After 30 years as a humanitarian, Josephine Hutton is an optimist.

From her first job in the humanitarian and development sector in the 90s working for AusAID (the former Australian government agency for international aid and development), Jo went on to work in humanitarian leadership roles across the globe.

From Iraq and Kosovo to Palestine and Sri Lanka, she has worked in conflict zones, a tsunami response and everything in between, and currently leads Oxfam Australia’s international programs.

And despite the challenges, her optimism for positive change has only grown.

Jo is a valued member of the RedR Australia family. She joined us as an associate trainer in 2002, and she has served on our board twice—first from 2011-2012, and again from 2024 to the present.

In this episode, Jo chats with Sally about the challenges of working in conflict zones, the dangers of decision paralysis, and the importance of having difficult conversations.

She explains why she’s continued to train on RedR Australia’s courses for more than two decades, and she shares wise counsel on when to give advice—and when to simply listen.

Host: Sally Cunningham

Guest: Josephine Hutton

Producer, engineer and composer: Jill Farrar

Read the transcript here.

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You can find out more about RedR Australia’s training courses here.