Changemaker Q&A

A non-linear career can feel confusing while you’re living it, yet it often becomes the foundation for the most grounded leadership. Global entrepreneur Neli Kools shares how her journey—from architecture and urban planning, to studying music business in the US, to running a digital marketing agency—ultimately led her to co-found Intimate Queen, a plant-based wellness lingerie brand built to chall...

Skip the HCN Weekly Brief - 7:17 From choosing the right degree to figuring out whether systemic change is too overwhelming to pursue, this rapid fire Q&A tackles a range of listener questions about what it really means to build a life in changemaking. The conversation moves through practical advice for people just starting out, why growing a garden might be one of the best lessons in social c...

Communication sits at the heart of leadership, relationships, and social change—yet most people were never taught how to listen well, navigate conflict, or speak in ways others can actually receive. Drawing on her work with global leaders and couples, Eri Kardos unpacks why many communication breakdowns are patterned rather than personal, how trauma responses quietly shape everything from workplac...

Turning 30 can be “just a number”, but it can also be a moment to pause and take stock — and that’s what this episode does. Tiyana shares the winding, unplanned story of her twenties as a changemaker: a semester abroad that sparked activism and opened doors to the UN, the volunteering and self-education that shaped her more than formal study, the early beginnings of the Humanitarian Changemakers N...

Freedom is often spoken about as an abstract ideal, yet for many entrepreneurs and changemakers it is the invisible foundation that makes creation, expression, and impact possible. Drawing on a lived experience of displacement, migration, and rebuilding life from scratch, this conversation explores the deep connection between freedom, entrepreneurship, and service. The episode examines why fear an...

If you don’t want the HCN update, skip to 12:35! What if doing less was actually the smartest strategy for creating more impact? Inspired by a very real moment of autumn “shedding” (and some painfully slow internet), this episode dives into what leverage really means in the context of social change. Instead of glorifying busyness, we explore productivity as a ratio of inputs to outcomes — and why...

Grassroots changemakers are often driven by purpose first—then quickly discover that impact also requires skills in branding, communication, storytelling, and digital strategy. In this conversation, Daniel (founder of The Good Growth Company ) shares a practical roadmap for building trust and visibility without trying to do everything at once: starting with audience clarity, choosing formats that...

Social work is often reduced to “service delivery”, but it’s also one of the most important bridges between lived experience and systems change. This conversation breaks down social work as a distinct approach to impact — one that operates across the micro (individual support), meso (community and organisational change), and macro (policy and structural transformation) levels. Along the way, it ma...

Foreign aid is often reduced to slogans—either dismissed as wasteful or romanticised as simple charity—yet the reality is far more complex, political, and consequential. Drawing on a decades-long career that took him from private law practice into senior work across USAID and the broader development sector, Clifford offers an insider account of what international assistance looks like on the groun...

Human rights are often described as the basic freedoms and protections we have simply by being human — but where do those rights come from, who protects them, and how do they actually work in the real world? This episode unpacks the philosophical foundations of human rights, traces their historical evolution from early legal codes to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and walks through all...

Iran has been experiencing renewed waves of protest and strikes alongside intensifying repression, including a widely reported escalation in executions. This conversation explores what people inside the country are demanding, how resistance is being organised over time, and why many advocates argue there is a “third option” beyond either foreign military intervention or accommodation of authoritar...

Policy often gets talked about as the way social change happens because it’s formal, visible, and easy to point to—but it’s really just one piece of a much bigger picture. This episode offers a practical, down-to-earth introduction to what policy actually is, where it comes from, and how it tends to move through the Australian policy system in ways that are far more messy and iterative than the te...

As loneliness rises to epidemic levels across the world, many are asking: how can we rebuild the connections that make life meaningful? This episode explores the future of friendship through the lens of Friending, a new app designed to encourage genuine, face-to-face relationships. Founder Gabor shares his journey from Europe to North America and how personal experience of isolation led him to des...

Social change is driven by strong values, moral clarity, and a deep commitment to justice—yet it rarely unfolds under ideal conditions. This episode explores one of the most uncomfortable but unavoidable realities of changemaking: trade-offs. Drawing on examples from activism, politics, development, and systems thinking, the conversation unpacks why trade-offs are not signs of compromise or failur...

After more than a decade in corporate law, Serena reached a crossroads that forced her to question everything she thought success was meant to look like. A single offhand question—“Do you know what’s ahead if you stay on this path?”—sparked a journey from burnout and identity loss to reinvention, courage and quiet leadership. In this conversation, Serena explores what it means to thrive as an intr...

Business often gets talked about as if it sits neatly in the “economic” box, separate from ethics, power, and social responsibility. In reality, business has always been part of everyday social life, shaped by politics, culture, and shared ideas about what is acceptable or fair—and shaping those things in return. This episode looks at business as just one of several ways change happens, tracing ho...

Reverend Erika Ferguson’s life and work stand as a testament to courage, compassion, and conviction. As the founder of the Tubman Travel Project, she helps women in restrictive states across the United States safely access reproductive healthcare—transforming journeys of fear into experiences of care, connection, and community. In this powerful conversation, Erika shares how her faith, grounded in...

Values are often treated as decorative statements—nice words on a website or a slide in an induction pack—but for changemakers, they are far more than that. This episode explores why values are foundational to ethical, effective, and sustainable social change, shaping not only what work is undertaken but how decisions are made, relationships are formed, and power is exercised. Drawing on real-worl...

Dr Warren Wong has dedicated his medical career to transforming the way we think about ageing, caregiving, and healthcare. From his early experiences in geriatric medicine to his ongoing advocacy for person-centred care, he challenges us to reimagine what it means to age with dignity. In this conversation, we explore the social and systemic challenges of healthcare, the hidden costs of ageing, the...

Mindfulness is often framed as a personal coping tool—something individuals practise to manage stress within systems that remain fundamentally unchanged. This conversation challenges that narrow framing and introduces a multidimensional approach to mindfulness grounded in social theory, empowerment research, and systems thinking. Drawing on a framework that understands human experience across four...

Innovation is a word we hear often, but what does it actually mean in practice? In this conversation with Amir Elion—innovation leader, former head of Amazon Web Services’ Digital Innovation program in the Nordics, and founder of Think Big Leaders—we explore how organisations can move beyond buzzwords to create real value. Amir shares how Amazon’s “working backwards” method can be applied anywhere...

Money is often treated as the central ingredient for social change, yet this conversation challenges that assumption and offers a more precise—and more empowering—way to think about it. Tiyana unpacks why money is better understood as energy or a medium of exchange rather than a true resource, and why attaching moral weight to money itself obscures the real ethical questions: how it is earned, dir...

Tommy’s path into conservation and science communication did not begin in academia, but on the riverbanks with a fishing rod and a blog. Over time, his passion for the outdoors grew into a podcast that now explores the intersection of ecology, policy, and social change. In this conversation, we discuss how human attitudes and behaviours complicate conservation, why reconnecting with nature is esse...

As a new year begins, Tiyana invites changemakers to move beyond aspirational vision boards and into a more grounded, strategic approach to goal setting for 2026. Drawing on her work as a social impact strategist, she unpacks the psychology behind visioning, clarifies the difference between imagining a future and manifesting it, and introduces a practical framework for turning big-picture visions...

Dione Chan, widely known as That Security Lady , shares her journey from a shy childhood to becoming an experienced professional in a male-dominated security industry. From close personal protection and crowd control to high-profile events, Dione explores the skills, mindset, and frameworks that allow women to feel safe and confident in any environment. This episode delves into practical strategie...