What would change if we designed our systems around the people who actually use them, rather than treating people as an afterthought? Dr Heena Sinha Cheung joins me to explore a people-centred approach to systems change grounded in prevention, lived experience and community knowledge. Drawing on her work across child safety, disability, responsible AI, social entrepreneurship and independent politics, Heena shares how her own experience as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse led her to establish My Safe Circle and advocate for preventing harm before it occurs. We explore practical approaches to child safety in both physical and digital spaces, why institutions need to make reporting and prevention easier, and how AI could increase the capacity of overstretched community organisations when implemented responsibly. We also discuss why grassroots expertise is too often excluded from policymaking, what genuine community representation can look like, and why some of our greatest opportunities for change may already exist in the knowledge and experience held within our communities.

About Our Guest: Dr Heena Sinha Cheung is a social impact leader, entrepreneur, advocate and systems thinker working across child safety, disability, responsible technology and community-led change. Drawing partly on her own lived experience as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Heena founded and chairs My Safe Circle, a not-for-profit focused on preventing harm through early education, practical resources and community awareness. She is also the founder of disability services organisation My Second Home and Co-Founder of Simple AI, where she works to make AI practical, responsible and human-centred, particularly within highly regulated care sectors. Heena has also taken her commitment to grassroots representation into politics as an independent candidate for Box Hill, advocating for communities and subject-matter experts to have a stronger voice in the decisions that affect them. Across her work, Heena is driven by a common question: how can we design systems around the needs of people from the beginning, rather than treating people as an afterthought?

Join Heena at Newkind Conference 2026: use the code NENA for 20% off registration.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What if the way we pursue social change sometimes reproduces the same cultures of urgency, extraction and endless growth we're trying to transform? Lucy Richards, Co-Founder of The Regenerative Leader, joins me to explore what regenerative leadership can teach us about creating change differently. Drawing on lessons from regenerative practice, mindfulness, nature and two decades working across mental health, social enterprise and business, Lucy introduces the five wisdoms of mind, heart, body, Earth and collective, and explains how they can help us expand the ways we understand and respond to complexity. We explore why changemakers need to make space for life–death–life cycles rather than pursuing endless personal growth, how slowing down can actually strengthen our capacity to respond to urgent problems, and why inner work matters when we're trying to transform the systems around us. Ultimately, Lucy offers a compelling alternative to the individualism of self-help: developing ourselves not simply for our own wellbeing, but in service of collective action and a more regenerative world.

About Our Guest: Lucy Richards is the Co-Founder of The Regenerative Leader, where she explores how inner work can strengthen our capacity to create meaningful change in the world. Over the past twenty years, Lucy has worked across mental health, social enterprise, communications and social change, including launching and building Smiling Mind as its inaugural CEO, travelling the world teaching health advocacy to young people as Executive Director of NCDFREE, and helping shape Australia’s mental health narrative as Head of Brand and Strategy at The Resilience Project. A former Victorian Young Australian of the Year finalist and published poet, Lucy now serves on the Board of Directors at CERES in Naarm. Through The Regenerative Leader, she draws on ideas of awareness, compassion, rest and multiple forms of wisdom to help people hold complexity and practise leadership that contributes to the regeneration of ourselves, our communities and the systems around us.

Join Lucy at Newkind Conference 2026: use the code NENA for 20% off registration.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What does it actually mean to build a nonviolent world — and can we get there through punishment, shame and dehumanisation? Hala Abdelnour, founder and CEO of the Institute of Non-Violence, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about violence, power, accountability and what genuine transformation requires. Drawing on decades of experience across psychology, social work, family violence, addiction and work with people who use violence, Hala challenges us to move beyond simple categories of victims and perpetrators and consider the systems, relationships, trauma, privilege and learned behaviours through which violence emerges. We explore why accountability must involve creating the conditions for people to genuinely confront and change harmful behaviour, the limitations of punitive approaches, what it means to imagine the world we want rather than only fighting what we oppose, and why social change needs ecosystems rather than heroes. We also explore patriarchy, masculine and feminine ways of being, and Hala's provocative Newkind session, Drunk on Power, which asks what becomes possible when we begin dismantling systems built around domination and redistributing power.

Join Hala at Newkind Conference 2026: use the code NENA for 20% off registration.

