This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

‘Communities thrive when people gather.’ This is what a flood, a drought and a pandemic have taught Kalen Sowter as she has repeatedly stepped up for her community in the lower hunter region of New South Wales. In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, Kalen shares how these events and experiences have helped her find her calling as a connector and community builder through her ‘Little Red Tractor’ consultancy, and her social impact initiative, ‘Ladies on the Land’.

In early 2024, Kalen embraced the opportunity to take part in a two-day Changemaker workshop in Tamworth, where she was in her element adding to her collaborative skills and unlocking friendships and practical connections with her Changemaker cohort. The group has continued to meet monthly, and Kalen says it only takes one or two people to get connections rolling and enduring bonds established. She shares how lessons from the Changemaker workshop have reinforced her practices of identifying shared aims and values, and understanding unique strengths to ensure that each person has a role and everyone feels valued.

This episode is the final of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• How ‘co-design’ and ‘appreciative enquiry’ set network-building up for success
• Why Kalen rates the power of food and conversation to bring people together and give good ideas lift-off
• It only takes one person reaching out to plant the seed of lasting relationships
• Strong connections are what serve communities well in good times and bad
• Why there will always be a need for face-to-face coming together
• The potency of knowing (and seeing) that you are not alone, and the ripple effects of collaboration

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Little Red Tractor

Ladies on the Land

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore resistance to change: what might lie at the heart of that resistance; and how to become free of the fears that can hold us back. Lynn Whyatt is an American-born community leader based in Geraldton in WA. In this conversation she generously shares her first-hand experience of meeting resistance to change and the strategies she drew on to try to bring others along with her.

As you’ll hear, Lynn’s story reflects the realities faced by many change makers, in that the resistance persisted, and it was she who had to regroup and redirect her energies and aims. Her experience on a Changemaker program proved an invaluable lens through which to reflect on her experience grappling with this resistance. It also offered her strategies to rebuild her sense of purpose and embrace a different way of making a positive impact, with confidence and resilience. Lynn works with small businesses, community organisations, and not-for-profits through her consultancy Three Point Turn. Currently, she is collaborating on a fulfilling project with a fellow local leader to expand the impact of a wellbeing program for teenage boys.

This episode is the seventh of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Lynn shares just what resistance to change can look and feel like
• She unpacks where resistance can come from, and her own process coming to terms with it
• How the Changemaker workshop’s ‘change and transition’ model helped her apply a new lens to understand resistance
• Why ‘going with the willing’ is a mantra that serves her well
• Reflecting vulnerably on the impact resistance to change has on confidence and self-perceptions
• How this experience has sparked a reframing of her understanding of where and how she can contribute as a leader in her community

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Transformative Growth Institute

Three Point Turn

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore how a seemingly insurmountable challenge can be reframed as an opportunity for transformation. We’re joined by Tammy Price as she shares moments in which perceived problems have revealed their potential. Tammy is the president of the Bruny Island Community Association, and she’s no stranger to the unique and sometimes curly challenges that come with life on an Island. We chat about her direct experience reframing a challenge as an opportunity for transformation. In this case, it’s the metaphorical bridge she and fellow community leaders have provided between the needs of those who live in and travel to and from Bruny Island, with the constraints and priorities of the commercial ferry service provider. Tammy reflects on the actions needed to drive progress, and the leadership insights gained along the way.

Tammy is an advocate for the big impact that small contributions from many can have. She knows that change in her community is a matter of her and others like her stepping forward and doing their part to grow collective trust and bring everyone along to build a better future for the community that they all have a stake in.

This episode is the sixth of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Tammy shares the interconnectedness of the factors that impact the prosperity and functionality of life on Bruny Island
• How her embedded mindset of never accepting a ‘no’ helps her to see the potential in a problem
• Why every ‘failure’ is simply a learning opportunity
• Close community ties and trust are the keys to strong communication
• A round table with the transport minister has provided a chance for broad community representatives to be heard

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Bruny Island Community Association

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore value of curiosity, embracing networks, and fostering connections as a means of creating personal and community transformation. In this chat with Alice Springs business owner, Max Fonte, we uncover strategies for fostering strong, effective partnerships that drive meaningful change and create a ripple effect.

Max Fonte had no background in business, yet he’s found himself running two of them very successfully from the heart of Central Australia. Since arriving in 2013 from Argentina as an adventurous backpacker, Max has followed his natural instinct to embrace challenges and possibilities, and now finds himself at the helm of two cafés. But they are more than just retail ventures. Thanks to a network of friendships and partnerships fusing migrant culture, First Nations knowledge and community wisdom, Max has built the trust and openness needed to bring people together. He credits his experience on a two-day Changemaker workshop with helping him to see the power of all those connections. And to understand that he had all the ingredients needed to foster community bonds; entice newcomers to put down roots and improve retention throughout the Alice Springs workforce – right at his fingertips.

