Veronica Perrurle Dobson (AM) is an Eastern Arrernte linguist, educator, author and ecologist. Veronica was born in 1944 at Arltunga in Central Australia. For well over forty years, she has worked in many inter-related fields – language documentation and teaching, lexicography, interpreting, ethnobiology and land management.

“For me, what I have done has not been like work. I do what I do because I love my language and know how important it is – this is the knowledge I learned from my grandparents. They taught me about the bush and the plants and their uses. I want others to be able to learn about Arrernte culture. I do what I do for the future generations, for my kids, for their kids and so on. Once it’s been documented its safe, its written down…”
Photo: Fiona Walsh

Professor Marika-Yunupiŋu is a much loved and respected Yolŋu leader from Northeast Arnhem Land, and 2024 Senior Australian of the Year.

Professor Marika-Yunupiŋu was a teacher linguist at Yirrkala Bilingual School for over four decades, before retiring in March 2023. Known as a ‘bilingual warrior’, she was twice awarded a ‘Teacher of Excellence’ by the Northern Territory Department of Education and made a lifetime member of the Teacher’s Union.

Professor Marika-Yunupiŋu remains passionate about the importance of education, and as Chair of the Yirrkala School Council, board member of both the Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation and Djalkiri  Foundation she wants the next generation of leaders to remain strong in their Yolŋu language and culture.

Professor Anne Poelina is a Nyikina Warrwa woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. She is an active community leader, human and earth rights advocate, film maker and respected academic researcher, with a second Doctor of Philosophy (First Law) titled, ‘Martuwarra First Law Multi-Species Justice Declaration of Interdependence: Wellbeing of Land, Living Waters, and Indigenous Australian People’ (Nulungu Institute of Research, University of Notre Dame, Broome, Western Australia).

Anne, winner of the 2024 Geoethics Medal is also the Murray Darling Basin (MDB) inaugural First Nations appointment to its independent Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences (2022), and member of Institute for Water Futures, Australian National University, Canberra. Poelina was awarded the Kailisa Budevi Earth and Environment Award, International Women’s Day (2022) recognition of her global standing. Poelina is also an Ambassador for the Western Australian State Natural Rangelands Management (NRM) (2022).

Benson is a proud descendant of the Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria, and from New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. Benson brings over 18 years of experience spanning finance, international engagement, economic development and social impact.

Benson was the first Indigenous person to be appointed an Australian Consul-General with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission based in Houston, where he spent close to three years driving forward Australia’s diplomatic, economic and trade agenda.

Moving from Bhutan to Australia, Wesel Dema leads the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre Australia hosted by the Small Giants Academy. Wesel moved to Australia and took up this role following years of collaboration as the Program Officer at the Gross National Happiness Centre Bhutan (GNHCB). During her time at GNHCB, she focused on developing youth programs aimed at promoting GNH values in schools and colleges both within and beyond Bhutan. Her passion lies in advocating GNH in action through daily lives. Wesel currently resides in Albury, NSW.

Erin is a proud Arrernte-Alyawarr-Kija woman with extensive knowledge of Indigenous culture, history and practices. For over a decade, Erin has supported the needs of Indigenous communities as a leading Indigenous consultant and cultural advisor.

Children's Ground is a not-for-profit organization led by First Nations communities in the Northern Territory. Its mission is to create a future filled with opportunity and hope for the next generations of First Nations children and families. The organization focuses on prevention, early intervention, and empowerment, aiming to address the systemic issues faced by First Nations communities. The Children's Ground Approach spans a 25-year strategy which integrates services across five key areas: learning, health, community, culture, and economic development. Cultural knowledge and First Nations governance is championed to deliver effective services that support the well-being of children and families.

Shantelle Thompson is a proud Barkindji and Ngyampaa woman, known as the Barkindji Warrior. She is a three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion and a mother of five. Shantelle began her journey by overcoming severe post-natal depression following the birth of her twins, which led her to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a form of therapy. She has achieved significant recognition, including being awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her services to the Indigenous community of Victoria. Shantelle is also the founder of the Warrior Within Young Women’s Program, which focuses on self-empowerment and life skills for young women in her community.

Joshua Gilbert is a Worimi man with extensive experience in Indigenous affairs, environmental sectors, and sustainable agriculture, advocating for Indigenous identity and truth-telling. He led the first proactive climate change motion for NSW Farmers in 2016, a landmark moment in state and national agripolitical policy. Pursuing a PhD on Indigenous modernity through agriculture, he has just launched his book, "Australia's Agricultural Identity: An Aboriginal Yarn." 

Josh has over a decade of experience working across Indigenous employment, leading him to co-develop and launch the Centre for Indigenous People and Work, a world-first employment research and consulting Centre focused on Indigenous attraction, retention and workplace experience. Josh is a proven leader known for uniting diverse stakeholders to drive sustainable change through transformation, consistently delivering outstanding business outcomes.

Josh is recognised internationally for his work, announced in the inaugural 50 Next: People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy cohort. He serves on the board for Indigenous Business Australia, the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, BlakDance and the Australian Conservation Foundation and is the Aboriginal Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.

Dr Joel Liddle is an Arrernte scholar, researcher and central Australian language advocate based in Mparntwe, Alice Springs. He has an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science (ACU), a Grad Diploma in Indigenous Knowledges (CDU), a Professional Certificate of Indigenous Research (Uni Melb) and recently completed his PhD titled ‘Ayeye apmerrke areye-akerte’ ((a story about young Aboriginal men from Central Australia (aged 16-40) through the University of Melbourne. 

His doctoral project explores the high rates of poor mental health amongst young Aboriginal men and unified insights from interviews with senior Aboriginal Elders (akngerrepate), young men (apmerrke) and global mental health research. His research assessed contemporary and historic factors that contribute to poor mental health, combined Indigenous languages in his field work and used a mixed methods approach that included western mental health research and Indigenous cultural concepts of wellbeing. He found that the fracturing of Indigenous knowledge systems including kinship, language, religion, economics and Indigenous Ecological Knowledges (IEK) was a key factor affecting young Aboriginal men, and the Indigenous community more broadly in Central Australia and his project proposes a therapeutic response. 

Joel has been a driving force behind language initiatives such as Indigemoji and the ‘Angkentye yerrtye-ileme’ (Arrernte street signs project) in Alice Springs and, promoting visibility, pride and cultural continuity. He has published and co-published several academic articles, including an Australian first in an Indigenous language (Arrernte) titled ‘Apmerrke areye-kenhe utnenge rlterrke-irrirtnetyenhenge’(originally; New Thinking About Old Ways: Cultural continuity for improved mental health of young Central Australian Aboriginal men). He is currently a consultant researcher with the Strehlow Research Centre, owner of Kwerralye (star) Consultancies, and consultant for Indigemoji.

Kristy Bloomfield is co-Director of Oonchiumpa, Arrernte Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders with over 20 years’ experience leading community-driven initiatives in youth justice, Aboriginal rights, health, and cultural education.