Aunty Lorraine Tye

Aunty Lorraine Tye is a Wiradjuri Elder living at Uranquinty in NSW. Aunty Lorraine is involved in weaving as a sovereign practice and has recently held a ‘sovereign weaving’ event in Wagga Wagga: Dabaamalang Waybarra Miya (mob of people weaving together, acting in concert).

Aunty Lorraine is a member of the Hands On Weavers Inc, a collective of people who enjoy a revival of traditional weaving practices and supports others weavers to place sovereignty as an integral part of weaving as an art practice. She is a current board member of Eastern Riverina Arts.

Aunty Lorraine travelled from Uranquinty to Melbourne to seek permission of Wurundjeri Elders to hold our
Wiradjuri in Melbourne event.

Mark McMillan

Mark McMillan is a Wiradjuri man from Trangie, NSW and
is an Associate Professor at Melbourne Law School.

Mark is a member of formal Indigenous Nation Building research projects and he states that: “...in Australia and internationally – very little studies have been conducted that supports Indigenous nations in the “Identify” phase of their nation building journey.” As a Wiradjuri man and leading the Melbourne Giyalang (Group), Mark says that the Wiradjuri nation is, at this moment, operating within the “Identify” phase of Nation Building. For the Wiradjuri Nation and our citizens, events such as ‘Wiradjuri In Melbourne’ create new connections and possibilities for how we can support Wiradjuri Nation Buidling.

Dean Heta

Dean Heta is an Aboriginal Man from Albury Wodonga.
His mother is a Wiradjuri Woman from Narrandera NSW and Dean’s father is of Maori descent and is from the top end of the North Island of New Zealand and is part of the Ngapuhi Tribe.

Dean professional background is in dual diagnosis (Mental Health and Drugs and Alcohol),
he has worked in a number of different roles providing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and their families.

Dean moved to Melbourne 4 years ago from Albury/Wodonga to take up an opportunity with Melbourne Health – Royal Melbourne Hospital as the Aboriginal Service Development Worker. Before joining the University of Melbourne and the Murrup Barak team as the Indigenous Student Support Officer Dean was employed by AFL SportsReady as the Vocational Training and Employment Centre(VTEC) Coordinator.

Todd Fernando

Todd Fernando is a Wiradjuri man and a Ph.D. candidate specialising in medical anthropology with the Centre for Health Equity and the Melbourne Poche Centre at the University of Melbourne. In addition to teaching into Faculty of Arts subjects, Todd has an academic interest in sexuality, health systems, racial literacy, whiteness studies, and Indigenous global politics. Todd is the Co-Chair of the Indigenous Graduate Students Association and works in close collaboration with the University of Melbourne Chancellery to advance tertiary curriculum, research, and policy.

Emily Munro-Harrison

Emily Munro-Harrison is a descendent of the Wiradjuri people through her mother, who was born and grew up on Wiradjuri Country in Yeoval, NSW. Emily was born on Kaurna Country in Adelaide, and moved to Boonwurung Country in Melbourne as a young child. Emily’s father is English, and migrated to Adelaide with his family from Yorkshire as a child.

Emily has a Bachelor in Social Science (RMIT), a Masters in Environment (University of Melbourne), has undertaken Post Baccalaureate studies in Creative Writing at Columbia University in New York, and is currently completing her PhD at the University of Melbourne looking at the ways in which young people practice Aboriginality in urban Victoria. Professional background includes working for state and local Government, in research and evaluation of social justice programs and in youth work. Currently Emily is working as a Research Fellow with the Indigenous Health Equity Unit at the University of Melbourne, on family violence, connection to place and health and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as volunteering for youth creative arts and prison programs.

Yoko Akama

Yoko Akama is Japanese woman who has grown up in several parts of the world, and now lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is an Associate Professor in Communication Design at RMIT University. She continues to be motivated by facilitating participatory ways to address complex issues. Designing for her is a way to support communication and transformative change to imagine what futures can be created together. Her culture guides how she builds relationships with members of Wiradjuri Nation to accompany and participate in their Nation Building journey.

Peter West

Peter is both a design practitioner and lecturer in Communication Design at RMIT University. Peter’s practice background is within the advertising and communications industry. Peter has worked for a range of social issue causes and retail corporate clients as both an art director and creative strategist. It is these skills that Peter brings into Indigenous Nation Building projects. Peter states, ‘that by working with key members of the Wiradjuri nation we are aiming to support and create moments for Wiradjuri people to gather, reconnect and talk about their Nation Building journey’.

Bec Nally

Bec grew up in Tasmania and has lived in Melbourne for the past 16 years. Bec graduated from RMIT Communication Design with Honours 12 years ago and has since practiced as a Communication Designer with experience in place making, identity development, project management, strategy and copywriting. Bec loves project work and uses her mix of communication design skills to help develop human-centred narratives and design outcomes. Bec also lectures sessionally at RMIT in Communication Design.