HEALTHY COUNTRY AI - Key Persons
Dante is based in the Darwin office and has come on board to work as a Technical Officer assisting with communications and marketing plus on-ground fieldwork. Dante has worked for the Department of Attorney General and Justice and Department of Territory Families, Housing, and Communities in the NT Government as a finance officer and caseworker. Dante has gained experience in content development, videography, and managing social media and marketing as a professional athlete, personal trainer, and world championship junior Olympic medallist. He looks forward to using this experience and knowledge to help achieve NAILSMA's communication and marketing objectives.
Dante is currently working on the Smart Farms project on Normanby Station, QLD, and has enjoyed learning new things and traveling. Dante looks forward to expanding his knowledge the more he travels for work.
Job Titles:
- Research Manager
- Research Scientist
Dr Justin Perry is a research scientist based in Northern Queensland, Australia with 15 years' experience working with CSIRO on a wide range of projects. Justin has been involved with practical land management and adaptive management of threats to Australia's unique natural values for over 20 years. He is currently leading several projects that are working closely with end users to manage feral animals, weeds and fire on vast remote Indigenous estates in northern Australia. Justin's research focus has been on leveraging emerging technologies to overcome some of the inherent challenges faced by land managers in remote difficult to access areas.
"For the past 15 years I have been conducting research with land mangers across northern Australia into the key threatening processes for environmental, social and cultural values. I am very excited to be an a position where I can focus on working side by side with NAILSMA's partners to convert research into useful outcomes on the ground."
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Communications and Strategy Specialist
- NAILSMA 's Chief Operating Officer
Erica McCreedy is NAILSMA's Chief Operating Officer, tasked with overseeing the day to day administration and operational functions of the organisation, including working closely with our management team to deliver NAILSMA's 2030 10 year Strategic Plan.
Erica is a Māori woman from Ngāti Raukawa and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti tribes from Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Erica is a communications and strategy specialist, with 15 years experience working with Indigenous land and sea managers across Australia, and internationally.
Erica takes a community-led project management approach. She recently led the development of NAILSMA's monitoring and evaluation framework to track how NAILSMA creates positive and sustainable impacts with Indigenous communities and partners, now and into the future. She has extensive experience facilitating and delivering on-ground training workshops and technical support to Indigenous rangers and communities with a particular focus on culturally led education, training, and communications.
Erica joined NAILSMA in 2011 as an I-Tracker Project Officer, leading the development of the land patrol application to support Indigenous land managers to collect information about their country and their land management efforts. She has developed monitoring and evaluation systems, business on country plans and education and training programs during her time at NAILSMA.
She has founded a successful consulting business and business mentoring company supporting women of culture to create and grow culturally aligned businesses.
She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Indigenous Knowledge Systems at Charles Darwin University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies and Media Communications from Southern Cross University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Guy Fitzhardinge has extensive land management, business and philanthropic experience.
Guy was brought up in the bush on a sheep and cattle property at Mandurama in central NSW. His qualifications include a Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Economics, a Master's Degree in Applied Science and a Doctorate of Philosophy looking at the relationship between people and landscape. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In addition to managing his own pastoral enterprise, he is a governor of WWF Australia and previously founding Chair of Karrkad Kanjdji Trust which was established to support the aspirations of the traditional owners of the Djelk IPA and the Warddeken IPA (in west Arnhem Land) in land management and cultural preservation. He has previously been a director of Bush Heritage Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia, the Meat Research Corporation and Chairman of the Beef Genetics Cooperative Research Centre.
Guy has been instrumental in the progress of Bush Heritage Australia from becoming a small conservation organisation with seven staff to one of the major conservation organisations in Australia with over thirty reserves and a staff of over seventy. Appointed for three years to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, he remained on the committee for twelve years providing advice and guidance from a community perspective on the listing of threatened species and communities under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Guy is experienced in governance, board functions and responsibilities, and the roles and duties of directors. He has been a Ministerial appointment to a Quality Assurance Group for Caring for Our Country for the last four years, reporting to the Minister on the credibility of process in the program management.
Guy is committed to supporting the aspirations of indigenous people across Australia, and in the north in particular, who want to live on and care for their land and sea country where their traditional knowledge and wisdom is equally valued with Western knowledge.
Janely is NAILSMA's longest-serving employee starting with us from the beginning pre-2001!
Janely Seah has been working in the finance team at NAILSMA when it was incorporated in 2012 and hosted by CDU. Janely has spent most of her early career in the accounting industry. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and currently is a member of Institute of Public Accountants (MIPA).
She works with the Chief Operating Officer and senior management to develop the annual operating budget for review and approval by the board of directors. She also prepares monthly financial reports and analysis, and contributes to the maintenance of an accurate, up-to-date general ledger.
There are a number of things she enjoys while working here, such as problem-solving, providing timely and relevant analyses, and working as a team to grow the company.
We are excited to announce Joyce joins us as the first remote project officer we've had in a very long time. Joyce has lived all her life in Maningrida with lots of family there as well. She has a lot of knowledge as well as cultural ties to her homeland. Being a Dalabon woman she is passionate about the work and progress being done in Maningrida. Joyce speaks multiple languages.
