Leading with pride. Strengthening leadership. Shaping equality in Tasmania.

I-LEAD Pride is a leadership development program by Tasmanian Leaders in partnership with Equality Tasmania. Designed for for LGBTIQA+ people who are already exercising leadership or influence, in formal or informal ways, and who want to strengthen their leadership capability, confidence and impact.

Grounded in lived experience and shaped by the realities of leading as part of an LGBTIQA+ community, the program supports participants to explore leadership as a collective practice. Participants will reflect on identity, power and influence; strengthen relationships and partnerships; and build confidence to lead change across organisations, communities and systems.

2026 I-LEAD Pride applications have closed. The program will be in session across October and November and includes:

  • a two-day opening in-person residential in Launceston
  • a series of live online sessions delivered weekly
  • a closing in-person session in Hobart

The blended format supports regional participation and allows participants to apply learning in real time, bringing current leadership challenges into the program as they arise.

Register your interest for our next intake.

Register Interest

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Who should join?

 

 

I-LEAD Pride is designed for LGBTIQA+ people who are already exercising leadership or influence in a workplace, community, organisation, creative or cultural setting, advocacy space or network, and who are open to reflection, learning and shared leadership practice.

 

Selection Criteria

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • identification as part of the LGBTIQA+ community
  • current experience of exercising leadership or influence
  • readiness for reflective and developmental leadership work
  • commitment to equality and collective leadership
  • ability to participate fully in all program components
  • capacity to contribute to a diverse and inclusive cohort.

I‑LEAD Pride will be facilitated by Benny Callaghan and Dr Polly McGee, with invited guest speakers. It is designed to develop leadership capability across three connected domains:

Personal leadership

Focused on leadership presence and sustainability, participants explore:

  • how lived experience and identity shape leadership
  • confidence, visibility, boundaries and disclosure
  • managing expectations and emotional labour
  • building leadership practices that are grounded and sustainable over time.

Relational and collective leadership

Recognising that LGBTIQA+ leadership is rarely exercised alone, participants will strengthen skills to:

  • lead with others and build trust across difference
  • work effectively with allies and practise solidarity across causes
  • navigate disagreement and tension within community and organisations
  • build partnerships and coalitions, including where power is uneven. 

Influence and systems

Participants will develop greater confidence to influence beyond formal authority by:

  • understanding how decisions are made within organisations and institutions
  • working across community, organisational and policy systems
  • recognising leverage points for change
  • making considered choices about where to focus leadership effort and energy.

 

Meet your facilitators

Benny Callaghan (he / him)

 

profile photo of Benny Callaghan. Benny is weraing a retro patterned shirt and glasses, with a bald head and a big smileBenny is a consultant, facilitator, and coach with over 25 years’ experience in leadership development.

He is the Founder and Chief Collaborator at Systems Collaboration Partners, helping people collaborate across difference.

Benny was previously the Founding CEO of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and has served on numerous nonprofit Boards throughout Australia.

Based in Meanjin (Brisbane), he regularly collaborates with Dr Polly McGee and Tasmania Leaders. Benny draws on a rich background as a wilderness expedition leader, futurist, social entrepreneur, and eco-philosopher. He is known for his creativity and ability to create brave spaces where people can show up authentically in conversations that matter.

Benny has volunteered extensively with the LGBTIQA+ community in Australia and abroad, including Out for Australia, Pride Business Network, Brisbane Pride and Gay4Good (USA).

 

Dr Polly McGee (they / them)

 

Polly is a neuroleadership consultant, psychotherapist, author and speaker with more than twenty years of involvement in LGBTIQA+ communities.

Their work centres on compassion, inclusion and trauma-responsive practice, helping people and organisations create cultures where safety, connection and human flourishing can thrive.

Polly’s research explored genderqueer and female identity beyond traditional power structures, shaping a lifelong commitment to amplifying diverse voices and honouring lived experience.

Working nationally across sectors, Polly builds trauma-responsive leadership capability and psychologically safe teams. Their programs combine neuroscience, polyvagal theory, somatic psychotherapy and systems thinking to help leaders navigate change, uncertainty and relationships with confidence and care.

A long-standing collaborator with Tasmanian Leaders, Polly designs and facilitates across the Tasmanian Leaders Program and several I-LEAD programs, creating spaces where people can lead with authenticity, courage and connection.

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Outcomes

Through I‑LEAD Pride, participants will:

 

  • deepen self‑awareness and leadership confidence
  • strengthen their ability to lead in complex and contested environments
  • build practical capability to work with others and lead collectively
  • increase confidence to influence systems and institutions
  • contribute to collective leadership that advances equality and inclusion in Tasmania.

Participants will also join the Tasmanian Leaders network, building ongoing relationships across leadership contexts and communities.

Key Dates

Applications
  • Applications CLOSED
  • Applicants confirmed: mid-September 2026
Total Commitment
  • 3 full days delivered in-person
  • 1 evening meal
  • 1 graduation event
  • 5 live online sessions

Program commitment also involves:

  • Attending all program events.
  • Commitment to preparation and reflection between sessions.

 

 

Sessions

Opening residential: Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October 2026 – Launceston

Online sessions: Wednesdays, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm

  • 14 October 2026
  • 21 October 2026
  • 28 October 2026
  • 4 November 2026
  • 11 November 2026

Closing session: Monday 16 November 2026 – Hobart (with evening graduation event)

Program access and costs

Thanks to funding from the Tasmanian Community Fund, I-LEAD Pride is fully funded and free for participants.

Bursaries available

Thanks to the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s LGBTIQA+ Grant program, up to seven bursaries of $750 are available to support participation costs.

Bursaries are intended to help reduce barriers that may otherwise affect a person’s ability to attend. These barriers may include:

  • lack of employer financial support
  • unpaid, voluntary or community-based leadership roles
  • underemployment or unemployment
  • financial hardship
  • living in regional or remote areas of Tasmania
  • other personal or structural barriers affecting capacity to attend

Bursary support may contribute towards:

  • travel costs, such as flights, fuel or public transport
  • accommodation for required overnight stays
  • other reasonable participation-related expenses, assessed on a case-by-case basis, such as accessibility or inclusion support

To apply for a bursary, please indicate this in your application. You will be asked to briefly outline what support you require and how it would enable your participation.

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Get in touch

For more information, support with registration or to talk to our staff about I-LEAD Pride or any of our programs,
please contact Ros Young, our Program Coordinator:

Phone 0429 950 578

Email ros.young@tasmanianleaders.org.au

Program Partners

I-LEAD Pride is supported by:


Equality Tasmania


Tasmanian Community Fund


WD Booth Charitable Trust