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.

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.

Erica Spry is a Bardi woman from the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome.  Erica 's Bardi Jawi family achieved recognition of their Native Title Rights when the Federal Court of Australia handed down its decision on the 30th of November 2005.  

Erica is a member of various Aboriginal Organisations, in particular the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre, Kimberley Language Resourse Centre, and the Kimberley Land Council. Erica has worked in many community roles such as legal secretary and Court Officer for the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA and the State Government's Department of Justice. Her profile covers areas such as Legal, Youth, Health and Land Management affairs.

Before starting at Notre Dame's Broome campus, Erica worked as the State Government's Rangelands Natural Resource Management (NRM) Coordinating Group's (RCG) Indigenous Engagment Officer - Kimberley sub region, based at the Kimberley Land Council's Land and Sea Management Unit. Erica assisted the Kimberley Aboriginal Reference Group for NRM (KARG for NRM), who are members of the Kimberley NRM Group to be a part of the RCG's NRM process. This position involved supporting members of KARG for NRM, actively engaging in NRM meetings, working closely with the Kimberley Indigenous Land Management Facilitators (ILMF), the RCG and Kimberley NRM Group. This work led Erica to complete a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management, specialising in Community Coordination and Facilitation.

Erica is passionate about Caring for Country and has a voluntary role as the Australian Conservation Foundation's (ACF) and Mr Al Gore's ”The Climate Project” Presenter for the Kimberley region. This project seeks to bring about awareness of climate change, global warming and potential solutions to these problems. This voluntary position is supported by the Kimberley Land Council's Land and Sea Management Unit, the ACF, Northern Australia Small grants program and Notre Dame's Broome campus.

In her current position at Notre Dame, Erica is eagar to learn about research and especially to support students to achieve their goals while studying at Notre Dame. Erica's position at the Centre for Indigenous Studies is part funded by the Notre Dame's School of Medicine, Fremantle Campus so that she is able to undertake development of her research skills.

 

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 is a writer and researcher who has worked on a variety of community based cultural heritage and development projects and has published on history, social justice and sustainability. He co-wrote and produced The Coolbaroo Club (1996) an ABC TV documentary, awarded the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Human Rights Award for the Arts, and collaborated with Lauren Marsh and Alice Nannup on the completion of When the Pelican Laughed , (1992) the story of Mrs Alice Nannup (Fremantle Arts Centre Press). His recent book, Shadow Lines was awarded the WA Premier's Award for Non-Fiction 2004, the Federation of Australian Writer's Award for Non-Fiction 2004, The Stanner Award 2004, and was short-listed for the Queensland, South Australian Premier's Awards.

Steve was born in Perth and is a descendant of the Miriwoong people of the East Kimberley. While much of his work has centred around investigations of Aboriginal history, removal of children, surveillance and control of Aboriginal community members by various state regimes, other areas of interest include Indigenous natural and cultural resource practices and development opportunities, and the need for incorporation of Indigenous approaches to 'country' in future resource management. Steve lectured at Murdoch University in Australian Indigenous Studies and Sustainability for three years, and completed a three year Visiting Research Fellowship at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Canberra. His work at AIATSIS investigated sustainable livelihoods for communities in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.