Rural Leaders

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...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, Australian Rural Leadership Foundation CEO, Matt Linnegar, sits down with former Australian diplomat and founder of Geopolitical Strategy, Michael Feller, for a conversation about leadership in an increasingly chaotic global environment.

Matt and Michael examine how leaders internationally are navigating rapid change and disruption. They discuss the limitations to a ‘transactiona...

In this episode of Rural Leadership Unearthed, we have joined forces with the Ducks on the Pond podcast to bring you a conversation about advocacy; systems thinking; solutions journalism and more.

In this chat with Ducks on the Pond co-host and founder of the Rural Podcasting Co, Kirsten Diprose, and Catherine Marriott OAM – an ‘agvocate’, ARLF Associate and former WA Rural Woman of the Year, we explore the challen...