In this blog series, members of our national Pathways to Politics community share practical insights into how they’re using AI in real-world political contexts, tips on where AI can be useful, lessons they’ve learned along the way, and areas where they believe caution is needed.
Dr Josephine Okurame
Dr Josephine Okurame is an AI educator, researcher, and university lecturer who helps train organisations, community leaders and professionals across Australia to use AI with clarity and confidence. She is an alum of our NSW program.
For Jo, the most exciting aspect of AI for women considering politics is not automation for its own sake, but the opportunity to gain a practical, on-demand thinking partner that helps them prepare, communicate and lead more effectively.
Jo presented a Campaign Intelligence masterclass to our alum community earlier this year, designed around a specific goal: “how you get to use AI as your thinking partner for political life, preparing, communicating, making decisions under pressure, and staying credible.”
“You want to use AI where it helps. You want to question it where it fails, you want to stay in control of your own judgment throughout the entire process, protect your credibility, because it really matters… AI needs to support your thinking, and not replace it.”
Jo highlighted several valuable applications:
- Help translating complex policy into accessible language
- Pressure-testing ideas before media appearances
- Preparing for difficult interviews and better understand different voter audiences.
She noted important guardrails:
- Never upload confidential material
- Fact-checking is non-negotiable – verify outputs, especially when credibility is at stake.
Our recording of the session includes live demonstrations of AI-powered interview preparation, policy translation, campaign messaging, voter engagement tools and custom AI assistants. Watch the recording and view Jo’s accompanying resources here.
Full contributions
- Dr Josephine Okurame, AI educator and researcher
- Cr Elisha Lee, Deputy Mayor City of Monash
- Susanne Newton, former Mayor City of Darebin
- Ruth McGowan, former Mayor of Baw Baw Shire Council and author of Get Elected
- Cr Leanne Patrick, Gladstone Regional Council
- Elisa Choy, founder of Australia’s first AI-powered strategic market research company
Contributors to this series:
- Dr Josephine Okurame, AI educator and researcher:
AI as a thinking partner, tips for policy translation, interview preparation, pressure-testing ideas and fact-checking.
- Cr Elisha Lee, Deputy Mayor City of Monash:
Tips for saving time, campaign branding, good prompts, choosing the right AI tools, accuracy and accountability.
- Susanne Newton, former Mayor City of Darebin:
AI as a tool for good, importace of authenticity, insights on the impact on jobs, democracy and the environment.
- Ruth McGowan, former Mayor of Baw Baw Shire Council and author of Get Elected:
A template for AI campaign disclosure, insights on transparence and authenticity.
- Cr Leanne Patrick, Gladstone Regional Council:
Tips for improved administration, speeches and communications, meeting preparation and audience testing.
- Elisa Choy, founder of Australia’s first AI-powered strategic market research company:
Insights on the importance of human connection and using AI sparingly.
Inclusive AI Pledge
Our Founding Partner, Women’s Leadership Institute Australia (WLIA), has partnered with Champions of Change Coalition to launch the Inclusive AI Pledge, a practical initiative supporting more inclusive and equitable use of AI.
At the heart of the Pledge is the Inclusive AI Prompt, a simple, repeatable tool that helps people embed gender equality and inclusion when using tools like ChatGPT and Copilot in everyday work, from communications and policy to procurement and design.
Access
Toolkit 