This episode is the fifth of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• How Max challenged his ideas of a business’s boundaries and a vehicle to affect change

• Not having done something before is never a reason not to do it now

• Max shares powerful insights into belonging

• The potency of cross-cultural collaboration

• Understand the myriad ways a thriving business can positively impact retention for small town populations

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Yayes Café

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we explore what it means to build resilience during challenging times, from coping with drought and trauma to tackling community-wide issues. Sally Williams has an open and honest relationship with resilience. It’s a muscle she’s been required to flex many times in her personal life – weathering the death of her much loved dad and living with the complicated crisis of a brain tumour that required urgent treatment during the COVID lockdown – and in her role as the Executive Officer of Katanning Landcare. Using the ‘adaptive cycle' as her framework, Sally shares her strategies for navigating crises, finding strength in adversity, and creating opportunities for growth and renewal.

For Sally, the Changemaker Workshop she took part in opened the door on new tools for building resilience in the face of challenges. These have served her and her Katanning Landcare team well as an FRRR grant has enabled the organisation to resurrect a vibrant community event known as Eco-Week. Connection to fellow community members and the chance to become better known to one another is something Sally sees as vital to fostering resilience in a community and readying to adapt to change.

This episode is the fourth of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Learn how Sally and her community actively work to create community resilience through connection
• Take a look at how the ‘adaptive cycle’ can help individuals and organisations manage periods of change and renewal
• Personal and professional examples of finding strength in adversity
• The peace in understanding what we can and can’t control
• Seeing a collaborative approach to events as a tool to build resilience

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog:  https://rural-leaders.org.au/blog/

ARLF website: https://rural-leaders.org.au/

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative: https://rural-leaders.org.au/helping-regional-communities-prepare-drought-initiative/leadership-development-in-your-region/

Katanning Landcare: https://katanninglandcare.org.au/

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we sit down with Tristan Campbell, an academic researcher, beekeeper, and graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s TRAIL Emerging Leaders Program.

Tristan shares his unique journey—from his early love of science, gadgets, and nature, to leading within the honey bee industry, to the profound shift that came with his diagnosis of young onset Parkinson’s at age 39.

What follows is a deeply honest conversation about leadership, resilience, advocacy, and the surprising new directions his life has taken, including international axe throwing competitions and spearheading the “Give Parkinson’s the Axe” campaign.

Tristan reflects on his experiences on the TRAIL program and how it shaped his leadership approach; the grief of farewelling old plans, and the power of embracing new ways to make the world a better place.

This is a story about courage, adaptability, and leading with empathy.

Some highlights:

• Leadership is situational — sometimes the strongest contribution is to lead from the front, other times it’s to listen and support.

• Diagnosis changed his path — young onset Parkinson’s forced Tristan to reimagine his life and leadership, moving from industry roles into advocacy and research support.

• Advocacy through axe throwing — what began as a family activity became an international fundraiser, helping to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s research.

• Kindness first — Tristan encourages us never to make assumptions about others, as you can’t see the battles they may be facing.

• Redefining goals — while long-term plans may shift, Tristan shows how focusing on meaningful short-term goals and community impact creates new opportunities for purpose.

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Rural Leadership Unearthed

TRAIL Emerging Leaders Program

Give Parkinson’s the Axe

Parkinson’s WA

Shake It Up

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we’re joined by Kate Coffey and Brett Thompson. Kate is the Senior Project Manager at Riverine Plains, where she leads the organisation’s Farmer and Community Engagement activities. Brett at the time of this chat was coming to the end of his role as Executive Officer of social organisation LEAD Loddon Murray, and has just completed a Masters of Teaching which will carry him into his next chapter. As leaders, Kate and Brett are both embedded in their home communities of Yarrawonga and Bendigo (respectively) and they shared the experience of completing a Changemaker workshop in Euroa in 2024.

In this conversation, Kate and Brett illustrate how the Changemaker program added a deeper layer to their leadership within community organisations. They explain why different perspectives and mindsets are vital when working out solutions to challenges. They look at the realities of engaging and retaining volunteers in our rural and regional communities. Brett and Kate both have experience working to deliver FRRR community impact programs, and they share some of the resulting benefits these projects have already had in their regions. They also sum up precisely why initiatives that are designed to build connection, networks and greater engagement within our rural communities – are essential in the face of disruption and natural disaster. It’s how we ‘get into credit’ for those times of need.

This episode is the third of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Practical tips on offering your services and finding where you belong
• How connection with others lessens stress in challenging times
• How FRRR Community Impact Programs are making a real difference
• There’s always something new to learn about our communities
• Embracing opportunities is essential for leaders
• Why community leaders shouldn’t undersell their roles and impact

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative

Riverine Plains

LEAD Loddon Murray

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we sit down with Courtney Palmer, a proud Worimi Woman whose career has spanned corporate retail leadership and community impact projects. From leading Big W teams across Queensland and the Northern Territory to championing the Happy Boxes social impact project, Courtney has always been drawn to supporting people to be their best and achieve collective results.

