Advisory board

Director of the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change and Professor in Aboriginal Health, Rhonda leads a multidisciplinary team and a range of research projects addressing Aboriginal peoples’ questions of research priority. Her personal mantra is “nothing about us without us”.

As Nyungar Elder, Marie Taylor descends from a long line of storytellers and has inherited this family gift. Aunty Marie is a woman of many talents, roles and identities. She is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and has been a junior state hockey representative, Bible College graduate, housing officer, evangelist, a course author and teacher at Murdoch University. As part of the Honorary Elders Group for Murdoch University and member of the Ngangk Yira Advisory Board, Auntie Marie shares her wisdom and cultural guidance for research directions and the future of the University.

Melanie Robinson has worked in diverse roles in nursing over the past 30 years, including clinical practice, education and policy. She was appointed Director of Aboriginal Health in CAHS in 2020, the same year she was appointed Chair of the Ngangk Yira Advisory Board. She has a connection with the particular health challenges faced by rural and remote communities and a deep personal understanding of the impacts of colonisation, including having family members affected by Stolen Generations policies.

Denese is a Ngikina and Jaru woman born in Derby in the Kimberley, Western Australia. With a Bachelor of Applied Science in Aboriginal Community Management and Development, Denese has developed her leadership skills through her roles and a number Aboriginal leadership programs, including the Department of Health Leadership Excellence and Development Program.

John Challis trained at the Universities of Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford, was appointed as MRC Scholar at McGill, and later inaugural Director of the Lawson Research Institute and Founding Director of the MRC Group in Fetal and Neonatal Health and Development at UWO. He became Chair of the Department of Physiology and later Vice President Research and Associate Provost of the University of Toronto and was inaugural Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health.

Trained in maternal and child health, epidemiology and public health, Fiona has spent her eminent career researching the causes of major childhood illnesses, including in Aboriginal populations.

Amy House leads fundraising and development for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Amy has a highly credible reputation for delivering major impacts across the conservation, health, education and legal sectors in Australia. She has enabled the investment of some $500million into these sectors by creating mutual investment partnerships with public & private sectors and building major philanthropic programs.

Wendy belongs to the Karajarri and Yawuru people from the West Kimberley region. As the Director of Aboriginal Health Policy Directorate, Department of Health, Wendy has led the development of several key strategic policy initiatives for the Department including the WA Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Framework 2015-2030 and more recently the Closing the Gap agenda for the WA Health system.

Learne Durrington is at heart a social worker who happens to be the CEO of WA Primary Health Alliance. She is known for saying ’if you keep doing the same thing you will get the same results’. This statement reflects how Learne leverages her role at WA Primary Health Alliance to improve outcomes for people and the community. She is guided by the principles of collective impact and a commitment to social justice.