About Our Guest: Hala Abdelnour is the Founder and CEO of the institute of non-violence, bringing together decades of experience across psychology, criminology, social work, family violence, addiction and work with marginalised communities. Born in Lebanon and migrating to Australia as a child, Hala’s own experiences of war, migration and belonging have helped shape her commitment to creating more just and nonviolent ways of living together. Her work includes supporting adults who use violence to develop healthier ways of relating, alongside training and clinical supervision for practitioners working across the family violence sector. Through a deeply humanising approach grounded in accountability, cultural safety and trauma awareness, Hala challenges punitive responses to violence and invites us to examine the systems, power structures and relational patterns that contribute to harm.

Check out the the institute of non-violence's therapeutic services and men's behaviour change program.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What does it really take to lead in the nonprofit and social impact sector? Anthony Silard joins Changemaker Q&A to unpack the emotional realities of leadership in spaces built around service, care, and social mission. Drawing on decades of experience across nonprofit leadership, global education, research, and executive development, Anthony explores why leadership in the social sector is fundamentally different from leadership in more conventional settings. The conversation touches on burnout, loneliness, secondary trauma, toxic workplace cultures, emotional expression, gendered expectations, and the challenge of building healthy organisations when everyone is already carrying so much. This is a practical and deeply human discussion for anyone trying to create change without losing themselves in the process.

About Our Guest: Anthony Silard is a professor of leadership and organisational psychology, the director of the Center for Sustainable Leadership at Luiss Business School in Rome, and the founder of the nonprofit Center for Social Leadership. His career began in the Peace Corps in Kenya and later expanded into nonprofit leadership, public policy, and experiential leadership development for social change organisations around the world. Over the past three decades, Anthony has worked extensively with nonprofit leaders across Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America, helping them build healthier, more effective organisations. His work focuses especially on the emotional dimensions of leadership, including loneliness, trauma, burnout, and the relational challenges of leading mission-driven teams.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

Many of us spend years pursuing goals we rarely stop to question. A relationship, marriage, children, career milestones, home ownership — the traditional markers of success can become so deeply embedded in our culture that it becomes difficult to distinguish what we genuinely want from what we've been taught to want. Drawing on her TEDx talk, The Silent Epidemic of Modern Singlehood, Aimee Barnes explores the growing number of people who find themselves living outside conventional life scripts and the social pressures that often accompany that reality. The conversation moves far beyond dating and relationships to examine identity, loneliness, belonging, community, self-agency, and the importance of defining success on our own terms. Together, we discuss why connection matters more than relationship status, how changemakers can resist the pressure to conform to external expectations, and what it means to create a life that genuinely aligns with our values rather than society's assumptions about what a meaningful life should look like.

About Our Guest: Aimee Barnes is a psychotherapist, coach, wellness educator, and founder of Ganbaru Wellness. Drawing on her background in psychotherapy, breathwork, meditation, and personal development, Aimee works with individuals, schools, organisations, and retreat participants to help people build resilience, strengthen their mental wellbeing, and reconnect with themselves. Her work combines evidence-based psychological approaches with holistic wellbeing practices, creating accessible tools for navigating anxiety, self-doubt, life transitions, and personal growth. Aimee is also the creator of the TEDx Talk The Silent Epidemic of Modern Singlehood, which explores the changing realities of modern relationships, identity, and belonging, and challenges conventional assumptions about success, fulfilment, and the paths people choose through life. Through her writing, speaking, retreats, and educational programs, she encourages people to cultivate greater self-awareness and build lives that reflect their authentic values rather than external expectations.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What happens to the sets, props, displays, and installations once the cameras stop rolling or the event wraps up? In this episode of Changemaker Q&A, Joe and Tin from Used Creative unpack the hidden waste problem inside the creative industries and share how they are building a more circular alternative. Drawing on backgrounds in design, branding, media, events, and creative production, they explore the staggering scale of materials discarded across film, TV, retail, exhibitions, and live experiences, and why so much of it still ends up in storage or landfill. This conversation covers circular design, creative reuse, mindset shifts, the business case for repurposing, and what it takes to build a venture that is both commercially viable and genuinely values-led.

