Authentic Leadership Podcast

Ivan Yeo
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  • Mental Health

Every story shapes our shared history. Authenticity Studio is a storytelling and oral history platform dedicated to documenting the lived experiences of people and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through meaningful conversations, we preserve stories of identity, culture, migration, resilience, leadership and transformation—one person, one community and one story at a time. Essence + Truth + Clarity = Authenticity Authenticity begins when we move beyond appearances and make space for the truth of who we are. Every story carries an essence. When that essence is expressed with truth and clarity, it allows people to be seen, heard and remembered. “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” - Inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung.

  1. 4d ago

    An Invitation to Live: Rethinking Suicide Prevention | Barry Taylor

    For nearly four decades, health sociologist Barry Taylor has worked at the forefront of suicide prevention and mental wellbeing in New Zealand and Australia. His work has spanned youth suicide prevention, postvention, community mobilisation, workforce development and mental-health support for LGBTIQ+ communities. However, Barry’s understanding of suicide changed profoundly through his own experience of chronic depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. In this deeply personal conversation, Barry challenges approaches focused only on risk factors and checklists. Instead, he asks: “If the universe sent you an invitation today to live, what would need to be written on it for you to accept?” Barry explores the importance of compassionate conversations, coping, connection, purpose and meaning. He explains his four foundations for suicide-prevention work—comfort, confidence, competence and compassion—and why people sometimes need others to become custodians of hope when they cannot hold hope for themselves. This is a conversation about seeing the person behind the distress, listening without immediately trying to fix them and inviting people not only to live, but ultimately to thrive. At the end, Barry shares the message he would give his younger self: “You are loved. You are cherished. You don’t have to be perfect.” Hosted by Ivan Yeo for Authenticity Studio™. Content note: This episode includes discussions of suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, trauma and mental distress.

    An Invitation to Live: Rethinking Suicide Prevention | Barry Taylor

  2. Sep 25

    The Courage to Dream, the Bravery to Follow It: Jai Jamali’s Journey to The Lion King

    At just 16, Jai Jamali left Singapore alone after receiving a dance scholarship in Wellington—beginning a journey that would eventually take him to the Australian stage in major productions including The Lion King, Grease and Chicago. In this episode of the Authentic Leadership Podcast, Jai shares how he paid for his own dance classes, trained through long, demanding days, faced competitive auditions, and built a professional career through determination, versatility, and a deep love of dance. Now a dance teacher, personal trainer and group fitness instructor, Jai reflects on moving from performing to helping others discover what their bodies can achieve. He also speaks about identity, being different, trusting the future and remaining true to who you are. His message is simple: there are no shortcuts to your dreams. If you do not try, you will never know what is possible.

    The Courage to Dream, the Bravery to Follow It: Jai Jamali’s Journey to The Lion King

  3. Sep 22

    Across Cultures and Continents: A Migrant GP’s Journey to New Zealand with Victoria Rey

    Born in France to French and Mexican parents, Victoria grew up across Nigeria, Kenya, and Madagascar before studying medicine in Belgium and eventually moving to Aotearoa New Zealand. In this conversation, Victoria reflects on life as a third-culture child, the meaning of home and the family relationships that grounded her through constant change. She shares moving memories of her grandparents and how their love and influence remain present in her life. Victoria also speaks honestly about becoming a GP, the pressures healthcare professionals face, and the importance of understanding the person behind an illness. For her, medicine is not simply about diagnosing a condition—it is about listening to what matters most to each patient and recognising how culture shapes people’s experiences of health and disease. Now working in South Auckland, Victoria reflects on adapting to New Zealand’s healthcare system, finding belonging in a multicultural city and beginning another chapter far from everything familiar. This is a conversation about migration, family, medicine, identity and discovering that home is not always one particular place—it can be wherever the people who understand us are found.

    Across Cultures and Continents: A Migrant GP’s Journey to New Zealand with Victoria Rey

  4. Sep 3

    Language as a Gateway to People and Society: A 2nd-Generation Chinese Kiwi Story with Annemarie Wen

    In this thoughtful conversation, Ivan speaks with 20-year-old Annemarie Wen about growing up as a second-generation Chinese New Zealander between Mandarin and English. Annemarie shares that Mandarin was initially her strongest language, but English gradually took over at school. With her parents' encouragement, she later reclaimed her Chinese and became fluent in both languages. Yet this created an unusual experience: Chinese speakers sometimes assumed she could not speak Mandarin, while local New Zealanders sometimes questioned whether she could speak English. From primary school, ESOL and kapa haka to Chinese cultural groups, university friendships and travelling through China, Annemarie reflects on how language shapes identity, confidence, friendship and belonging. She also speaks about experiencing discrimination as a child—recognising that something felt wrong before she had the words to explain it. Her story reveals that learning a language was never simply about vocabulary. It was about understanding people, entering different social worlds and removing the barriers that prevent connection. Ultimately, this is a conversation about holding two languages, moving between cultures and discovering that being connected to both worlds can become a unique strength.

