Rural Leaders

Rural Leaders

Where real stories meet practical leadership. Each episode features conversations with guest leaders from RRR Australia, sharing what they tried, what changed, and what they learned along the way. Gain access to bonus episodes from our learning team that unpack leadership models and tools you can put into practice in your own context, with practical insights to help you lead with clarity, courage, and care. Hosted by Oli Le Lievre, ARLP alum and founder of Humans of Agriculture.

Episodes

August 26, 2026 41 mins

Tanya Stevenson believes one simple philosophy has shaped every successful project she's been part of: never do anything alone.

As CEO of the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, Tanya has spent more than two decades bringing people together to tackle complex community challenges. Whether it's improving children's literacy, creating innovative wellbeing experiences, supporting foster families, or helping grassroots ideas become reality,...

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Action is not about moving faster. It's about knowing where you can create change, bringing people with you, and having the courage to begin before everything is figured out.

In this episode of Rural Leaders, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with Mikaela Jade, Founder and CEO of Indigital, and Joanna Baker, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, who first met through the Australian Rural Leadership Program before going on to build one o...

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Leadership is not about a title. It is about how you show up, who you serve, and what you do when the pressure is on.

In this episode of Rural Leaders, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with David Jochinke, Wimmera farmer, ARLP Course 18 alumni, former President of the Victorian Farmers Federation and former President of the National Farmers’ Federation.

David reflects on a leadership journey shaped by community, advocacy and servic...

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Change is a constant in rural, regional and remote Australia, but adapting well is something we all have to learn.

In this episode of Rural Leaders, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with Dr Ananth Gopal, co-founder of Polykala, to explore what adaptability really looks like in practice. Drawing on years of experience in leadership development and experiential learning, Ananth unpacks why adaptation is not just about reacting quickly, bu...

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Alyssia Kennedy knows what it feels like to leave school and realise that knowing how to pass exams is not the same as knowing how to navigate adulthood. Growing up in Tasmania, Alyssia saw firsthand the gap between what students are taught in the classroom and the practical life skills young people need when it comes to budgeting, understanding taxes, navigating Medicare, managing car expenses, and making confident decisions about...

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February 25, 2026 48 mins

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 ...

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February 11, 2026 45 mins

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 ...

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January 14, 2026 40 mins

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 insurmounta...

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December 17, 2025 50 mins

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, embraci...

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November 19, 2025 57 mins

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 resi...

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October 22, 2025 56 mins

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 ...

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October 8, 2025 37 mins

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 ref...

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September 24, 2025 52 mins

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 explor...

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September 10, 2025 33 mins

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 co...

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August 27, 2025 43 mins

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.

There’s nothing like a fresh perspective to flip a problem and transform it int...

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August 13, 2025 40 mins

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we’re joined by David Keetch, a seasoned agricultural researcher who first embraced ag as a highschool student growing up in Adelaide. Now, as Nufarm’s Green-on-Green Program Director, he leads two national projects focused on developing advanced in-crop camera-spraying technologies and herbicide solutions tailored to Australian farming systems.

If it sounds complicated, th...

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July 23, 2025 48 mins

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 Tanya Lehmann, a...

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July 9, 2025 48 mins

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we sit down with Jason Strong, former Managing Director of Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and a leader with more than 30 years’ experience in the red meat and livestock industries. Since wrapping up his role with MLA at the end of 2023, Jason has embraced the chance to shift gears and follow his curiosity and passions. From this vantage point, Jason reflects on some of the bi...

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June 11, 2025 52 mins

We’ve just marked National Reconciliation Week for 2025 – the theme centred on ‘Bridging Now to Next’. In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we sit down with a veteran of Indigenous affairs and graduate of the third Australian Rural Leadership Program, John Paterson. John fondly recalls the expansion of perspective the ARLP gave him. Within his cohort, John was looked to for leadership and insight i...

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April 9, 2025 49 mins

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, the Unbreakable Farmer, mental health crusader Warren Davies, speaks to us about the insights and stories he feels privileged to share in as he travels around rural Australia. He reflects on the forces buffeting the communities he speaks to, and particularly the impact that the rapid transition to renewable energy sources is having throughout country Australia.

In this conversation, War...

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