420 Meghal Shah: Venture Philanthropy and Scaling Solutions to Global Poverty

My guest this week is Meghal Shah — CEO of Action on Poverty, an Australian international development organisation focused on tackling global poverty through innovative, scalable solutions. Meghal brings an unusual perspective to the social sector. Originally trained as a chartered accountant, he began his career in the corporate world at PwC and Commonwealth Bank before making a bold pivot into purpose-driven work. His hypothesis was simple but powerful: the non-profit sector often struggles to scale impact because it lacks the commercial thinking needed to build sustainable funding models. That belief led Meghal to take a major risk early in his social sector career, stepping in as interim CEO of a struggling disability services organisation during the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. By focusing on financial sustainability and strategic growth, he helped turn the organisation around and secure an acquisition that expanded the entity by 150%. Today at Action on Poverty, Meghal applies venture capital principles to global development challenges through a model known as venture philanthropy,  identifying high-potential solutions, supporting them through stages of growth, and ultimately helping them become self-sustaining systems that continue delivering impact long after philanthropic funding ends. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore: Meghal’s journey from corporate finance to international development why commerciality is essential for lasting social impact how venture philanthropy helps scale solutions to global poverty and the powerful stories behind initiatives tackling issues from clubfoot treatment in Bangladesh to dengue prevention through the World Mosquito Program. This conversation is a thoughtful look at how bold ideas, strategic funding, and local leadership can come together to create solutions that don’t just help people today but transform systems for the future. 🔗 Explore more from Meghal’s work here: https://actiononpoverty.org/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions — delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles. Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date. Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots. Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast? Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits: Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Bruce Maynard — a leading voice in regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration in Australia, known for pushing beyond “doing less harm” and into farming systems that actively rebuild nature while still producing food. Bruce shares how his journey into regenerative practice wasn’t just an idealistic shift, it was forged through pressure. In the late 1980s, severe economic hardship and changing seasonal reliability made one thing clear: conventional farming often drives further displacement of natural systems, and it’s farmers (and communities) who carry the cost. Best known for his work on regenerative grazing, animal behaviour, and the controversial innovation of no-kill cropping  producing broadacre grains in grassland without external chemical inputs, Bruce makes the case that the future of agriculture depends on creative, practical pathways that deliver results across a triple bottom line: social, environmental, and business outcomes. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore: what “regenerative” really means (and how it’s evolved from conservation and sustainability) why progress can’t be measured by economics alone how animal distribution shapes landscape health and what happens when animals choose where they spend time the human side of farming: wellbeing, leadership, and staying connected to country why no-kill cropping challenges everything we think we know about growing grain and what a “desirable and plentiful” future could look like if we stop treating nature and productivity as an either/or.   🔗 Explore more from Bruce’s work here: https://soilsforlife.org.au/no-kill-cropping-restoring-grasslands/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles. Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date. Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots. Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast? Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits: Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.  

My guests this week are Professor Paul Lacaze and Jane Tiller - two leading voices shaping the future of public health genetics in Australia. Professor Lacaze is a Professor of Genetics and part of the team behind DNA Screen, a major initiative exploring how preventive DNA testing could help identify people at high genetic risk of cancer and heart disease while they’re still young and healthy. Jane Tiller is a lawyer and genetic counsellor with deep expertise in the policy and ethical frameworks needed to make genomic screening safe, trusted, and accessible at scale. Best known for their work on the DNA Screen pilot study, Paul and Jane are helping drive a shift from reactive healthcare, where genetic testing often happens after disease appears to anticipatory healthcare that uses genetics as a preventive screening tool, alongside existing public health programs like mammograms and bowel cancer screening. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore what preventive DNA screening could mean for Australia, including: what the DNA Screen pilot found (including the number of young adults carrying high-risk, actionable genetic variants) why early screening gives people time to make informed decisions about surveillance, prevention, and family planning what “actionable” genes really means (and why lifestyle changes alone can’t remove certain risks the importance of protecting Australians from genetic discrimination and why data governance, privacy, transparency and participant choice are essential if a program like this is to earn public trust. Tune in to hear how Paul and Jane are working to mainstream genomic risk management into the health system and what it could take to move from pilot to national scale. 