Change Makers - Power of Women

Megan Draper | The CEO Turning Discarded Furniture into Human Dignity

by admin | May 26, 2025 | Blog, Change Makers, Female Entrepreneur, Female Leaders, Podcast For Women

DescriptionIn this episode of the Power Of Women Podcast, host Di Gillett speaks with Megan Draper, Founder and CEO of Furniture Reuse Solutions (FRS) — a 100% female-owned environmental company that has quietly redefined what it means to lead with purpose.

Megan was raised to believe that women were meant to be subservient to men — homemakers in the background, while men took the lead as breadwinners. A chance encounter at a gas station led her into the world of recycling and environmental logistics. Today, she leads a company that has redirected more than £60 million worth of surplus furniture to over 200 nonprofits and humanitarian organisations — avoiding landfill and transforming lives in the process.

We explore the growing intersection of sustainability, circular economy principles, and social responsibility — and how impact-led leadership is no longer optional in today’s business landscape. This episode is for anyone building something bigger than themselves — especially women navigating leadership, visibility, and purpose in a world that still questions their right to take the lead.

In this episode we reveal:

The truth about leading in a male-dominated industry
How one desk or chair can transform a child’s future
The power of circular economy thinking in business
Why real leadership today must include social impact

New episodes drop every Monday to power your week.

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Find Megan Draper at:

Website

Jane Evans | Brutal Honesty About Midlife Women You Need To Hear

by admin | Mar 10, 2025 | Blog, Change Makers, Conqueror, Female Empowerment, Female Power, Podcast For Women, Sexual Harassment

You want brutal honesty? Well here it is. Jane Evans says she has always been radical and these days she is not afraid to point out the bleeding obvious, not that she ever was. The issue being, midlife women, women of a certain age, simply fade from sight. For many, they become invisible.

Jane Evans is an executive creative director and activist who has lived & worked in the advertising sector in Australia. Now back in the UK, Jane is the Co-Founder of Visible Inc., and on this episode of the Power Of Women Podcast, she shares how she has created a movement to empower midlife women, and the need for societal change to support women in their careers. Jane and Di explore the challenges and opportunities faced by midlife women, emphasising the need for a shift in perceptions, empowerment, and the recognition of this cohort’s consumer power. The conversation highlights the need for a new narrative that embraces aging and redefines beauty, while also honouring the contributions of previous generations of women.

New episodes drop every Monday to power your week.

Connect with Di:

Connect with Di on LinkedIn

Follow Power Of Women on LinkedIn

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The Power Of Women Podcast Instagram

Contact Di

In this episode:

05:59 Bootstrapping: The Art of Self-Financing

09:03 The Importance of Learning from Mistakes

11:58 Character Traits of an Entrepreneur

15:11 Financial and Emotional Costs of Bootstrapping

17:58 Scaling the Business

20:59 Digital Marketing: The Key to Growth

23:57 Understanding Your Customer and Market Trends

29:49 Avoiding Burnout in Entrepreneurship

Lindy Joubert | A Rich Journey Encompassing Art & Philanthropy

by admin | Feb 24, 2025 | Champion, Change Makers, Exemplar, Podcast For Women, Trailblazers

Some people just seem to pack more into their lives than the average, and Lindy Joubert is one of those people. Lindy joins Di on the Power Of Women podcast, and with a healthy dose of humility, shares her rich life journey.

Lindy Joubert engaged in UNESCO Observatory capacity building projects using the arts, crafts, architecture in the Cook Islands; Papua New Guinea; Kenya, Africa; Finnish Lapland; Timor Leste and Indigenous Australia. She has had over 40 national and international exhibitions of paintings, six in New York City. She is Editor-in-Chief of the UNESCO Observatory bi-annual peer reviewed e-journal; series Editor-in-Chief of the UNESCO Observatory Global Village Reading Series; writes and presents research papers and her edited book “ Educating in the Arts – the Asian Experience, Twenty-four essays” has been published by Springer, 2008 and is currently preparing a sequel: ’Educating in the Crafts – the Global Experience’.

Quite the CV. Lindy’s genre as an Artist is Magic Realism. Still travelling internationally up to six times a year, leading the publication of major series of books for the World Craft Council and working on improving her French, Lindy is not slowing down in the foreseeable future.

Ep.40 Summer Series | Compile | Before the Age Of Aquarius

by admin | Dec 23, 2024 | Blog, Change Makers, Transformational Change

That’s a wrap for Year 1 of the Power Of Women Podcast and it has a privilege to engage with the most inspirational women here in Australia and around the world, to share their stories … with you.

This episode is a compile from this year’s podcasts with four extraordinary females, all here in Australia, albeit their reputations have global reach: Tracy Bartram | Brigitte Duclos | Kerry Henwood | Dr Desley Lodwick.

We touch on: The need for resilience; acknowledge shit happens; recognise vulnerability isn’t weakness; agree sex with the boss is off the table; and that we live in an increasingly complex world.

Ep.33 Tonia Bastyan | Textile Waste Crisis & Australia Tops Offenders List

by admin | Nov 4, 2024 | Blog, Career Change Over 50, Change Makers, Fashion Industry Leader, Female Entrepreneur, Innovator, Women Over 50

Textile waste is a global issue and Australia is now #1 per capita for textiles consumption, surpassing even the US. What does this mean for the environment and the future of fashion?

In today’s episode of the Power Of Women podcast, Di sits down with Tonia Bastyan, a fashion industry veteran and pioneer in sustainable design. Tonia’s impressive career has seen her serve as the Creative Director and Founder of fashion brands in both Australia and the UK. Now, she’s pivoted her focus to tackle one of the industry’s biggest challenges: textile waste.

Join us as we discuss how Tonia’s innovative work on the front-end design framework will ensure garments can be repurposed. We discuss pioneering technology and practical solutions for reducing waste and creating a more sustainable fashion industry. Tune in for a conversation that could change the way you think about the clothes you wear!

Tonia Bastyan

Ep.28 Angela Rakis | The Rise & Rise Of Female Entrepreneurs

by admin | Sep 30, 2024 | Blog, Career Change Over 50, Change Makers, Female Empowerment, Female Entrepreneur, Female Leaders, Leader, Women Over 50, Women Supporting Women

This week on the Power Of Women podcast, Di spends time with Angela Rakis in Washington DC. As a child, she would spend time in her grand-parents iconic store, the Acropolis Food Market, providores of Greek and Mediterranean foods and condiments. We discuss how these influences along with the exemplary role modelling from her mother, who now in her 80’s is still a working & exhibiting artist, have played a key role in Angela’s life choices, the roles she pursued and ultimately her own business, Favorite Daughter LLC. We also discuss the Great Resignation post the COVID 19 pandemic, the rise of female entrepreneurs, and how more and more people are re-evaluating what they want from their careers and more broadly, life in general.

Angela Rakis