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 is in the best interests of your community; and Tips for how to build relationships with journalists in rural areas. Social Media - Insta: @Gnatalies, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-leamy-18ba0b28/.

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 universities, deeply engaging with communities. Tara holds three bachelor degrees and four masters degrees including a Master of Leadership, and two graduate diplomas. And a PhD. She has written over 250 journal articles, twenty books, and there’s no sign of slowing down. Tara’s work translates beyond the academy. One of her vlog series of over 300 videos has about 25 million views. Tara is committed to regional and rural education and communities. In this conversation, Tara and Sarah chat about education, regionality, bullying, mediocre leadership, and followership. Please check out the links to Tara’s work below and connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn. https://brabazon.net/https://www.flinders.edu.au/people/tara.brabazonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tarabrabazonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_2foQgULYMhttps://www.youtube.com/c/TaraBrabazonChannelhttps://www.timeshighereducation.com/content/tara-brabazon

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 growing grapes for local wineries, and managing her agricultural side-business. But her journey of starting university at a more mature age with a family and all its responsibilities is an example of a true fighting spirit. She takes us through her own personal and professional development journey that led to her passion to empower others. Nelia’s led many women to achieve their higher degrees. Her research focuses on multiculturalism, gender, and women's empowerment through Higher Education. A very interesting privilege to get to understand her journey. Enjoy. linkedin.com/in/nhyndmanrizkunsw.adfa.edu.au/school-of-business/dr-nelia-hyndman-rizk n.hyndman-rizk@adfa.edu.au

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 is now almost at the end of her academic career with her planned retirement in the coming year. This led to a reflection on what worked well and what she could have done differently, lessons learned, and what the next generation can take away from her experience. She works on projects focused on regional development, Food, and Agribusiness, as well as seafood marketing. We hope you enjoy listening to such a charismatic person’s reflections. linkedin.com/in/meredith-lawley-6a541a21mlawley1@usc.edu.au

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 as a movement of leaders who are proud of the role they play in developing and supporting Australia’s rural industries. Ann believes that every woman has a personal journey, with no two the same. Ann’s aspiration for the rural industry is ‘conservation of the food chain’. Ann says we currently utilise approximately 1% of edible plant species to fuel our diets. Ann is committed to supporting more innovation around the development of highly nutritional food sources. In this podcast Ann discusses how university study and university mentors provide her with inspiration, practical advice and support. She also shares her advice on ‘doing your homework’ before and after networking and taking a samples to networking events. In particular, Ann recommends saying yes to every networking opportunity, finding out who will be at each event and not only researching the guest list but making contact with anyone you particularly want to meet before the event to arrange to meet/chat. That way you’re guaranteed not to be on your own the whole event, you will most likely meet the people who you believe will assist your venture, and make the most of each encounter. Ann also recommends having a strategy for what you want to achieve at each event and taking along samples (in her case – honey) as a conversation starter and to refer to in conversations. Ann also recommends following up with people you meet at networking event, by maybe sending an email saying how much you enjoyed meeting them… Ann’s tips and tricks are an inspiration!

Highlights: Social Media: https://www.margaretsimons.com.au/https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-simons-3017231a/?originalSubdomain=au

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 difference through her research and is a passionate activist for equality in the workplace. Her recent research includes examining what the future of work might look like post-pandemic; and how middle managers can progress gender equality. Sue has partnered with various state government and Australian Government agencies on projects aimed at progressing workplace gender equality. linkedin.com/in/sue-williamson-1642496bsue.williamson@unsw.edu.auSWilliamsonUNSW

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: Twitter: @jengourley45 https://www.thebiloelabeacon.com/

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 she was not being true to herself and she launched her own creative business, Dream Big for Little Girls. In this podcast, Jane shares why she launched out on her own, what she learned from her own business, and why she eventually chose to let her business go. This podcast will inspire you to back yourself and not be afraid to fail. https://janeharbison.com.aulinkedin.com/in/janeharbison

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 about helping people to move forward in life in positive ways to feel empowered and to feel they’re a part of a community and strong within themselves. Joelle shares some of her deeply personal story. She has moved from survivor to thriver. Joelle shares her journey from a place where she felt alone - where community had shut her out and down – and how she built her very own community as she learned to practise positive self talk and self-compassion. In this conversation Joelle talks about how we are still feeling our way as women, particularly driven women, to find balance, and she shares strategies to help others on their empowerment journeys. For more information about Joelle and her work, please look here: https://transformational-coaching-counselling.com.au/

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: Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-tatchell-9b42a91ba/

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 sporting organisations, and strong connections across regional Queensland. Pam currently Principal at Future Ag Qld. Pam is an experienced team leader with broad experience in stakeholder negotiation, an excellent presenter, and public speaker. Pam’s stories of leadership and collaboration demonstrate the importance of reciprocity, persistence, distributive power. This is a beautiful and honest conversation where Pam weaves personal stories with career narratives and advice for living well. Connect with Pam here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelagreetbrisbane/

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 podcast focuses on how creating change and informing policy have to be informed by the evidence, which often spans and goes beyond individual experience. Lisa stresses the importance of influencing ‘the power brokers of the status quo’, and that it’s strategically important that these people are not disengaged and shut out from progressive cultural policy. She considers how do I engage business leaders, how to use evidence to persuade people to adopt principles and practices of inclusion and diversity; the importance of articulating benefits to inclusivity in business terms, to engage stakeholders Lisa also discusses communication strategy and understanding what it is you want to say, think in the language of your audience, and engage with your audience in a way that is relevant to them This is an engaging and warm conversation where Lisa talks of her life, her love of literature and how reading science fiction can help you think or imagine ‘otherwise’. We hope you enjoy it!