Joyce will be working along the learning on country program in Maningrida and has a lot of knowledge around this area living, working and growing up on country. Joyce was a Ranger under the Djelk Ranger group in Maningrida as well as working with the learning on country program with Northern Land Council.
Before being employed as a ranger, Joyce was a Health Practitioner for 30 years in Maningrida!
Joyce loves her country and working on it and we are very excited to be welcoming her to the NAILSMA Team
Co-Founder Kalan Civil: Civil Construction Company with a key focus on indigenous people contributing to development opportunities on Cape York, Up skilling and developing local Indigenous operators and providing opportunities for local Indigenous contractors within our region.
Originally from Cooktown, Kelsey joins us from Normanby Land Management in South Cape York Queensland, where she was working as a partner with NAILSMA on various projects for the last few years.
Kelsey previously worked as a ranger at Normanby Station, this gave Kelsey a knowledge of land management and gave her the experience to be out on country. Whilst working out on country, Kelsey completed a Certificate 3 in Business Administration and Customer Service, Kelsey is hoping to use this qualification in her role as a Project Officer.
Kelsey is excited about learning new things and hopes during her time here she can achieve this outcome and fulfil her role in the NAILSMA team.
Following almost 2 years in NAILSMA's Administration Team in the Darwin office, Melina now works as a Project Coordinator. She has a strong business administration background across the public and private sector and looks forward to being part of a Project Team working with partners to successfully deliver projects across Northern Australia.
Melina is based in Darwin and has worked in administrative and executive support roles across both the public and private sectors. Early on Melina worked in Darwin with the Department of the Chief Minister and in Secretariat roles within the NT Government. She spent 7 years in Alice Springs working with Tourism NT and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.
From 2010, she and her brother ran a business together allowing her to work successfully with all levels of enterprise at a domestic and international level. In 2019, after spending time in WA and NSW, Melina returned to Darwin to be closer to family.
'I'm grateful to work in a team of genuine individuals who are experts in their field and endeavor to positively contribute to the important work we carry out.'
Mr Barry Hunter joins the NAILSMA team as the Executive Carbon Manager. Barry will be leading NAILSMA's Carbon Portfolio, as well as working closely with our management team to deliver NAILSMA's 10 year Strategic Plan.
Barry is a descendant from the Djabugay speaking people of Cairns hinterland. He grew up besides the Barron River in the rainforest near Kuranda.
Barry's experience includes employment in Government conservation agencies, mining and exploration industry, community and not-for-profit NGO's, and recently as a consultant working around Aboriginal Land management, Carbon Industry and community economic development. With over 30 years experience in Aboriginal affairs particular in areas of land, natural and cultural resource management.
Barry has a Bachelor of Applied Science from Charles Sturt University and has a keen interest in the work community rangers do in looking after land, fire management and cultural heritage. Also having a real passion building community capacity and planning that deliver sustainable social, cultural and economic outcomes within our communities.
He is the Chairperson of the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, on the board of Terrain NRM, and the Chairperson of Woongal Environmental services Company
Barry has run a successful consulting business for 10 years, working in areas including Indigenous economic, community and social development, Indigenous land management and cultural heritage, reviews of government funded programs. Most recently Barry has been the acting CEO of Djabugay Aboriginal `Corporations in Kuranda.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Peter is a Yawuru Man from Broome with over 35 years' experience in Indigenous development and advocacy in the Kimberley and at the state, national and international level. Peter is currently Chief Executive Officer of Nyamba Buru Yawuru Ltd.
He has been an advocate for the social, cultural and economic advancement and wellbeing of Aboriginal communities and has been instrumental in the development of many community-based regional organisations. Peter was Executive Director of the Kimberley Land Council during the 1990s and had a national leadership role negotiating the Australian nation's response to the High Court's 1992 Mabo decision.
He was a key negotiator on behalf of the Yawuru Native Title Holders with the WA State Government and Shire of Broome in the 2010 Yawuru native title agreement. Peter sits on a number of boards including Australian National University Council, Chair of the Indigenous Reference Group advising the Ministerial Council for Northern Development, Deputy of AFL ATSI Advisory Council and Deputy Chair of Broome Futures Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator
- Technical Officer
Raphael Clarke has joined the NAILSMA team as a Technical Officer, working across various projects in north Australia. Raph is born and raised in Darwin and comes from a large Territory family with cultural connections to Marri Amu, Marri Tjevin, and Larrakia. He has a diverse professional background as a qualified Carpenter, professional footballer, and small business owner. He is passionate about caring for country and has a strong rapport with Indigenous communities and organisations he works with.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer of the North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance
Ricky Archer is a Djungan man from the Western Tablelands region of North Qld.
Ricky has a strong network of on ground land and sea managers across northern Australia from which to draw from and has demonstrated an ability to connect on-ground work of Indigenous organisations with regional, state and commonwealth priorities.
In his current role, Ricky is the Chief Executive Officer of the North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA). He is involved with numerous organisations and committees enabling strategic input across a diverse field, these include;
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Northern Land Counci