About Our Guests: Joe and Tin are the co-founders of Used Creative @used.creative, a platform helping the creative industries reuse and repurpose sets, props, installations, displays, and other creative assets that might otherwise be discarded. Both come from long careers in design and creative production, with experience spanning branding, magazines, film, television, events, retail experiences, and large-scale installations. After witnessing first-hand the enormous volume of waste generated across the sector, they set out to create a more circular model that makes reuse easier, more affordable, and more accessible. Their work sits at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, circular economy thinking, and practical systems change.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What happens when someone leaves their role as a pastor for the FBI and discovers that both roles, in very different ways, are about serving people in moments of crisis? Eric Robinson shares the story of his transition from Baptist pastor to FBI agent, reflecting on what that shift taught him about calling, stress, and where he felt most able to make a difference. Along the way, we explore the human side of law enforcement, from building trust with teenage girls caught in exploitation to navigating the moral complexity of crime, punishment, and institutional systems. This is a grounded conversation about justice in practice, the difference between headlines and reality, and why lasting change often happens slowly, locally, and through relationships.

About Our Guest: Eric Robinson is a recently retired FBI special agent who served for 24 years across a wide range of investigations, including white collar crime, counterterrorism, crimes against children, gangs, drugs, and public corruption. He also served as a SWAT operator, firearms instructor, and tactics instructor. Before joining the FBI, Eric spent 12 years in Christian ministry, including serving as a Baptist pastor. Drawing on both pastoral experience and decades in federal law enforcement, he brings a rare perspective on justice, trust, leadership, trauma, and the human realities behind crime and community safety.

📰 Read the accompanying article for this podcast episode ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

This will be my last solo-episode for some time, while I focus on other more impactful projects!

After months of juggling multiple jobs, running live training programs, leading volunteer initiatives, and trying to keep the Humanitarian Changemakers Network moving forward, I found myself confronting a difficult reality: something had to give. This isn't simply an announcement about taking a break from solo episodes—it's a candid reflection on the often invisible trade-offs that come with dedicating your life to social change. I share my own experiences navigating burnout, balancing unpaid impact work with financial security, and wrestling with the tension between personal goals and the desire to contribute to something larger than myself. Along the way, I explore why leverage matters more than busyness, why changemakers often struggle to prioritise themselves without guilt, and why creating sustainable impact sometimes requires stepping back before you're forced to. If you've ever felt torn between your wellbeing and your purpose, this conversation is for you.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

What happens when someone who was never “supposed” to succeed in traditional education ends up building a method that helps students leap multiple grade levels in literacy? Russell shares his unlikely journey from struggling with severe dyslexia to law school, government-backed research, and a writing-first framework that’s helped students dramatically improve reading and writing outcomes in months rather than years. Along the way, we explore why neurodiverse learners often thrive through specialisation, how to use universal themes and structure to communicate ideas more powerfully (including with the help of AI), and why the changemaker mindset of pushing forward without a perfect plan can be the difference between a good idea and real-world impact.

About Our Guest: Russell Van Brocklen is a dyslexia educator and researcher focused on accelerating literacy development through a writing-first approach. After navigating dyslexia himself and beginning with a first-grade reading and writing level, he went on to law school, learned to read rapidly, and later secured public funding for a multi-year program that helped struggling high school writers achieve significant gains in writing performance at low cost. Russell now teaches practical frameworks that support neurodiverse learners in organising ideas, strengthening communication, and building academic-level writing skills earlier than traditional models typically allow.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.

Skip the HCN Weekly Brief: 6:20

How do we create a better future if we struggle to imagine one? Reflecting on the conversations that emerged during a week-long Post-Growth Futures series, this episode explores one of the biggest challenges facing changemakers today: our collective crisis of imagination. Rather than treating the future as a single destination waiting to unfold, the discussion reframes change as a dynamic process of possibility, where multiple futures exist simultaneously and emerge through the conditions we create today. Drawing on systems thinking, philosophy, and practical lessons from facilitating conversations across diverse perspectives, the episode explores why social movements often become trapped debating the "right" vision of the future, how differing visions can become a source of strength rather than division, and why humility, dialogue, and imagination may be among the most important capacities we need to navigate an increasingly uncertain world. Whether you're working on climate, community development, democracy, or any other social challenge, this conversation offers a new way of thinking about change itself—and the role each of us plays in shaping the futures that become possible.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of Tiyana J & guests and are not reflective of all members of the Humanitarian Changemakers Network.