In the wake of those painful experiences the Launceston woman confronted similar choices.

"You either make a choice to fall in a heap or get on with it," she said.

"It takes time to get through it and I don't know that you ever do actually."

Eight years ago at Lilydale, Mrs Brown's beloved daughter Emily was killed in a car crash a week before her 25th birthday.

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When Mrs Brown went to a doctor last year with a headache, an MRI scan showed a brain aneurysm.

"It'd been there for who knows how long so within a week I'd had that operated on and again, that brings perspective to your approach to life and living for every moment that you can, but not just for myself, but for others," she says.

"People are really resilient, people go through a lot worse stuff than we have."

Talking about the difficulties she has had to overcome is not something Mrs Brown finds easy to do.

The loss of Emily and the aneurysm discovery were mentioned during a conversation about Mrs Brown's work as the general manager of people and culture at St.LukesHealth.

Despite the loss and grief suffered, she went on to create the first Australian qualification specifically developed to upskill workers in the private health insurance industry.

"People who have never done any study are now suddenly finding that they're capable more than they thought they were and that they're learning new skills along the way," Mrs Brown says.

"The whole thing has been tremendously efficient and we've had the right people around us with the right skills and expertise."

The Certificate IV in General Insurance course offers on-the-job training to workers and has attracted support from bigger players in the private health insurance industry, the Australian Regional Health Group, TASTafe, MEGT and Skills Tasmania.

It's a big part of the reason why Mrs Brown has been named a 2020 Telstra Tasmania Business Women's Awards finalist in the medium and large business category.

"The email informing me that I'd become a finalist got stuck in my junk mail so they were trying to phone me for two days to let me know.

"Part of me doesn't want this to be seen as self promotion, it's really about leading a group of people to do significant things in an organisation that I love and that serves Tasmanians.

"This award is really about the team effort."

One of Mrs Brown's colleagues nominated her for the award. The experiences she's endured have contributed to that recognition.

"Life's experiences certainly bring a lot more maturity to your role. I'm definitely more vulnerable these days.

"I do tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and that brings a trust that you don't normally get unless you're a bit vulnerable."

"I'm very lucky to be here, very fortunate."

Award winners will be announced in Hobart on March 19.

Small Business Award

Medium and Large Business Award

Public Sector and Academia Award

For Purpose and Social Enterprise Award

Emerging Leader Award