Jess Letch is a humanitarian dynamo. From connecting families torn apart by war in Angola, to supporting people to evacuate disputed territories in South Ossetia, to writing a billion-dollar plan to support Ukrainian refugees throughout Europe, Jess has had some challenging and rewarding roles during her humanitarian career. 

Growing up in Melbourne Australia, Jess started her career with a social work degree, then soon landed a role working with refugees through the Australian Red Cross. 

Now, with 25 years’ experience in the humanitarian and development sectors, she has worked in diverse contexts all over the globe, including across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. 

In this episode, Sally and Jess chat about the challenges of working in conflict zones, the uniqueness of the humanitarian skillset, the importance of building a strong home base when constantly travelling abroad, and the power of strong institutions to protect societies when disaster strikes. 

You can join our conversations on LinkedIn and Facebook.  

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

You can read the transcript and view the photo Jess mentioned here.

Host: Sally Cunningham 

Guest: Jess Letch 

Producer, engineer and composer: Jill Farrar