BOARD
Shane Charles
Shane is born and bred from Shepparton; a strong Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung man. He is a highly experienced and inspirational Aboriginal leader with a strong track record across a range of sectors including education and training, justice, and cultural heritage within both Aboriginal and mainstream organisations. Mr Charles said he was a passionate advocate for reconciliation who enjoys sharing cultural knowledge to make a difference.
Michelle Isles
Michelle was born in Naarm and has family in regional Victoria, Western Australia, Indonesia and Europe. She is the mother of two under four. Michelle is trained in journalism, economics, sustainability, cross cultural communications and law, applied over 15 years to restore our natural environments and stand up for human rights. Michelle is a Director of Collaborative Philanthropy, Sustainable Housing and a city government leader. Michelle credits time spent learning with Aboriginal leaders as pivotal to reimagining a just, equitable and thriving way of living on country.
Keith Gove
Keith has been a member of his local reconciliation group for 18 years, 17 of which he has been President. He was elected to the Reconciliation Victoria Council in 2006 and served as Co-Chair from 2008 until 2016. He sees that reconciliation has two major outcomes: one is to overcome the unacceptable disadvantage that Aboriginal people experience due to the arrival of Europeans to the land now called Australia. The second is for non-Aboriginal Australians to embrace, recognise and value Aboriginal culture, identity and history; to build it into a new Australian identity. This respect and recognition will strengthen Aboriginal people and communities.
Bob Williams
Bob is a full time accountant and managing director with Yarn Strong Sista.
Dean Duncan
A proud Kamilaroi man.
Dean is Executive Director of Education at Victorian Aboriginal CommunityControlled Health Organisation (VACCHO). Dean oversees all Education and Training needs for the organisation and its members across Victoria. After a career in the military and returning to Australia, Dean turned his direction towards his passion for education and youth within our communities. Having been a teacher and senior lecturer for over 17+ years, Dean has been able to support many in our communities to achieve their own personal goals of becoming teachers/educators. Dean has also been a national Manager for Diversity and Inclusion for two not-for-profit organisations, which enabled him to connect and work positively with many communities across the nation. This is where his informed direction for reconciliation was most evident when creating long lasting working relationships with Traditional Owners and custodians and the community as a whole. Dean is very active in our communities and still sits on a number of sporting boards and advisory group's at the national level. Much of Dean's work with communities across the whole of the country was recognised with the 2019 National NAIDOC Week Person of the Year Award, which was presented at the national ball in Canberra.
Aislinn Martin
Aislinn has a BA (Hons) in Anthropology andAboriginal Studies, an Executive MBA and a Certificate IV in BusinessGovernance. She has 17 years’ experience working in the NGO and government sectors including a short term role as Administration Officer at ReconciliationVictoria in the early 2000s. She was Executive Officer of Tarwirri, the Indigenous Law Students and Lawyers Association of Victoria for six years and more recently, worked for the Royal Australian College of GeneralPractitioner's (RACGP)National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Health and as a Manager in the Dept of Justice and Regulation's KooriJustice Unit. Her areas of expertise include community development, social justice, inclusion, administration and family violence. Aislinn believes her reconciliation journey is ongoing and based on respect, continuous learning and a commitment to addressing racism and inequality. She contributed to the 'Racism. It stops with me' campaign and the 'Close the Gap' campaign whilst working for the RACGP, and also assisted in
the development of Reconciliation Action Plans for several of Melbourne's large law firms.
Andrew Gunstone
Professor Andrew Gunstone is Executive Director – ReconciliationStrategy and Leadership, Executive Director – Moondani Toombadool Centre, andProfessor of Indigenous Studies at Swinburne University. Andrew has awhole-of-institution responsibility for reconciliation, the ReconciliationAction Plan (RAP), and Indigenous matters. Andrew led the development ofSwinburne's 2017-19 RAP, which is the first university RAP in Australia to beendorsed as an Elevate RAP. Andrew’s research expertise is in the areas ofreconciliation, stolen wages, reparative justice and Indigenous publicpolicies. He has written over 130 publications, including eight books, on theseareas. Andrew regularly advises community groups, corporates, universities, andgovernment, on reconciliation matters. Andrew is also the Foundation Editor oftheJournal of Australian IndigenousIssuesand the Convenor of the2018 National Reconciliation ActionPlan Conference. Based on his experiences and research,Andrewargues that reconciliation requires several interrelated elements, including:recognising Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous rights; addressing individualand institutional racism; acknowledging history; implementing reparativejustice; and improving relationships.
Tom Cazaly
Tom is a proud Noongar man andschool leader with the Victorian Department of Education. Originally fromcountry Victoria, Tom gained undergraduate and post-graduate qualifications inPolitics and Education at the University of Melbourne prior to embarking on acareer in the education and political arenas. Tom has worked as a politicaladvisor and campaign manager in both Federal and State Election contexts, aswell as providing specialist advice on the growth and recruitment of members toa major political party. Outside of politics, Tom has worked in a number ofschools as both a classroom teacher and school leader, including time spent inWestern Australia and the United Kingdom. Tom is passionate about workingalongside Koori students to achieve the highest standard of education possibleand to provide a learning environment that allows each student the opportunityto work towards their individual goals. Tom is humbled to have been appointedto the board of Reconciliation Victoria and looks forward to making acontribution to the strategic direction of the organisation.
Jay Longworth
Jay Longworth is a fundraising and philanthropyexecutive with 10 years’ experience working in the non-profit and educationsectors. Jay is an Associate Director of Advancement at the University ofMelbourne and serves as the Co-Chair on the University’s MelbourneReconciliation Network Committee. In Jay’s current and previous roles,including as Head of Philanthropy at World Vision, a key part of the portfoliohas focused on raising funds for a range of Indigenous programs. Jay isfiercely driven to deliver results for Reconciliation Victoria, spurred by apassion for philanthropy and its employment to achieve equitable outcomes injustice, health and education for Indigenous peoples.
STAFF
Diana David
Lisa Moloney
Otis Heffernan-Wooden
VOLUNTEERS
We rely strongly on the support of our amazing volunteers who assist us in a range of roles across the organisation.
If you would like to speak to us about volunteering opportunities please email us, and include a bit about yourself, your areas of interest and skills/experience.