Lyn Henderson-Yates is an Aboriginal woman from the Shadforth family in Derby in the Kimberley. In 1978, Lyn commenced work as an Aboriginal Teaching Assistant at the Holy Rosary School in Derby. After studying as an external student, in 1986, she obtained a Diploma of Teaching (Primary) from Mount Lawley College of Advanced Education (now Edith Cowan University). She taught for a number of years in her home town of Derby then transferred to Perth and gained a Bachelor of Education and Masters of Education from Murdoch University. Lyn is currently completing her PhD studies at The University of Western Australia.

Working in Aboriginal Education for the past 30 years, Lyn has been employed as an Aboriginal teaching assistant, primary school teacher, deputy principal, education officer, Aboriginal studies consultant, researcher, writer, lecturer and manager. Some of her career highlights include working at Holy Rosary School, Derby, Clontarf Aboriginal College, Perth and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University. In 2006, she returned to the Kimberley to take up an Associate Professorship at The University of Notre Dame Australia's Broome Campus as Assistant Dean in the School of Arts & Sciences and Director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies.

Lyn's teaching and research work include Aboriginal history, education, identity and oral history.

Bruce Gorring is a kartiya (non-Indigenous person) who was born in Awabakal Country, raised and educated in Wiradjuri/Waveroo Country, and has lived with his family periodically in Yawuru Country and Wajuk Country since 1998. Bruce's professional training is in geography and sociology, a lens through which he established, and has retained, an enduring interest in the relationship between people, ‘Country', and the cultural landscape.

Bruce has maintained an involvement in tertiary education over many years. On completion of his undergraduate studies, Bruce worked as a tutor, map librarian, and lecturer at the University of Newcastle (Australia). In 1995, he gained a lectureship at the newly established Centre for Indigenous Australian Cultural Studies at the Macarthur campus of UWS.

Subsequently, Bruce worked for the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) from 1998 until 2005, initially as a Project Development Officer, and then as Manager of the Native Title Services Unit. During his residence in Perth from 2006 to mid-2009, Bruce served as Assistant Director of the Land Branch in the WA Department of Indigenous Affairs where he managed the operations of the Aboriginal Lands Trust. In October 2009, he commenced as Research Coordinator in the Nulungu Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Broome campus of the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Bruce has a diverse range of teaching and research interests that include the politics of identity and representation, cultural studies, philosophy and ethics, native title and Indigenous governance, cultural and natural resource management, sustainability and conservation practice, urban and regional planning, and cartography. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Australian Studies Centre at the Universitat de Barcelona.

 

Joe Edgar is a descendant of the Karajarri people of the West Kimberley and has been an active advocate for Indigenous people and issues in Broome and the Kimberley region over the last 25 years. Accordingly, Joe has obtained extensive experiences in areas of education, Aboriginal arts, Indigenous media (radio broadcasting and journalism, and radio documentaries), as a public servant with ATSIC/ATSIS, and in Indigenous cultural tourism.

Joe's involvement with community and grassroots organisations through membership and voluntary roles on organisations such as the Karajarri Traditional Lands Association (Prescribed Body Corporate), the Kimberley Aquaculture Aboriginal Corporation/Manbana Multi-species Hatchery, Mamabulanjin Aboriginal Corporation, and Radio Goolarri (Goolarri Media Enterprise) imbues him with valuable knowledge and understanding of issues affecting Indigenous people.

Among his qualifications, Joe holds a Bachelor of Business degree from The University of Notre Dame, graduating in 2000. Since completion, he continued to be involved in a scholarly role at the University both as a guest lecturer and by joining the Notre Dame Broome Council in 2007, to encourage and consider future directions for local Indigenous people in higher education.

Joe's long involvement with the University and active membership of various committees in the Broome and the Kimberley region augments his current role as the Indigenous Community Liaison Officer at the Centre for Indigenous Studies.

Joe's position is funded by the Dermot Mary Roden Fellowship, established by the Cullity family in memory of the late Dr Dermot Mary Roden who, in the course of his distinguished medical career, was passionately devoted to improved eye health for people in the Kimberley.

Terri Hughes has been working in education for the past 20 years. She began teaching in bi-lingual education programs in the Northern Territory firstly on Milingimbi Island in Arnhem Land with Yolngu people and then at Lajamanu Community School in the Tanami Desert with the Walpiri. During this time Terri worked predominantly with youth and trainee teachers. In 1991, she took up a position in Jakarta, Indonesia delivering academic English programs and working with Indonesian English language teachers.

Terri returned to Australia in 1996 working with the then Adult Literacy Bureau, the Ministry of Justice and adult education programs within the TAFE system. During this time she worked on a number of small scale research projects in the field of adult education, and specifically in adult Indigenous education.

Terri has worked at the Broome Campus of Notre Dame since 2007.

Steve Kinnane has been an active researcher in Aboriginal Studies for 20 years.  He has lectured about and worked on community cultural heritage, history and community development projects.  His interests are diverse, encompassing Aboriginal history, the arts (non-fiction writing, documentary film and stills photography), politics, cross cultural identity, sustainability and belonging; how we make sense of our connections with each other and with place.  Steve is a descendant of the Miriuwung people of the East Kimberley and was raised in Noongar country in the south-west of Western Australia.