Speakers
Commissioner Dale Agius
South Australia Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People
Commissioner Dale Agius
South Australia Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People
Dale Agius is a proud Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man who carries deep respect for the cultural knowledge, stories, and resilience of his people. With strong ties across four language groups, Dale has dedicated his career to creating lasting change for Aboriginal communities in South Australia. Over the past 20+ years, he has worked across correctional services, Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation. He now serves as the South Australia Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, a role that places him at the forefront of advocating for the rights, safety, and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people across the state.
Dale was previously South Australia’s Commissioner for the Voice to Parliament. Dale is deeply connected in community life and is driven by a commitment to social justice, self-determination, and community empowerment. His passion is to ensure Aboriginal voices are not only heard but lead decisions that shape the future. He envisions a future where Aboriginal children grow up strong in culture, surrounded by opportunity, and where systems are shaped with, not just for, community. With every role he takes on, Dale is building a South Australia where respect, equity, and truth-telling are at the heart of how we live together.
Commissioner Selwyn Button
Commissioner, Productivity Commission
Commissioner Selwyn Button
Selwyn Button is a Gungarri man from south-west Queensland and a Commissioner with the Productivity Commission. An accomplished leader, he brings extensive experience across health, education, governance and economic development in the public, private, not-for-profit and community-controlled sectors.
Throughout his career, Selwyn has worked with organisations to drive meaningful social, economic and community outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He has held senior leadership roles including Partner at PwC Indigenous Consulting, National Registrar of the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Assistant Director-General for Indigenous Education in Queensland, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, and Chair of the Lowitja Institute.
Selwyn has led major policy, governance, service delivery and legislative reforms and is widely recognised for his ability to build strong partnerships across government, business and communities. He has also made significant contributions through board and advisory roles spanning health, education, early childhood, arts, culture and sport.
A respected advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and self-determination, Selwyn brings a wealth of experience in governance, reform, economic participation and community development.
Shaun Childs
Cultural Engagement Manager/Acting CEO, Reconciliation South Australia
Shaun Childs
Cultural Engagement Manager/Acting CEO, Reconciliation South Australia
Shaun is a proud Kokatha Wirangu man whose ancestry ties are from the far west coast of South Australia, dedicated to driving systemic change through education, truth telling, and cultural accountability. He has strong cultural and community connections, working across
government, business, not for-profit organisations, and the community sector.
Shaun’s leadership helps ensure that Aboriginal histories, perspectives, language, and lived experiences are presented with cultural integrity, care, and purpose.
Maria Dimopoulos AM
CEO, Settlement Council of Australia
Maria Dimopoulos AM
CEO, Settlement Council of Australia
Maria Dimopoulos AM has spent decades shaping national and global conversations on cultural diversity, gender equality, human rights, and belonging. Her work sits at the intersection of policy, lived experience, and systems change, spanning government advisory, international development, and community leadership across the Asia–Pacific.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Settlement Council of Australia, Maria leads the national peak for the settlement sector, representing over 180 organisations supporting refugee and migrant communities. She positions settlement not as a transitional service, but as a foundational pillar of democratic participation, safety, gender equity, and long-term social cohesion. Under her leadership, SCOA drives policy reform, cross-sector collaboration, and evidence-informed advocacy grounded in the realities of intersectionality, alongside a commitment to truth-telling as a shared responsibility and relational practice central to reconciliation between migrant communities and First Peoples.
Her leadership has been recognised through her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia, the Victorian Premier’s Award for Multiculturalism, and the Amnesty International Human Rights Award. She is widely regarded as a leading voice on intersectionality, belonging, and the transformative power of inclusive systems.
Tanya Hosch
Director, GO Foundation
Tanya Hosch
Director, GO Foundation
Tanya Hosch is a nationally respected leader and advocate with extensive experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, social inclusion, governance and public advocacy.
She most recently served as Executive General Manager of Inclusion and Social Policy at the Australian Football League (AFL), where she was the first Indigenous person and only the second woman appointed to the AFL Executive.
Tanya was Joint Campaign Director of Recognise, the movement for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and served on the Referendum Council, which led to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017. She was also a prominent
campaigner for a Yes vote in the 2023 Voice Referendum.
Currently, Tanya is a Director of the GO Foundation, Co-Chair of the National Australia Bank First Nations Advisory Group, and Deputy Chair of the National Library of Australia.
In 2026, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community through social policy and advocacy for diversity and inclusion and in 2021 Tanya was named 2021 South Australian of the Year.
