowledgable, logical, analytical, pragmatic, efficient, organised, creative, calm, and savvy.

In coaching sessions, I work on the premise that you have the answers to your challenges, and using my skills, my role is to enable you to discover that inherent insight.

Together, we will:

Get things moving…