Gretchen Miller is a well-known voice on the national airwaves and an internationally recognised media professional. With 20 years experience as a presenter, interviewer and documentary producer on Australia's 'ideas' network, ABC RN, she can help you tell your compelling stories with a podcast that makes you shine. Or she can teach you to make your own pods and train your people in the art and craft of storytelling, to maximise your public impact, no matter where you are found.
In late 2017 Gretchen left the ABC and began her own consultancy. Since then she's been a part of the podcast teaching unit at the University of Sydney, has trained environment academics, conducted remote media training for The Rural Room, and has run workshops for professional science communicators. She's presented panels at conferences, made two freelance podcast series for science/health researchers and providers, and is a year into a PhD at UNSW.
Gretchen's most recent documentary series The Silent Forest went to air to 40 million listeners on the BBC World Service. She's also been heard on France Culture, Deutschlandradio, the Third Coast festival in the USA and was runner up at the prestigious Prix Italia. She's recently finished a legacy podcast series for the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (Sax Institute) on cross-discipline solutions to chronic disease.
Gretchen has been an innovator in creating deep stakeholder relationships through many collaborative online projects and has a proven track record in devising and delivering multi-platform story-telling projects with high profile public, national outcomes, such as The Trees Project (including a documentary, 40 short stories by ABC audiences, and a book, In their Branches, Harper Collins, 2014). In 2018 Gretchen started a PhD in the power of podcast to help environmental movements communicate their message and is collaborating with Landcare Australia on the Rescue storytelling project as part of that research.
As a writer on trainer wheels I have found the confidence to publish my work through the encouragement and tireless editing of Gretchen. Her work is outstanding and through the collaborative process of 360 documentaries and Pool, a group of regional and city based writers, poets, musicians and artists continue work together sharing ideas and positively critiquing. Gretchen has created an online community across Australia. Apart from being an avid RN fan, I really enjoy the complexity and intelligence in Gretchen's radio documentaries. - Lindy Collins, artist.
Gretchen's passion is environment and science communications. With global warming our greatest existential threat, she wants to use positive communication to help people come to terms with climate change and feel they can make a difference. Her intention is to convey environmental engagement and solutions in a way that is both accessible and forward thinking. But she's also made over 70 documentaries on a wide range of issues, from the psychology of earthquakes to the lives of actors in the Lion King, and many programs on Australian history.
Gretchen saved the day when we needed science communication/story telling training for researchers working on a particularly complex project. Gretchen took a group of reluctant scientists and gently brought out their personalities and best stories so that their dedication, research topic and expertise could be shared with a wider audience. It was quite awe inspiring. - Vanessa Barrett, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.
Gretchen began her journalism career with five years at The Sydney Morning Herald and started working ABC RN in 1997. She’s produced on most of ABC RN's best loved daily radio programs, guest lectured at various universities, and won several Australia Council grants including for two live performances at the Sydney Opera House. A former music composer, she's also a mentor and facilitator of other artists and environmental podcast makers. She's a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Her philosophy is to dig deep, with a light touch.
Each episode was more compelling than the last. Devastating and hopeful and challenging, beautifully interwoven, masterful. - Vanessa Milton, ABC broadcaster.
Listen to Gretchen's work here, and read testimonials here.