🔗 Explore more from Paul and Jane’s work here: https://dnascreen.monash.edu/our-team.html   Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles. Learn more at humansofpurpose.com    CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Elizabeth Tyler - co-founder and CEO of good.film, a visionary platform using film and television as a catalyst for connection, empathy, and meaningful conversation in an increasingly fragmented world. Through good.film, she works at the intersection of storytelling, social impact, and community-centred engagement, helping audiences discover movies and shows that resonate with their values and spark real-world dialogue. Best known for her leadership in building good.film — a platform that curates ambitious stories from blockbusters to indie documentaries and fosters communities around the conversations those stories ignite — Elizabeth combines deep strategic insight with a profound belief in the power of narrative to rebuild social cohesion. Her work emphasises how shared stories can bring people together, open hearts, and invite curiosity in place of division. Before founding good.film, Elizabeth built a diverse career across politics, advocacy, and creative impact work — including serving on successful election campaigns and leading strategic advocacy for major nonprofits — always with a focus on bringing people together around a vision of what’s possible. She holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, where she was recognised for her entrepreneurial and social change leadership. Elizabeth is a passionate advocate for Impact Entertainment — the idea that films and shows can do more than entertain: they can deepen empathy, foster shared experiences, and help rebuild the social fabric by connecting head and heart in how we understand each other and the world. 🔗 Explore more from Elizabeth's work here:  https://good.film/about-us Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Jon Yeo - a highly respected speaker coach, communication expert, and founder of Brightstar Consulting & Coaching, where he works at the intersection of strategic communication, influence, and leadership development. Jon’s work focuses on helping individuals, leaders, and organisations craft messages that resonate, build trust, and foster deeper engagement in both in-person and virtual settings. Best known for his expertise in executive communication, public speaking, and influence, Jon combines practical coaching experience with a deep understanding of human connection and audience engagement. As the Licensee and Curator of TEDxMelbourne, one of the largest and longest-running TEDx events globally, he has coached hundreds of speakers and leaders to deliver talks with clarity, impact, and presence. He’s also a past National President of Professional Speakers Australia. Jon is a strong advocate for human-centred influence - the idea that effective leadership and communication are about connecting head and heart, not just delivering information. He challenges the belief that communication excellence is innate, showing instead how strategic practice, empathy, and thoughtful design can elevate how people lead and influence at every level. 🔗 Explore more from Jon's work here:  https://www.brightstar.net.au/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guests this week are Damon Gameau, Hannah Diviney, Doug Cronin, and Hani Abdile - together, they explore storytelling as a force for cultural change, unpacking who gets to speak, whose voices are amplified, and how stories shape the futures we imagine. Damon Gameau is an actor and filmmaker known for his work mobilising audiences around climate, regeneration, and systems change. He reflects on why data alone cannot shift culture - only stories can - and why the narratives we tell about humans, nature, and society determine the outcomes we experience. Hannah Diviney is a writer and disability advocate who reframes storytelling through lived experience. She challenges the way representation is done, calling for people with disability to be protagonists of their own lives. Her insights highlight how ownership and authorship shape belonging long before policy or language catch up. Doug Cronin, co-founder of Our Race, brings a lens of ethics and accountability. He examines how stories are designed, who controls them, and who benefits, drawing on First Nations perspectives and lived-experience frameworks. Doug champions collaboration over consultation, and community over content. Hani Abdile, poet and spoken-word artist, brings the emotional and human centre to the conversation. Her reflections on displacement, survival, and creative expression remind us that storytelling is not just strategy - it is a lifeline. In this archival episode from October 2021, this panel discussion explores regenerative and ethical storytelling. Five years on, their insights feel both prescient and essential, reminding us that storytelling is a form of cultural power, one that requires accountability, humility, and courage to wield well. 🔗 Explore more from our brilliant guests' work at the links below. Hannah Diviney: https://hannahdiviney.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hannahthewildflower/?hl=en Doug Cronin: https://www.ourrace.com.au/our-story https://www.instagram.com/our_race/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/sharingourstories/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/our-race/ Damon Gameau: https://www.instagram.com/damon.gameau/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/regenerators/?hl=en Hani Abdile: https://wordtravels.info/hani-abdile https://redroompoetry.org/poets/hani-abdile/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Dr Darren Morton - a leading health and wellbeing expert, academic, and founder of The Lift Project, where he works at the intersection of evidence-based science, mental health, and human flourishing. Darren’s work focuses on helping individuals, leaders, and organisations build resilience, energy, and sustainable wellbeing in an increasingly demanding world. Best known for his research and teaching in lifestyle medicine and positive psychology, Darren combines academic rigour with deeply practical insights. Through The Lift Project and his work in higher education, he’s helped thousands of people improve their mental health, performance, and quality of life using simple, science-backed habits. Darren is also a strong advocate for preventative health, challenging the idea that burnout, chronic stress, and poor wellbeing are inevitable, and instead showing how intentional lifestyle design can shift outcomes at scale. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore how Darren brings science, compassion, and clarity to one of today’s most pressing challenges: sustainable health and wellbeing. We discuss what the research really says about mental health, the small behaviours that make the biggest difference, and how leaders and organisations can create environments where people genuinely thrive. Tune in to hear Darren Morton’s insights, and how his work is reshaping the way we think about health, not as a crisis response, but as a proactive, everyday practice. 🔗 Explore more from Darren's work here:  https://www.drdarrenmorton.com/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Kurt Gruber - Co-founder and Managing Director of Worldview Foundation and WV Technologies, where he leads a social enterprise creating meaningful employment opportunities for Indigenous youth while tackling e-waste and environmental sustainability. Kurt’s work transforms discarded technology into valuable resources, providing pathways to skills, jobs, and empowerment for young Australians. In this conversation, we explore how Kurt combines purpose, innovation, and social impact, why social enterprise can be a powerful force for both people and planet, and how leadership, strategy, and technology come together to create jobs, reduce waste, and build stronger communities. Recorded live in the midst of the buzz of Convene 2025, please note there’s a little background noise, but the insights are well worth it! This episode is the last in our Short Takes on Purpose series (in partnership with Social Traders), where we spotlight bold thinkers reshaping business for good. We hope you've enjoyed these short episodes sprinkled throughout our main podcast series.  🔗 Explore more from Kurt's work here:  https://www.worldview.org.au/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Kylea Tink - CEO of Foodbank Australia, former Independent MP, social impact leader, and one of the country’s most determined advocates for ending food insecurity. Kylea’s work goes far beyond food relief, it shines a light on the structural inequities that push Australians into hunger in the first place. She’s best known for her leadership across politics, nonprofits and community mobilisation, and now for steering Foodbank’s nationwide mission to ensure every Australian has reliable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food. Kylea has also been a powerful voice for systemic reform - championing fairer policies, stronger safety nets, and the partnerships required to shift outcomes at scale. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore how Kylea brings strategy, compassion and straight-talking leadership to one of Australia’s most urgent social challenges. We discuss the realities of food insecurity today, the bold shifts required to tackle it, and the role business, government and community must play in building a more equitable future. Tune in to hear Kylea Tink’s story, and how her work is reshaping the way Australia responds to hunger - not as an inevitability, but as a solvable national priority. 🔗 Explore more from Kylea's work here:  https://www.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-australia-announces-new-ceo-kylea-tink/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.

My guest this week is Michael Stuart - Impact & Data Manager at Social Traders, and one of the leading voices pushing Australia’s social enterprise sector toward a more evidence-driven future. Michael has spent more than a decade helping organisations make sense of their data, and today, he oversees how Social Traders captures, measures, and interprets impact across hundreds of enterprises. His work sits at the intersection of social purpose and hard numbers, ensuring decision-makers have the evidence they need to drive real, scalable change. In this conversation, we unpack why the sector is “data starved,” how better insights can strengthen policy, funding, and procurement, and why accessible analysis is one of the most powerful tools for social impact. Recorded live at Convene 2025, this episode comes with a little social enterprise sector chatter that refused to be silenced. We’ve mostly cleaned it up, but you might hear a few patches and some quirky voice distortion from noise cancellation - rustic audio, modern insights! Part of our Short Takes on Purpose series with Social Traders, spotlighting bold thinkers reshaping business for good. 🔗 Explore more from Michael's work here:  https://www.socialtraders.com.au/ Growing Your Business and Impact Talk to us today about how we can grow your capacity to level up your business and impact with our fully trained and managed outsourced marketing solutions - delivered by our digital heroes armed with good strategy, the latest tech and big smiles.  Learn more at humansofpurpose.com Promotional Partnerships Like what we are serving up on Humans of Purpose? Our promotional campaigns have delivered great marketing and sales outcomes and ROI for our partners to date.  Whether you're seeking a 1-month, 2-month or season sponsorship, follow the flow below to become a partner before we run out of our remaining promotional slots.  Click Here to learn more about collaborating on a custom campaign package. Ready to partner? Just complete this short Partner Enquiry Form and we'll be in touch. Gold Membership Want a premium listening experience that directly supports us to keep making the podcast?  Join current members Michael, Pravati, Noel, Kathy, Andrew 1, Andrew 2, Chris, Nikki, Margaret, Ben, Misha, Sarah and Geoff and enjoy our range of member benefits:  Premium dedicated podcast feed Removal of all three ads per episode Early access to all episodes Full transcripts of all episodes Brokered intros to all podcast guests Ask me anything page access To take up this great offer, just head to our Gold Member page today. CREDITS Music intro and outro on this podcast was written and performed by Keyo Rhodes, with Harrison McGregor on drums and percussion. Sound engineering and mastering by Lachlan McGregor.