Dr Greg Phillips is Waanyi and Jaru from North West Queensland. He is a medical anthropologist with a PhD, a research masters in medical science and an arts degree in Aboriginal studies and government. He is an Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine at Griffith University. Dr Phillips established an accredited Indigenous health curriculum framework for medical schools in Australia and New Zealand, the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation in the wake of the federal apology. He publishes and presents regularly on issues of race, whiteness, power and cultural safety, and consults in transformational learning and leadership. 

Dylan Sarra is a Gooreng Gooreng artist from a well-known family.  Hear Dylan share childhood memories, his connection to country, the important roles women have played in his life and his profound experiences of working with the Burnett River rocks.  Dylan is a passionate artist with an impressive portfolio and an exciting future. Dylan graduated from the Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art (CAIA) at Griffith University and has twice been a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards during his studies at Griffith.

CAIA has established the careers of many leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, including Vernon Ah Kee, Dale Harding and Tony Albert. Dylan said he had found a community of collaborators within the program.

Gordon Hookey was born in Cloncurry, Queensland in 1961. He currently lives and works in Brisbane. and is a Griffith University graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1991).  Gordon belongs to the Waanyi people and locates his art at the interface where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures converge. Gordon's work is informed by domestic and international events and policies that affect Indigenous communities globally, with his lived experience as a Murri and Aboriginal person at the forefront of his work. His style and approach is distinctive in its vibrancy and best known for its biting satire of Australia’s political landscape, its leaders and representatives.  Gordon spoke to Leda and Angelina for a wonderful discussion on art and culture.

For more than 20 years, Lesley Richardson has dedicated herself to closing the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. When you speak to her about this enduring belief in building a brighter future—it comes across as both pragmatic and inevitable. It is also born out of her hard-won lived experiences, as a child of The Stolen Generation and devoted public servant. She embodies the maxim on empathy, about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. "Every child should be supported to reach their full potential no matter where they come from."

We recently caught up with Kerry Kennell from Kennell&Co Impact Consulting + Strategy to talk about her career from Griffith to Kennell&Co. Kerry is a Zenadth Kes woman with connection to Ugar and Erub islands in the Eastern Torres Strait. Kerry is a business owner, mentor, artist manager, facilitator and board director, and you can check out more information about Kerry on her website www.kennell.com.au or on Instagram and Facebook @kennellandco

Dr Troy Meston is a Gamilleroi Senior Research Fellow in the Griffith Centre for Social and Culture Research. His work employs critical Indigenous studies and decolonial praxis to investigate the intersections between education, technology & Indigenous studies. He has amassed a diversified body of work, constructed curriculum, and industry outputs across the areas of Indigenous sport, financial literacy, cognitive science, Indigenous health, and education. Troy applies national research acumen from roles with peak bodies, such as the Australian Sports Commission and Australian Institute of Sport, where he developed the 'Yulunga: Indigenous Games' publication, and managed Indigenous athletes in a program which led toward the Bejing and London Olympic games. He is a former Research Fellow with the Australian Council for Educational Research, where as part of an Indigenous team, he produced outputs for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, ASIC, and the ARC Science of Learning Research Centre. Troy is currently the Indigenous pedagogy leader on the 'Digitising the deep past: Machine learning, rock art and Indigenous engagements with 21st century technology' project, working with Indigenous learners in remote communities.

With a Walkley and a Miles Franklin Award to her credit, Melissa has an impressive list of writing accolades and academic achievements.  In our latest Blak Minds podcast Melissa gives us a preview of her much antipicated latest novel titled 'Edenglassie', provides an update on the non-fiction characters featured in 'Sinking blow sight: Down and out in Brisbane and Logan' and tells us about her impressive past athletic achievements.  Melissa's experience informs the advice she gives to up-and-coming writers - but there is something in her advice for everyone.  Don't pass this one by.

Professor Peter Anderson is from the Walpiri and Murinpatha peoples of the Northern Territory and is Professor and Director Indigenous Research Unit at Griffith University. Professor Anderson’s research spans the area of Australian Indigenous education, educational systems, curriculum and pedagogical interventions and the intersecting relationships with indigenous peoples both globally and domestically. A member of the ARC College of Experts, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Science and member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and a Lifelong Fellow of the Atlantic Institute at Oxford University. He also holds research advisory positions for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Diversity Council of Australia and the Australian Education Research Association

Dr Van Issum is a Woppaburra man and Traditional Owner of the Keppel Islands with over 23 years’ experience in secondary and tertiary education.  

Harry is currently Senior Lecturer at Griffith University in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences, leads the Indigenous Field of Study group, and for his continuing work in repatriating Aboriginal skeletal remains won the 2019 Inaugural Mulvaney Indigenous Fellowship.  

Harry completed his PhD (summa cum laude) at Australian Catholic University in 2018 discussing the cultural and historical identity of the Woppaburra people of the Central Queensland region.  

Dr Van Issum has also been involved in many grassroots Indigenous organisations such as the Woppaburra Land Trust, the Woppaburra Traditional Use of Marine Resources Committee (constituted through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), Bayside Community Justice Group (Murri Court) and Cooee Indigenous Family and Community Education Centre.

He served for three years on the Queensland Indigenous Education Consultative Committee, advising state and federal ministers on Indigenous educational issues.

Julie is a PhD student at the School of Government and International Relations. Prior to commencing her PhD Julie completed a Bachelor of Education with Honours (Class 1) and spent several years working in Remote and Low SES community schools. As a proud Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti women, she is passionate about Indigenous issues especially in regards to education and public policy. Her current research seeks to explore why Indigenous education policies are continually failing by investigating the current approaches to policy-making in this arena. Julie’s research interests include: Public policy; Indigenous education; Indigenous affairs and policies and Black politics.