Leah Dolby
Leah comes from the Nyul Nyul people in Broome, Western Australia. She has five children and a beautiful granddaughter name Lalahni. Leah is the coordinator of Marnya Jarndu Women's Outreach Services and in 2005, Leah was one of the Kullarni NAIDOC Award recipients for her hard work, commitment and dedication in her position with the Marnya Jarndu women's outreach service. She has been involved with the Refuge for over a decade. Leah is actively involved in her community and she works tirelessly to support women and family issues. Some of the key areas that Leah has experience in includes: family/domestic violence, women support groups, child sexual abuse, counselling, mediation, education, re-entry programs, court support, advocacy, community programs and strong families groups. As a coach in the 2005/2006 IWLP, Leah sees her community role expanding through the challenges and opportunities she will face as a coach. She believes the program and being a coach will encourage her to overcome barriers and assist in empowering herself and others from her community. Leah wants to move forward to empower Aboriginal families by strengthening and empowering women in their communities. Leah believes the key to assisting women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is to set up strong leadership and support networks within women's areas and communities.
Andrea Mason
Andrea grew up in Kalgoorlie, WA. Prior to commencing high school, she moved with her family to Adelaide, where she has lived for the past twenty five years. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Affairs and Public Administration in 1988, she joined the South Australian Public Service. Andrea has worked in areas with a strong emphasis of advancing social justice outcomes for Aboriginal people, such as housing and employment. To develop a greater capacity as a community advocate, Andrea undertook and completed a Degree in Law in 2002. Since 2002 and prior to commencing in the Women's Leadership Program, Andrea worked for a Member of Parliament in the South Australian Parliament. Andrea was a member of the 1998 Adelaide Commonwealth Games Bid Committee and was the first Indigenous person to lead a political party. She represented South Australia at the U/21 level in netball and was a member of the Australian Netball Squad. Andrea says one of her key strengths is leadership development whether the setting is formal or informal as it gives her the opportunity to apply her big picture thinking together with imparting wisdom, gained through experiencing life's ups and downs.
Grace Bond
Grace was born and raised on Cherbourg Aboriginal Community in Queensland but now resides in Brisbane. Grace has more than 13 years experience working in a leadership position in the field of family violence and child protection. Her work experience has assisted in promoting her passion which is social justice issues. Grace is immensely motivated and would relish the opportunity to share her experience, networks and knowledge she has acquired with her Indigenous and non-Indigenous sisters across Australia. Grace strongly believes through sharing knowledge and networking, Indigenous women's leadership will become a prominent force capable of meeting the demands and expectations which constantly arise to challenge us.
Llewellyn Williams
Llewellyn grew up in Gladstone, QLD and after her schooling moved to Sydney, NSW to attend the University of Sydney. In 2002 Llewellyn received a Batchelor of Health Science (Aboriginal Health and Community Development) Hons. She was employed as an Aboriginal Health Promotion Officer at the Bankstown Community Health Service and continued her health work experience as the Strengthening Families and Communities, Project Officer for the Aboriginal Health Unit, South Western Sydney Area Health Service. In her spare time Llewellyn worked with another young woman to develop, coordinate and facilitate the Bankstown Youth Forum 2003. The purpose of the forum was to get young people together to meet each other, have fun and to discuss their needs. An interest in preserving and recording oral histories through film documentaries Llewellyn continued her studies and obtained a Masters of Media Arts and Production. In 2004 she moved to Canberra to participate in the ATSIC/ATSIS Graduate Program. This was the beginning of her Australian Public Service career. She currently works in the Leadership Development Group working in areas around Indigenous Leadership policy and is responsible for the Young Indigenous Women's Leadership component of our work. She developed and coordinated the 2005 National Indigenous Youth Conference for young women. Another one of her interests is Business Enterprise and in her spare time she is currently working to start a business within a partnership. As a coach Llewellyn will share her skills and experiences with the leaders and looks forward to learning and working with them. Llewellyn will provide advice, support and encouragement to help the leaders achieve their visions and goals. She will motivate the leaders to believe in themselves and encourage them to never lose sight of their dreams and visions.
Delicia Ware
Born in Dampier and raise in Karratha, North-West WA, Delicia Ware now lives and works in St Paul's community in Moa Island, Torres Straits. Delicia is of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. Prior to working for OIPC, Delicia was employed by St Paul's Island Council as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. She has worked in areas within local government, education and Indigenous aged care. Delicia has worked as a counsellor through Lifeline and was a member of the combined Volunteer Emergency Services Group (Rural Fire Rescue, Volunteer Marine Rescue and State Emergency Services). Delicia is currently studying a Batchelor of Arts in Community Management and Adult Education at the University of Technology in Sydney. Once completed, Delicia plans to undertake further studies for her Masters of Management. Delicia has a Diploma of Business and has studied Business Administration, Office Administration, Workplace Training and Information Technology. Delicia intends to pass her skills and knowledge gained from working as a coach back to her own community. Delicia is interested in Indigenous policy, education, training and employment. She sees herself as a good listener and support person. One of Delicia's strengths is her positive thinking. She loves new challenges, music, dancing and being with families and friends. As a coach, Delicia plans on supporting and motivating the leaders in their goals through encouragement. She would like to provide them with on-going support, open communication and encourage their own thinking on issues. She believes that no matter who we are and where we are from, we all have something to contribute and learn. Delicia looks forward to working with this years Leaders who are already successful leaders and strong women within their own communities.
Sandra Levers
Sandra Levers is from the Kuranda and Cairns areas of Far North Queensland. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree from James Cook University and is currently taking time out from doing her Masters in Indigenous Australian Studies. She has had extensive experience facilitating cultural awareness workshops around Queensland and in the Northern Territory for various government departments and private companies. Sandra has worked in Cairns, Alice Springs and in the Cape York area, in the public and private sectors and in Aboriginal organisations. Among her many other experiences she has worked in women's issues and has taught at tertiary level. As an educator, Sandra believes that everyone has something to offer to the world and that each of us may learn from each other. As a coach, she will encourage positive thinking and self confidence in others as she believes that many women underestimate their own abilities to achieve. Sandra also believes that women's experiences, trials, hardships and stress can often be a catalyst to self growth and achievement.