For many years throughout my life, I’ve witnessed first-hand the lack of understanding of Aboriginal culture, including its extraordinary and complex ways of life.

I’ve seen and lived the impacts of colonisation and sought to educate others about the wrongdoings of the past through truth-telling and cultural immersion.

It’s my way of reconciling the burdens of the past with contemporary issues that are generally misunderstood by the wider community in relation to Aboriginal rights and repatriation. I do this by using the ‘spirit of reconciliation’ as a means of strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.

I’m a descendant of the Yued language group, of the Noongar Nation, through my mother’s bloodline of the Yappo/Jetta clan. I grew up in a small timber town called Quininup in the South-West of Western Australia.

Raised my family in Perth and now live in the Wheatbelt town of Toodyay. I’m currently Chairperson of the Noongar Kaartdijin Aboriginal Corporation and founder of the Six Seasons Golf Club. I run a consultancy business called ‘Six Seasons Connect’ and a side-by-side cultural consultancy service called ‘Dudja Dreaming.

My previous experiences include over 20 years working in the Aboriginal health sector, aged and disability care sector, training sector and as a manager of an Aboriginal organisation in Queens Park. Before that, at 17, I joined and served in the Australian Regular Army, for which I served 6 wonderful years.

I have a degree in Aboriginal Community Development and Management from Curtin University, which I completed in 2002.