Janet Mooney is Yuin woman from the South Coast of NSW. She has dedicated her career to improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal people and she strongly believes that education is a tool for social justice and therefore actively promotes exemplary and innovative educational practice.

Over her career She has been a Visual Arts and Senior Aboriginal Studies secondary teacher; transferring into Head Office NSW Department of Education and Training as an Education Officer in there Aboriginal Education Unit, writing policy documents and creating resources for teachers in schools. As a consultant in Aboriginal Educational she worked in the Metropolitan East Region facilitating Cultural Awareness Workshops for principals and teachers, as well as assisting teachers a to introduce Aboriginal Studies perspectives into the school curriculum.

In 1990 she joined the University of Sydney as a lecturer in the Aboriginal Education Assistants Program (AEAP), teaching Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal Art, Community Engagement and facilitating Counselling Studies – later Acting in the role of Coordinator AEAP. From 1996 – 2013, she was the Director of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney.

With the closure of the Koori Centre on the 31^st January 2013 she was reassigned to the Faculty of Education and Social Work. She was then seconded immediately into the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Strategies and Services as Academic Leader (Culture & Systems) working on the establishment of the National Centre for Cultural Competence.

Professor Janet Mooney joined the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education in February 2014. She is currently the Theme Leader for the Indigenous Culture, Education and Wellbeing at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education (IPPE) at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). Her research examines the effective teaching of Indigenous students; Indigenous Studies; and interventions that make a difference in educational settings; i.e. employment and education, education policy and teaching, social justice, culture, history.

In 1976, Sharon was one of only two Indigenous graduates of the Certificate of Teaching program at Kedron Park Teachers’ College, Brisbane. She taught in State Schools in Queensland before she relocated to Sydney and taught in primary and high schools in the inner city.

Sharon also holds a Bachelor of Education (Primary) from the University of Sydney. Sharon has accumulated considerable experience in Indigenous education, as a practitioner and policy developer.

Today, Sharon is Lecturer and Course Coordinator of several Aboriginal education courses at the University of Sydney. For more than 10 years she was also President of Wunanbiri Pre-school,  recognised for providing excellent educational outcomes for Indigenous children, and vocational opportunities for parents and the community. Sharon served on the Advisory Committee of the Books in Homes Australia program, which benefitted thousands of Indigenous, disadvantaged and remote area children annually. She was a board member of the Primary English Teaching Association and was a director of the Fred Hollows Foundation.

In 2005, Sharon was awarded a University of Sydney Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of her commitment to Indigenous education and also an Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Technology Queensland.

Dianne has been involved in issues regarding Aboriginal education since 1968. She has taught Primary and Secondary students in Victoria and NSW.

Dianne has lectured in universities in Sociology and Education for 30 years, with a significant involvement in teacher education. She has maintained a strong commitment to the engagement of schools to their community and to the importance of public policy development within a democratic framework.

Dianne was a member of the review team for the HSC and was a member of the NSW Board of Studies 1994-2004.

Alexandra has a Master of Arts and a BA (Hons), along with other teaching qualifications. She has worked as a Psychologist, a Special Education Lecturer at the University of Sydney, and has been a Tribunal member with the NSW Guardianship Tribunal.

Alexandra has also been the Vice President of the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW; Vice President of the Aboriginal Education Council of NSW; and has had Board membership with Consumes’ Health Forum, Mental Health Coordinating Council of NSW, Neurological Institute for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders; and an Advocate Associate for Citizen Advocacy East Side.

Oliver is a Senior Executive at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

Prior to joining ASIC, Oliver worked with McKinsey & Company in their New York Office, in the Global Corporate & Institutional Banking Practice.

Oliver is a qualified lawyer and commenced his career with a major international law firm. He has qualifications from Cambridge University (UK) and Harvard.

Terry Denzil in a respected elder of the Redfern Community. Terry is a tireless worker for Aboriginal people and serves on a number of committees. He is a valued member of the Alexandria Park Community School and the school hall bears his name in recognition of his contribution.

Charline Emzin Boyd is a Bundjalung woman born in the lower east part of Queensland. Her background as a primary school teacher for sixteen years has supported her in the NSW Teacher’s Federation role she holds today.
The position has State-wide responsibilities, particularly in relation to organising, policy issues and recruitment whilst providing support for all Federation members and awarding priority to the NSW Aboriginal members.

Nathan is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Land Council

Catherine  is a Senior Lecturer Aboriginal Education at Sydney University

Beverly joined the AEC in 1993 as the Federation of P&C Associations nomination. She served as the Executive Officer for a short period of time during 2003 returning to the AEC that role during 2011.

In her time  away from the AEC Beverly gained extensive experience in various roles within the corporate and the community sector and built a reputation for financial management and accountability.

Beverly served as the President of the Federation of P&C Associations from 1998 to 2002. She is passionate about education and believes “whatever the issue – education is the answer”.

Beverly brings a wealth of experience and commitment to indigenous issues and is a current resident of the Aboriginal precinct know as “the Block”