Welcome to the Lioness Heart with Netta Finney Mejia

Are you a woman or girl of colour? Then join me, Netta Finney Mejia on Lioness Heart, a brand-new monthly half-hour podcast where we delve into the life of a strong, brilliant, badass woman of colour.

Let’s raise our voices, share our stories, and laugh and cry together. But most importantly, let’s roar!

Because let’s face it, it’s a jungle out there and we black and brown women, our big lioness hearts give us the strength and courage to smash through that jungle and forge our own paths.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Netta Finney Mejia. Recorded in the studios of Brisbane Ethnic Community Radio 4EB 98.1FM on Turrbal and Yuggera Country. Broadcast on the Community Radio Network around Australia. Music by Stephen Utting.

If you’re in Australia and you need to talk to someone, please call:

  • Lifeline on 13 11 14 (crisis support)
  • 13YARN on 13 92 76 (for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners)
  • 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling)

If you’re outside Australia please contact the crisis support service or domestic violence support service in your area.

Radio 4EB website : www.4eb.org.au

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Netta Finney Mejia

Instagram:@nettafinney

Linktree: Netta Finney Mejia 

Episode 1: Let’s Roar with Karina Hogan

My first guest on this series about strong, badass, women of colour is my mate, Karina Hogan. Karina’s a proud Aboriginal and South Sea Islander woman with ancestral ties to Bunjalung Country. She’s also a highly respected journalist, broadcaster, content producer, non-executive director and businesswoman. We yarn about what it was like growing up in Logan, her love for her family, and what she does to fight systemic injustice.

Episode 2: Let’s roar with Kristine

Content warning: We mention family violence and we also talk about an Indigenous person who has died.

My second guest on this series about strong, badass, women of colour is my dear friend, Kristine. For privacy reasons, she has asked that we only use her first name. Kristine has Torres Strait Islander/Irish heritage and is an author, speaker and director of the charity Broken to Brilliant. Kristine works at Women’s Health and Equality Queensland and facilitates healing workshops for First Nations women run by Strong Women Talking. She’s passionate about advocating on domestic and sexual violence, child safety and mental health. We yarn about what it was like for Kristine growing up, her relationship with her dad, being called a coconut and her shame-job attempts at art. 

Episode 3 & 4: Let’s Roar with Chiou See Anderson 

She is President of the National Council of Women Australia, Head of the Australian delegation for the G20 Women Care Economy Working Group, Juror of the Australian Women in Music Executive Game Changer Award, Chair of a software company and Owner/Operator of two retirement villages. Chiou See is also a grandmother of two. 

My next guest on this series about strong, brilliant, women of colour is Chiou See Anderson. Chiou See has Singaporean-Chinese heritage.

This interview is split into 2 episodes. In this 1st episode, Chiou See chats about her upbringing in Singapore, her own resilient grandma, and how she managed to build her career and get her university qualifications whilst raising her 3 kids as a single mum (but not a dragon mum!). 

Episode 5: Let’s Roar with Caroline Brunne

Content warning: child sexual abuse, incest and family violence

My next guest on this series about strong, brilliant, women of colour is Caroline Brunne, who was born in Mauritius. In her debut book ‘More than one thing can be true’, Caroline shared her experience of overcoming child sexual abuse, incest and family violence, offering a narrative of bravery and resilience. Today, Caroline yarns with me about her work as a lived experience expert and survivor advocate, how she tried to fit into Aussie culture as a girl of colour and how you can’t be what you can’t see.

Caroline mentions the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Episode 6: Let’s Roar with Sara Yan

Content warning: domestic and family violence

My guest this month is Sara Yan. Sara has Chinese heritage and is a talented writer, cartoonist and published author. She’s the brains behind the comic strips ‘Lennan and Smallsy’ and ‘Live, Learn, Change’ which aim to educate about domestic abuse, by focusing on boys and men. Sara and I talk about what it’s like being a halfie, plus her own experience of domestic and family violence and why it inspired her to do what she does. We also discuss myths about perpetrators, potential solutions to reduce male violence, before ending with great advice for other girls and women of colour.

Sara and I love Lundy Bancroft’s books. These are excellent resources if you want to learn about domestic violence.