Here, she shares her reflections on finding connection, combating the loneliness of leadership she experienced as a First Nations woman early in her corporate retail career, and embracing the power of networks built through the ARLF’s Milparanga Established Leadership Program. Courtney also opens up about the challenges, lessons, and opportunities that have shaped her—and the importance of paving the way for the next generation of Indigenous business leaders.

Some highlights:

• Courtney shares how her career has shaped her approach to people, culture and community impact.

• The challenge of loneliness in leadership as an Aboriginal woman, and the importance of building networks and peer support.

• Why the Milparanga Program felt like the “missing puzzle piece” in her leadership journey.

• Learning to step onto the “balcony” to gain perspective, instead of staying caught on the “dance floor” of daily demands.

• Her passion for the Happy Boxes Project and the difference it makes in remote communities.

• The importance of paving the way for the next generation of Indigenous leaders.

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Rural Leadership Unearthed

Milparanga Established Leadership Program

Happy Boxes

This conversation is part of a series exploring the impact of the Changemaker Workshops delivered across more than 30 regions by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, thanks to the Future Drought Fund. These workshops are part of the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we chat with Willanna Morris to explore the role of epiphany in personal growth, and how to take that first step of action for change afterwards. Willanna is born and bred in Mount Isa and has been working to support young people for over 20 years. While she’s a passionate do-er, Willanna credits the Changemaker workshop in Mount Isa with sparking some powerful shifts in her perspective. Not least of which has been the epiphany that she and her team at the Ngukuthati Children and Family Centre are striving for the same things as countless other leaders, organisations and volunteers in Mount Isa, and that together, they can achieve amazing things.

One of those things was the back-to-school event that Willanna and her team – with support from a host of other organisations and businesses in Mount Isa – pulled together to equip more young people to get to school and help families to support their kids’ education. In this conversation, Willanna reflects on how just two days spent sharing and learning with fellow community members has given her access to resources, networks and solidarity in the quest to create a bright future for her town.

This episode is the second of an 8-part series within the Rural Leadership Unearthed podcast where we delve into stories from people passionate about transforming their communities. This is a practical resource designed to provide insight into what it takes to drive positive change in rural, regional and remote Australia.

Some highlights:

• Understand how moments of epiphany can spark a mindset shift

• How the adaptive leadership framework mobilises collaborative response to a challenge

• Willana’s heartening experience of asking for and accepting help

• The role of emotional shifts in fuelling tangible action

• Why having a strategy is key to dealing with setbacks

• The tools that can help us to take the first steps towards taking on a project or realising a vision

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog:  https://rural-leaders.org.au/blog/ 

ARLF website: https://rural-leaders.org.au/                                      

Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative: https://rural-leaders.org.au/helping-regional-communities-prepare-drought-initiative/leadership-development-in-your-region/

Ngukuthati Children and Family Centre: https://www.nwqicss.org/services/ngukuthati-children-and-family-centre/

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we’re joined by Diana Sanchez, who lives and works in Toowoomba as a laboratory coordinator in the seed and grain industry. It’s a position that reflects her determination and drive to better herself and stretch herself. When Diana and her husband decided in 2020 to relocate from their home in Colombia to re-set their lives and develop their English language skills, they couldn’t have predicted that they’d face the extreme isolation of Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns.

After a rocky start, Diana’s background in horticulture pulled her towards a job advertised in Queensland’s agricultural sector. Diana began a role as a grain tester, working alongside other seasonal workers from diverse backgrounds, in a lab. It was in this setting that Diana experienced the frustrations of miscommunication. Spurred on to support others sharing similar experiences, Diana became focused on the ingredients of strong communication and what helps us to be understood.

Fast forward to 2023, and Toowoomba not-for-profit, The Mulberry Project, nominated Diana for the ARLF’s TRAIL emerging leaders program. The experience affirmed her leadership capabilities and the importance of the contribution made by Australia’s immigrant community.

Diana explains how the experiential program confronted her with her own vulnerabilities but also revealed her strengths as a leader. Now, Diana is modelling how to create strong bonds within her culturally and linguistically diverse team, and advocating for workplaces to understand the value of slowing down and creating opportunities for connection where all are given the chance to be heard and understood.

Diana’s scholarship on the seven-day TRAIL program was funded by the Weis Community Fund, managed by Heritage Bank Charitable Foundation.

Some highlights:

• Discovering a ‘weakness’ can reveal our other strengths

• The importance of asking for help

• Opportunities for connection makes stronger teams

• Being heard and understood is critical to everyone

• Common ground is where we bond

• Providing leadership opportunities to migrants in Australia is a key way to recognise their contribution

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Rural Leadership Unearthed

TRAIL Emerging Leaders Program

Weis Community Fund