Dr Jackie Huggins AM
Lifelong advocate, academic and author
Dr Jackie Huggins AM
A Bidjara (Central Queensland) and Birri-Gubba Juru (North Queensland) woman, historian, author and lifelong advocate, Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA was a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and later served as Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia.
She was also a co-commissioner for the landmark Bringing Them Home inquiry and, more recently, co-chaired Queensland’s Path to Treaty process.
Courtney Kelly
First Nations Lead, Wesfarmers
Courtney Kelly
First Nations Lead, Wesfarmers
Courtney is a proud Djiru woman from Innisfail, North Queensland with family connections to the Djabugay people from the Kuranda and Barron Gorge areas.
Courtney is a corporate affairs professional with experience across the mining, resources, and retail sectors, spanning Indigenous affairs, social investment, communications, operations and engineering.
Courtney completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) at the University of Queensland (UQ) and was the first Indigenous woman to graduate from UQ’s School of Mining and Metallurgy. She remains an independent member of the Australian Network of Mining Engineering Educators’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sub-committee, influencing educators to embed Indigenous perspectives in engineering curricula nationally.
Since 2023, Courtney has been First Nations Lead at Wesfarmers, driving reconciliation outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the Group’s seven divisions through the Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan, spanning procurement, employment, career development, community partnerships and capacity building.
Travis Lovett
Executive Director, Centre for
Truth-telling and Dialogue (UniMelb)
Travis Lovett
Executive Director, Centre for Truth-telling and Dialogue (UniMelb)
Travis Lovett is a Kerrupmara, Gunditjmara and Boandik man and Executive Director of the Centre for Truth-telling and Dialogue at the University of Melbourne, where he leads work to embed truth-telling, cultural authority and systemic reform across institutions.
Previously, Travis served as Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, helping deliver Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry and contributing to landmark reports that informed Treaty negotiations and justice reform. He has also held senior roles across government, including First Peoples State Relations, Aboriginal Victoria and the Department of Justice, leading reforms in the Koori Courts, water law and cultural safety.
In 2025 and 2026, Travis led the historic Walks for Truth, journeys that carried the voices of First Peoples across Country. An internationally recognised speaker and advisor, he continues to mentor Aboriginal leaders and guide institutions in advancing reconciliation and self-determination.
Deputy Premier Kyam Maher
Deputy Premier of South Australia and Minister
for Aboriginal Affairs.
Deputy Premier Kyam Maher
Kyam Maher is the Deputy Premier of South Australia and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
He is a proud Aboriginal man who is honoured to serve as the Aboriginal Affairs Minister in both the Weatherill and Malinauskas Labor Governments. He has
helped guide important reforms such as being the first state in Australia to commence Treaty negotiations with Aboriginal Nations, implementing a Stolen Generations reparations scheme, and establishing the First Nations Voice to Parliament.
Kyam was elected to State Parliament in 2012 and has held the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio in both government and opposition since 2015.
Kyam enjoys spending time in regional SA, cycling (slowly), mowing the lawn and has a particular fondness for a good sausage roll.
Kylie Monteleone
Contemporary artist and designer
Kylie Monteleone
Contemporary artist and designer
Kylie Monteleone, a proud descendant of the Western Arrernte people, is an Indigenous woman and contemporary artist who shares stories handed down through generations. As a qualified Interior Designer and Colour Specifier, she uses colour intuitively to elicit memories, moments, and emotions.
Kylie’s approach to working with Winya Indigenous Commercial Furniture is guided by a deep connection to Country, which she passionately shares, intending to bring Country, Culture, and intentional colour to the forefront of urban design.
Karen Mundine
CEO, Reconciliation Australia
Karen Mundine
CEO, Reconciliation Australia
Karen Mundine is from the Bundjalung Nation of northern NSW. As the CEO at Reconciliation Australia, Ms Mundine brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience leading community engagement, public advocacy, communications and social marketing campaigns.
An architect of the landmark Australian Reconciliation Barometer, Ms Mundine works with governments, the business sector and civil society to advocate for change.
Over the course of her career, she has been instrumental in some of Australia’s watershed national events including the Apology to the Stolen Generations, Centenary of Federation commemorations, Corroboree 2000 and the 1997 and 2021 Australian Reconciliation Conventions.
Ms Mundine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and was the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Australian UTS Alumni Award. In 2023 she was declared the National Winner of the Australian Awards for Excellence in Women’s Leadership.
She is a member of the Council of the National Museum of Australia, a Company Director of Sydney Festival and the Council of First Nations and is a Member of Chief Executive Women.
