Real Rural Women's Leadership

In this podcast, former rural and regional journalist Natalie Leamy takes us on a quick tour through her varied and interesting career. Our conversation then turns to what is special about rural journalism. Podcast highlights include: Being a rural journalist means contributing to your community and adding value to it; Leadership comes in different forms in journalism and involves considering what...

Tara is currently Professor of Cultural Studies Flinders University, Professor of Higher Education at Massey University, and Fellow of the  Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce  and director of the  Popular Culture Collective .  She is a Member of the Order of Australia, and writes for The Times Higher Education. Tara has worked all over the world working in uni...

This podcast features Dr. Nelia Hyndman-Rizk. Nelia is a Senior Lecturer in Intercultural Management within the School of Business at UNSW, Canberra. Nelia transitioned from a stay-at-home Mum to an academic and will share her journey of progressing her career while raising a family and pursuing Postgraduate studies in our conversation. She’s been successful in a lot of different projects, even gr...

This podcast features Prof Meredith Lawley. Meredith is a Professor of Marketing in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Meredith worked for market research companies before becoming an academic in the late 1980s. Meredith had to make many career transitions and she talks about her support network and what made a difference in her development. She...

Ann has a background in start-ups with a focus on emerging industries and is a regionally renowned beekeeper based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. Her company Hive Haven specialises in the manufacture of award-winning native bee boxes and the production of Australian stingless bee honey and pollinator seed mixes. Ann’s future vision for the Rural Women’s Award is that rural women identify themselves a...

Highlights: Margaret discusses her pathway into journalism and her role at Paradigm Shift Media a new venture designed to work with communities to develop local journalism that is collaborative with communities and provides solutions to issues. What journalism can be for communities outside metropolitan areas. Advice for those seeking to have their voices heard and stories told. The opportunities...

This podcast features Prof. Sue Williamson is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management in the School of Business at UNSW, Canberra. Sue specialises in gender equality in the workplace, and public sector human resources and industrial relations. She talks about her career transitions and how she had to overcome a series of obstacles to build several careers. She is devoted to making a di...

In this interview Jen Gourley highlights the passion that has underpinned her approach to rural and regional journalism for more than 20 years. She explains why she has continued to experiment with difference types of news outlets in a rural community and how these endeavours have contributed to the community. Podcasts highlight: Leadership is about putting a community’s interests at the centre of...

Dreaming Big and Letting Go: Jane Harbison is third generation of a Texas farming family. She went to boarding school in Toowoomba and embarked on what she perceived as a safe and secure pathway in accounting. Jane worked in the shipping and livestock export industries, before completing her Master of Business Administration in New York and working in London. But at the age of 40, she felt that sh...

In this conversation Dr Sarah Casey chats with Joelle Compton. Joelle is a qualified life coach, counsellor and facilitator and she developed a business Transformational Coaching and Counselling, which is based in Brisbane. Before this, Joelle studied in the creative industries and also has degree in teaching. She has worked with NIDA and has also been a mediator. Joelle is abo...

Editor of The Moorabloo News, Helen Tatchell gives us some insights into why someone would continue putting out a local newspaper despite the trials and tribulations that come with running a local rural newspaper. She explains the crucial role of The Moorabool News plays in connecting the community particularly during disasters and the pandemic. Podcast highlights include: Importance of rural news...

Pam has had a long engagement with communities and people who want change for good. She has strong knowledge and experience in capacity building, skills development, mentoring and leadership for emergency services and disaster response in Australia and internationally, outstanding results overseeing major sport and recreation infrastructure projects for community, local government and peak sportin...

This podcast features Lisa Annese, Chief Executive Officer of the Diversity Council Australia. Lisa discusses her strategic communication plan, driven by her progressive agenda and based on research.  Lisa also discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion to economic success, social and cultural life, and how and why the Diversity Council seeks to influence for positive social change....

The importance of determination and leaning into failure: Charlotte Durack is a trained graphic designer who started her own communications company specialising in developing meaningful branding and communications strategies for agricultural businesses.  In just five years, Studio Agriculture has become the leading firm in the Australian agribusiness sector, earning Charlotte recognition as a...

This podcast features a dynamic duo, and the leadership team of Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre (Lighthouse) is part of the LHInnovation Group. Anna Pino is the Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Candice Edye is the Director and Commercialisation Manager. Both women have a wealth of experience and credentials behind them in running, supporting, investing in, and advising businesses. T...

In this podcast Genevieve provides some insights into her career and the importance of regional, rural and remote journalism. She explains the rationale behind the establishment of the Region Media Group and its aims and goals. Podcast highlights Genevieve explains what motivated her to become a journalist and how she broke into journalism. The regions are where our national stories come from, not...

Bags to Riches: Gidgee Smith’s Almost Accidental Road To Success and Self-Discovery Gidgee Smith started making bags as a way of supporting her family during the millennial drought. Almost twenty years later, Gidgee Smith Bags are going strong, employing local women to sew and market the bags, and the business has opened up other networking and entrepreneurial ventures for Gidgee and her family. N...

“I am changed forever by kindness”, “Women leaders give other women another possibility of being a woman”, “ Leadership means passing on” and “All my life I have been led by women” - These are just some of the insights, based on her lived experience, that Dr Kathomi Gatwari shares with us in this podcast. Kathomi is a senior lecturer at Southern Cross University, the President of Australia Gender...

In this episode  Dr Sarah Casey is joined by Rechelle Leahy.  Rechelle resides in the New England area of NSW. Rechelle is committed to making the world a better place than she found it. After studying law at the great rural university, the University of New England, Rechelle moved to Canberra, and was there for about 20 years. A lot has happened in this time. Rechelle lost her belo...

Julia grew up on the family farm in South West Qld and now lives in Goondiwindi, running Engage and Create Consulting. Julia is a passionate supporter of rural businesses, innovation, and for women having a seat at the table. She has a background in environmental science, has worked in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management projects, and is on the Innovation Advisory Council (Qld...

In this podcast Gail Crimmins chats with Robin McConchie.  Robin is a professional storyteller with over three decades as a rural reporter with the ABC Country Hour, was a Director of the National Press Club, and is a member of the Queensland Rural Press Club’s Hall of Fame. Her journey has taken her across Australia telling stories from back of a ute in the middle of drought to the corridors...

In this interview, Dr Amanda Gearing explains what drew her to rural and regional journalism. She discusses some of the key stories she has investigated in rural and regional areas and the contribution her journalism has made to those communities. We discuss a different sort of leadership enmeshed in her approach to journalism. Podcast highlights include: Value of contributing to rural communities...

Barb has held many service and community leadership roles in rural Queensland.  In this podcast she discusses some of the projects she has helped to lead, including collating beautiful hand-made quilts for members of the homeless community, survivors of domestic and family violence and elderly community members; the creation of home-made mother’s day cards and bookmarks; and collecting kits f...

This podcast features Emily Martin, a St. George local. Emily is the Human Resource Manager for Maranoa Mechanical, but also the author of the inspirational book, titled: “The Gift”. After her cycling accident left her with a brain injury, she wrote this book as a message of hope and a reminder that life is short and to make the most of it. The podcast focuses on Emily’s connection with her family...

Emily Watts is the 22-year-old behind Catlok Goat Stud, a venture currently working on cross-breeding goats for the Western Qld Conditions. At the time of our podcast, Emily is studying a Diploma of Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong where she is advancing her knowledge of animal fertility and optimal growth, and the business skills to support a dynamic, grown industry. Emily is also...