Keynote Speakers
See a list of Presenters here
Professor Rhonda Marriott, AM
Pro Vice Chancellor, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, Murdoch University
Professor Rhonda Marriott is the inaugural Director of the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change at Murdoch University. Rhonda is matrilineally descended from the Nyikina people of the Kimberley. Rhonda has over 30 years’ academic experience, over 50 years in the nursing profession and over 30 years in midwifery. She is a lead Chief Investigator on Replanting the Birthing Trees.
Professor Helen Milroy
Stan Perron Professor Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Perth Children’s Hospital and UWA
Professor Helen Milroy is a consultant psychiatrist with many years’ experience working in child and adolescent psychiatry, specifically in research on trauma, and an expert in Aboriginal mental health provision. She is the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health at the University of Western Australia and an Honorary Research Fellow at Telethon Kids Institute.
Professor Marcia Langton, AM
Professor of Australian Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne
Professor Marcia Langton is a Professor of Australian Indigenous Studies and Director of the Indigenous Studies Unit, the Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne. Professor Langton is the granddaughter of an Iman man and grew up in Queensland in her grandmother’s country in Southwest Queensland. Professor Langton specialises in the field of ethnographic studies of Indigenous family violence, alcohol management plans in Aboriginal communities, impact benefit and native title agreements with Indigenous people, Indigenous engagements with the resource industry and Aboriginal arts and cultural expressions, nationally and internationally. She is a lead Chief Investigator on Replanting the Birthing Trees.
Professor Catherine Chamberlain
Professor of Indigenous Health Equity and Director of Onemda: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing, University of Melbourne
Professor Catherine Chamberlain is a Palawa woman of the Trawlwoolway clan (Tasmania) and a Professor of Indigenous Health Equity at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (The University of Melbourne). Professor Chamberlain has over 25 years' experience in public health, and is lead Chief Investigator on Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future and Replanting the Birthing Trees.
Catherine Liddle
Chief Executive Officer, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
An Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia, Catherine has been a leading advocate in upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on a national, regional and local level. Catherine has held senior management positions in First Nations organisations including First Nations Media and Jawun Indigenous Corporate Partnerships, as well as within the Northern Territory Education Department, the ABC and NITV/SBS.
A journalist by trade, Catherine’s motivation has always been to drive change that leads to positive outcomes and options for First Nations people. Over the past 10 years she has led multidisciplinary teams, overseen workplace transformations, and advocated for policy reform. Catherine is the CEO for SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, the national non-governmental peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children that works for the fulfilment of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, in particular to ensure their safety, development and wellbeing.
Dr Janine Mohamed
CEO, Lowitja Institute
Dr Janine Mohamed is a proud Narrunga Kaurna woman from South Australia. Over two decades, she has worked in nursing, management, project management, research, workforce and health policy in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, including as CEO at the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM). Janine is currently the CEO of the Lowitja Institute - Australia's National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research.
Dr Jacynta Krakouer
Research Fellow, Monash University
Jacynta Krakouer is a Mineng woman from the Noongar Nation in southwestern Australia and a Research Fellow in the Health and Social Care Unit at Monash University. Jacynta is a social worker and an Early Career Researcher with expertise in child and family welfare, including child protection and infant removals. Jacynta is a member of the SAFesT Start coalition – a multidisciplinary group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts – committed to reducing Indigenous infant removals due to child protection concerns.
Dr Fiona Cornforth
CEO, Healing Foundation
Fiona Cornforth is of the Wuthathi of the far north-east cape of Queensland with family roots also in Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait Islands). Fiona is proudly the CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, a national organisation leading the movement on survivor-led intergenerational healing.
Ms Djapirri Mununggirritj
Yolngu Elder from Yirrkala, North East Arnhem Land
Djapirri Mununggirritj is a Yolngu Elder from Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land. For decades, she has worked tirelessly to support her community and to foster strong relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. One of her key achievements was establishing the Yirrkala Women’s Patrol, which saw Aboriginal elders walk the streets late at night to successfully deal with domestic violence, alcohol and other community safety issues. More recently, Ms Mununggirritj has served as a Director and Community/Cultural Manager for Culture College Arnhem Land Aboriginal Corporation. She has helped develop a Yolngu based educational strategy that will effect change in all Australians, helping bring the nation closer to a reality of reconciliation. Djapirri also has a deep passion in sharing the importance of birthing on country and the role supported birth plays in establishing strong and healthy connections. On the national stage, she is considered a political trailblazer and helps guide Australia’s reconciliation journey through her work as a board member of Reconciliation Australia, Yothu Yindi Foundation and Culture College.
Emerging Minds Team
Shirley Young is an Aboriginal woman from the Nukunu people in South Australia. She has worked in various public service organisations over a period of 25 years in portfolios such as health, child protection and child & adolescent mental health, working in a variety of positions with Aboriginal children, young people, parents and communities.
Rosie Schellen Is the lead for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce development content at Emerging Minds, she has worked in the field of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing and community development for over 25 years.
Nancy Jeffrey is a Woolwonga woman from the Northern Territory and an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social & Emotional Wellbeing Advisor in Partnerships and Implementation at Emerging Minds. Nancy has over 30 years’ experience in child protection, project management and leadership in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing sector.