Ngarra Murray
Co-founder, Matha
Ngarra Murray
Co-founder, Matha
Ngarra Murray is a proud Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman, First Nations leader and treaty expert whose leadership is grounded in deep cultural authority, political experience and a powerful legacy of Aboriginal activism.
As an inaugural member and former Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (2019-2026), Lead Negotiator and signatory to Australia’s first treaty, Ngarra has been at the forefront of building the foundations for treaty-making in Victoria and advancing a new era of Indigenous self-determination.
Her work sits at the intersection of culture, politics and systems change bringing together cultural authority, strategic leadership and practical expertise to navigate complex relationships between First peoples, governments and institutions. She is deeply committed to nation building, strengthening Indigenous governance and creating pathways for First Peoples to exercise their inherent rights, sovereignty and aspirations. Ngarra’s leadership extends beyond Australia through longstanding relationships with Indigenous peoples and movements internationally.
She is the co-founder of Matha, an Indigenous collective established with Te Rau Kupenga, providing cultural and practical expertise working in the middle space between First Peoples, governments, and communities. Matha works to navigate the Treaty era, build the relationships and pathways for a new future, and create the conditions for lasting transformation.
Francis Nona
Director, Just Ripples
Francis Nona
Director, Just Ripples
Francis Nona is a proud man of the Dhoeybaw Clan of Saibai, with ancestral ties to Badu in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait). Francis holds a Senior Lecturer role in the School of Medicine at QUT and is Director of an Indigenous-led, for-purpose consultancy called Just Ripples. Francis’ consultancy specialises in helping organisations strengthen leadership, cultural capability, reconciliation, evaluation, and meaningful systems change. Just Ripples is driven by the social mission of empowering future generations of Indigenous communities, one relationship at a time. In less than five years in academia, Francis has secured more than $12 million in competitive funding, reflecting the impact and relevance of his work at the intersections of health, equity, and Indigenous rights.
Francis held senior leadership roles in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisation in regional Queensland, including Clinic Manager and Acting CEO. He is also a registered nurse and has practised across youth detention centres, rural and regional hospitals, rehabilitation, and aged care settings. Francis contributes widely to sector leadership through board membership on national and international organisations, as well a serving on several Advisory Committees concerned with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination.
Kylie Penehoe
CEO, National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance
Kylie Penehoe
CEO, National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance
Kylie Penehoe is a proud Wonnarua and Wiradjuri woman and the inaugural CEO of the National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance (The Alliance). She is committed to advancing meaningful social and economic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through Indigenous-led solutions and systemic change.
Kylie brings extensive experience across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, with expertise in program design, business development, communications and evidence-informed strategy. Before joining The Alliance, she held executive roles at AFL SportsReady and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, leading programs supporting First Nations education, employment and economic development.
Kylie has also worked in the Queensland Government and held senior roles with ASX-listed organisations, including Transpacific and Virgin Australia. She is known for her ethical and authentic leadership, commitment to co-design and ability to build trusted relationships.
Kylie holds a Master of Business Administration specialising in Social Impact and a Bachelor of Communications.
Senator Jana Stewart
Labor Senator for Victoria
Senator Jana Stewart
Labor Senator for Victoria
Senator Jana Stewart is a proud Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman, with links to country all along the Murray River in North-West Victoria.
Jana comes from a long line of strong Aboriginal women, stretching back over sixty thousand years, and is a mother to Ari and Jude. She is the youngest First Nations woman to be elected to Federal Parliament and is the first Aboriginal Labor Senator from Victoria.
Before entering politics Jana worked at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care agency in the child protection system and trained as a family therapist with the Bouverie Centre at La Trobe University – the first in her family to attend university. She has also worked for the Victorian government, within the justice system, and with Traditional Owners across the state.
Jana has served as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs since February 2024 and is currently leading the inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In July 2025, she was appointed Chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee.
Professor Nareen Young
Director, Centre for Indigenous People and Work (UTS)
Professor Nareen Young
Director, Centre for Indigenous People and Work (UTS)
Professor Nareen Young is Associate Dean, Indigenous Engagement and Leadership, Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Professor Indigenous Policy (Indigenous Workforce Diversity) at UTS Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research and Director of the UTS Jumbunna/UTS Business School Centre for Indigenous People and Work.
As one of Australia’s most respected workplace diversity practitioners and thought leaders, Professor Young is responsible for introducing many valuable concepts to Australian diversity practice over the years, for which her leadership has been acknowledged with many awards and accolades.
Bringing her First Nations and culturally diverse heritages to all her work, Professor Young continues to hold numerous governance and advisory positions in the community, government and corporate spheres.