Mrs May L O’Brien BEM (Co-Chair)
May O’Brien was born in Patricia, Western Australia. She is a Wongatha person and at six years of age was placed at Mt Margaret Mission. May worked for twenty-two years as a teacher and fourteen years in senior positions in the West Australian Education Department. Although May is now retired she continues in her role as an Education Ambassador for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Mr Gregory Phillips (Co-Chair)
Gregory Phillips is a Waanyi and Jaru man. A medical anthropologist by training, Greg has a research Masters degree in Medical Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Studies and Government, both from the University of Queensland. Greg has worked in community healing, health, leadership, youth and advocacy projects for many years, both Australia-wide and internationally.
Ms Barbra Asplet
Barbra Asplet, a Gumilaroi woman originally from Burra Bee Dee Mission Coonabarabran in New South Wales, is a member of the Stolen Generations and has been actively involved in Aboriginal affairs, politics, healing and spirituality over the past forty years. Barbra set up the Aboriginal Home Care Service of NSW and is the Founder and Coordinator of the Aboriginal Women’s Healing House in Picton.
Mr Bradley Brown
Bradley Brown is a proud Gunditjmara man and is married with six children and four grandchildren. He grew up in Melbourne and has always been close to its Aboriginal community. His main employment and knowledge base is in Aboriginal health and he worked for 22 years in the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. He was also Chief Executive Officer of Stolen Generations Victoria. Brad stepped down from the Team immediately prior to the publication of this report due to personal reasons.
Mr Brian Butler
Brian Butler is an Aranda man. He is currently the Aboriginal Advocate for South Australia in the Aged Rights Advocacy Service. He is a member of the Stolen Generations and is a lifelong advocate for the human rights of Aboriginal people. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care and the South Australian Aboriginal Housing Board. He was also Zone Commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission for South Australia.
Mr David Cole
David Cole is the Founder and Director of the Balunu Foundation in Darwin, which works with young, at-risk Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to give them a sense of purpose and pride. Balunu uses a holistic approach to help youth to reconnect with their true identity and deal with the underlying issues they face and equips them with the necessary tools to make strong choices.
Ms Debra Hocking
Debra Hocking is from Tasmania and is a member of the Stolen Generations and descendant of the Mouheneener people. She is a recipient of the United Nations Award for the International Year of the Culture of Peace and the Human Rights Award for Humanitarian Activities in Tasmania. Debra holds a Masters degree in Indigenous Health and is currently the Indigenous Co-Chair of the Stolen Generations Alliance.
Professor Helen Milroy
Helen Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. She studied medicine at the University of Western Australia and worked as a general practitioner and consultant in childhood sexual abuse at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. Helen currently works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and is Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health at the University of Western Australia.
Ms Noritta Morseu-Diop
Noritta Morseu-Diop is originally from Thursday Island, with her ancestral heritage from Erub, Mer, Iama and Ugar Islands in the Torres Strait. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. She is a respected social worker and has worked in the areas of grief and loss, holistic health and healing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Queensland criminal justice system.