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 finalist in the Telstra Young Business Women’s Awards in 2017. In this podcast, Charlotte talks about how she spotted an opportunity for her business, the risks she took to make it happen, and the determination that she has approached the development of her business particularly during the past two years of Covid-19 related restrictions. Website: https://agricreative.com.au LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlotte-durack-b599a470 Instagram: @charlottedurack

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. This duo is very passionate about helping businesses to grow and does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather focuses on targeted and individualised services and solutions. They have developed business support programs with the government such as the IP Toolkit, Teen Start-Up, and specialized design projects in Allied Health. But also, ‘community-based' projects, e.g., Entry29 and Festival of Ambitious Ideas. Both are inspiring inclusive leaders and they also facilitated one of our workshops. Lovely to see them interact and work together so seamlessly. For an informative and empowering interview listen to this podcast to learn more about starting a business. https://www.facebook.com/LighthouseInnovation/ https://www.lighthouseinnovation.com.au/ Phone: (02) 6163 8300 Email: enquiries@lighthouseinnovation.com.au

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 Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievejacobs/?originalSubdomain=auhttps://region.com.au/

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. Now, Gidgee’s property near Morwen in South-West Queensland hosts a camping ground and coffee shop, and Gidgee works tirelessly throughout Western Queensland as an advocate for mental health. In this podcast, Gidgee discusses how these ventures have happened, and shares some life lessons that she has picked up along the way. Website: https://www.gidgeesmith.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gidgeesmith

“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 and Women’s Studies (the peak body for women and gender studies in Australia). She is also the founder of Healing Together (Counselling & Psychotherapy)- a therapeutic practice aimed to provide culturally safe therapy to Black and other people of colour in Australia, and is the founder CountingDeadWomen- Kenya a platform which collates all reported deaths of Kenyan women who have been killed through violence. In this podcast, Kathomi discusses the importance of considering all women in empowerment and leadership by adopting an intersection feminism lens in her work and practice. She provides a definition of intersectionality as recognising the white history of feminism, where middle-class white woman were aided and abetted in pursuing equal opportunities in public life, through the support (child and domestic care) by Black women, women of colour, and poor women. Kathomi also notes that in all policy and practice it is important to consider the lived experience and barriers to full participation in all public life by poor women, Black women, women of colour, women with disability, Indigenous women, rural woman etc. as there is a tendency to use white women as the standard. For instance, when we discuss dates women were provided the right to vote... we have to include all women Kathomi’s goal in leadership is to build intersectional feminism and to support all women, so that all women can be seen/heard. Her leadership focuses on facilitating Black and African women being able to see themselves in places and spaces they had not seen themselves Kathomi muses on the relationships she has had with women (her mother, grandmother, lecturers..) to note that “some of the most incredible women leaders who have come into my path has been relational…” and advises to “let the relationship be the foundation of mentorship and leadership… [be generous with your knowledge] “you are a custodian of knowledge until you pass it on”. She considers that leadership can be used generously (and not competitive), though acknowledges that when you have been kept of spaces of leadership our only entry to accessing the space is to behave like the people in there we reproduce the same barriers. She instead shares some incredible stories and strategies of leadership as relationship, leadership as generosity, and leadership as authenticity. Finally, Kathomi discusses her experience of racial fatigue (as a Black woman living and working in rural Australia), and people seeming to erase race as a factor of her experience. In response, Kathomi developed an organisation Healing Together (Counselling & Psychotherapy) to provide racially sensitive therapy for Black and women of colour.

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 beloved husband to cancer and has two young sons. She has a podcast and business, IDecided where she speaks with others about their experiences of loss, and assists with end of life planning. Rechelle’s main work is with Regional Collab where she’s the CEO. It’s a consultancy business to help rural, regional and remote Australia roll out different projects, programs and facilities basically sponsored by government. She’s passionate about social and economic prosperity in rural Australia. Rechelle works on a number of different boards and committees like the National Rural Women’s Coalition, which is one of the six National women’s Alliances (NWA) funded by the Australian Government. Rechelle has been to the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN more than once and has spoken about rural, regional and remote women and also about widows. Rechelle is also on the Australian Gender Equality Council. Her passion for the rural, for gender equality and for advocacy is inspiring. Here are some links about Rechelle’s work, life, and businesses: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rechelle-leahy-343654107/?originalSubdomain=au https://regionalcollab.com/ https://www.mamamia.com.au/author/rechelle-leahy/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRpGYXVGMwlAW2micNjyC6g https://about.abc.net.au/profile/rechelle-leahy/ https://www.agec.org.au/project/rechelle-leahy/ https://www.nrwc.com.au/about/board-member

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 State Government) and is the CEO of Eco-Markets Australia. In this podcast Julia chats with Sarah about her commitment to the South West of Qld and rural Australia broadly. She’s not only an entrepreneur and innovator, but an advocate for whole of communities. In 2022, Julia was awarded Member of Order of Australia for her service. Check out more about Julia, and connect with here: https://twitter.com/telford_juliahttps://www.facebook.com/EngageandCreateConsultinghttps://engageandcreateconsulting.com.au/https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-spicer-oam-69a9ab27/?locale=fr_FRhttps://businesswomenaustralia.com.au/user/julia+spicer/