    Language as a Gateway to People and Society: A 2nd-Generation Chinese Kiwi Story with Annemarie Wen

  5. Aug 28

    The Storytellers: Poetry, Migration and Social Justice with Jenny Janif MNZM & Esteban A Espinoza

    What happens to the stories of people whose lives are never recorded? In this deeply moving conversation, Jenny Janif and Esteban Espinoza explore how poetry and storytelling can preserve history, honour those who came before us and give voice to experiences that might otherwise disappear. Jenny reflects on her multicultural upbringing in Fiji, her family’s history of indenture and blackbirding, and her move to Aotearoa after Fiji’s 1987 coup. She also discusses Fiji Indian identity and using creative expression to confront racism, colourism, inequality and social injustice. Esteban traces his creative journey back to Chile’s 1973 military coup, when his family was separated, and poetry became a way to express, resist and heal. He shares why he writes about people whose suffering and lives may never otherwise be remembered, and how his mother’s community activism has shaped his work. Together, they reflect on migration, identity, oral tradition, ancestral wisdom and our responsibility to pass these stories to future generations. As Esteban reminds us, podcasts are a new form of storytelling—helping preserve the voices, memories and human experiences that time might otherwise take away.

    The Storytellers: Poetry, Migration and Social Justice with Jenny Janif MNZM & Esteban A Espinoza

  6. Aug 22

    It’s Their Future, Not Ours: Why Youth Voices Matter | A Conversation with Rachel Gu

    What does it mean to give young people a genuine voice—not simply invite them into the room? In this episode of the Authentic Leadership Podcast, Ivan speaks with Rachel, a first-year University of Auckland student, youth intern at Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD), and member of an Auckland Council youth advisory panel. Born in Beijing, Rachel spent part of her childhood in Vanuatu before moving to New Zealand at nine. She reflects on how growing up across different countries, cultures and languages shaped her ability to connect with people and inspired her passion for youth engagement. Together, Ivan and Rachel explore the issues affecting young people today, including isolation, mental wellbeing, climate change, civic participation and the gap between available opportunities and the young people who could benefit from them. Rachel also discusses the experience of 1.5-generation migrants and why young ethnic voices need greater representation in community leadership and local decision-making. The conversation challenges organisations to move beyond tokenism by creating reciprocal relationships in which young people are genuinely heard, valued and given meaningful opportunities to contribute. Rachel’s message to her younger self—and to other young people—is simple: make your decision, learn from every experience and do not live with regret. As she beautifully expresses it, we must be willing to “live the questions.”

    It’s Their Future, Not Ours: Why Youth Voices Matter | A Conversation with Rachel Gu

  7. Aug 15

    Coming Home to Ourselves: Because You Matter — A Conversation with Shelley Brunskill-Matson

    In this deeply moving episode, Ivan speaks with Shelley Brunskill-Matson about grief, suicide loss, purpose and our fundamental human need to know that we matter. Shelley was only 12 years old when her father, Tony, died by suicide. Decades later, that experience became part of a much larger mission: helping children, young people and families affected by suicide loss receive the care and support they genuinely need. Shelley shares what she learned through her PhD research with bereaved tamariki aged six to thirteen. Her central finding was powerful: children experience care as truly supportive when it reinforces that they matter. They need to be seen, heard, offered choices and recognised as active participants in their own grief—not simply have adults decide what is best for them. She also discusses the creation of Tony’s Place, its guardianship of the WAVES suicide-bereavement programme, and the development of MySpace, a new programme designed specifically for bereaved children. The conversation then opens into Shelley’s own new chapter following burnout and the sudden deaths of two close friends. She reflects on trusting herself, refusing to fit inside one box and finding the courage to pursue the work that has quietly been calling her. Ultimately, this is a conversation about turning grief into purpose, listening without assuming, and recognising how much it means when another person makes us feel truly seen and heard. Because whether we are six, thirty-six or eighty-six, we all need to know that we matter. Content note: This episode contains conversations about suicide loss and grief.

    Coming Home to Ourselves: Because You Matter — A Conversation with Shelley Brunskill-Matson

  8. Aug 9

    Choosing an Authentic Life: Yoga, Reiki, Travel and Spiritual Awakening With Katie Sterbens

    What happens when your inner voice becomes too loud to ignore? Katie left behind New York’s corporate fashion world to follow a very different path—one shaped by yoga, Reiki, Akashic Records, spiritual exploration and travel. Her journey took her from Peru and Hawaii to India, Bali and eventually New Zealand, where she discovered a community and way of living that allowed her to embrace who she truly is. In this heartfelt conversation, Katie shares how she became a 500-hour yoga teacher, Reiki Master and Akashic Records reader. She explains what the Akashic Records are, how Reiki works within her practice, and why listening to our intuition can open doors we never imagined. We also explore the courage required to choose an unconventional life when the people around us may not understand. Katie speaks honestly about burnout, family expectations, loneliness, failure and learning to trust herself—even when following her calling meant going against everything she had been taught. This conversation becomes especially personal as I share how Katie’s yoga classes offered me a place of grounding and comfort during one of the most difficult transitions of my life. Katie’s message to her younger self—and to anyone trying to follow their own path—is beautifully simple: “Don’t give up. Keep going, keep trying, keep failing, and have more fun with it. It always works out.”

    Choosing an Authentic Life: Yoga, Reiki, Travel and Spiritual Awakening With Katie Sterbens
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About

Every story shapes our shared history. Authenticity Studio is a storytelling and oral history platform dedicated to documenting the lived experiences of people and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through meaningful conversations, we preserve stories of identity, culture, migration, resilience, leadership and transformation—one person, one community and one story at a time. Essence + Truth + Clarity = Authenticity Authenticity begins when we move beyond appearances and make space for the truth of who we are. Every story carries an essence. When that essence is expressed with truth and clarity, it allows people to be seen, heard and remembered. “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” - Inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung.

Information

  • Creator
    Ivan Yeo
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Authenticity Studio™ 2025
  • Show Website
    Authentic Leadership Podcast