Episode 7: Let’s Roar with He Huang

My guest this month is Chinese-Australian Comedian He Huang. He went viral after she appeared on Australia’s Got Talent in 2022. Her deadpan delivery and self-deprecating jokes based on her Chinese culture made her go viral. I caught up with He at the Woodford Folk Festival in December 2024 where she was performing. In this episode, we chat about He’s new show, ‘White Man’s Burden’, the crap that minority comedians have to deal with, and He’s various aliases. We also talk about how policy and law isn’t that different from comedy, what it was like growing up in China and how Chinese people can be just as bogan and racist as Aussies.

Watch He Huang on Australia’s Got Talent.

Episodes 8 & 9: Let’s roar with Olivia Afriyie Johnson

Content warning: child sexual abuse, racism and domestic violence.

My guest this month is Olivia Afriyie Johnson. Olivia is a passionate advocate, sociopreneur, and human resources & business management professional dedicated to empowering others through her lived experiences. Born in Ghana and raised in Australia, her cross-cultural journey has shaped a powerful perspective on resilience, identity, and healing. She is the founder of Olive Solutions Consultancy, and Community Partners, a charity committed to breaking social barriers and fostering positive representation for culturally and liquistically diverse communities. Read more about Olivia’s journey in her blog and memoir, ‘Echoes of Resilience’. 

Part 1 – We yarn about Olivia’s diverse upbringing, language, stereotypes and how it’s rude to touch a black women’s skin and hair without asking! We also talk about code switching, racism at work and the importance of education.

Part 2 – Olivia shares how she figured out what she was experiencing was domestic abuse, what it was like getting backlash from her own community, and what helped her. She also talks to us about her charity work.

Episodes 10: Let’s roar with Danii

Content warning: Ableism, racism, ageism and domestic abuse

My guest this month is talented Filipina-Australian singer, dancer and rapper, Danii. We yarn about Danii’s connection to her heritage, her love of music (especially K-pop) and how she got her start in show biz. We also talk about her experiences of discrimination in general and in the music industry, why representation matters, and how there should be more women-of-colour in concert billings.

Follow Danii on Instagram (iamdaniimusic) and her website (iamdanii.com).

Episode 11: Let’s roar with Trina Massey

My guest this month is Councillor Trina Massey. Trina is a proud, queer woman and immigrant of Filipino and African American ethnicity. She’s the first ever Black, Asian, queer woman to hold political office in Queensland! And she’s a record-spinning DJ with an extensive music collection, who goes under the name Black Amex.

We yarn about what it was like for Trina growing up as a mixed-race kid in Brisbane, how she likes to surprise Filipinos by bursting out in Tagalog, and the importance of community and social justice. We also talk about how emotional white men can be, being authentic and doing politics differently, and encouragement for other diverse women who are thinking about getting into politics.

Check out Trina’s website: Trina Massey – Greens Councillor for The Gabba Ward. Follow her on Facebook: Trina Massey Councillor for the Gabba Ward or Instagram: trinamasseygabba.

Episode 12: Kuweni Dias Mendis – Connecting cultures through art 

My guest this month is Sri Lankan-Australian artist Kuweni Dias Mendis. Kuweni integrates movement, sound, film, installations, markings and sculptural ritual objects to create immersive works that invite you to reconnect with your heartbeat, rhythm, gait, posture, and sense of time and space within a decolonised body.

Her practice is deeply shaped by her hybrid cultural experiences of Sri Lanka and Australia. As a migrant on unceded lands, Kuweni advocates for and amplifies the voices of marginalised women through collaborative artworks, exhibitions, and participatory experiences. She creates spaces where these voices can be heard and valued.

In this episode, Kuweni and I chat about what prompted her to leave her toxic corporate career and follow her dream of becoming an artist, how she found a new family of aunties and discovered she’s a river woman. We also yarn about why connection to culture and country is important, how Kuweni’s art is a bridge between two cultures, and why we need to go the the table where we belong.

Visit Kuweni’s art exhibition ‘Riverscope’ at Logan Art Gallery from 11 August to 12 September 2025. Check out her website: Kuweni  HYPERLINK “https://kuweni.com/”– HYPERLINK “https://kuweni.com/” Kuweni Dias Mendis and follow her on Facebook: dimuthu.dias or Instagram: kuweni_artist