Meet the Board

Mr Mick Gooda

Mick’s people are the Ghungalu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. He has spent the last 30 years advocating for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

He was appointed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner in February 2010 and held that position until September 2016, when he was appointed Co-Commissioner on the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.

Mick has undertaken work a wide range of roles such as the CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, Native Title Consultant with the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ATSIC.

Mick has chaired the Queensland Stolen Wages Reparation Taskforce, the National Centre of Indigenous Genomics and was a member of the Expert Panel and the Referendum Council which were convened to advise the Federal Government on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian constitution.

Mick was also co-chair of the Queensland First Children and Families Board which is tasked with overseeing reforms to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system, and First Nations Housing Advisor to the Queensland Government.

Mr Aaron Fa’Aoso

Aaron Fa’Aoso is a descendant of the Saibai region in the Torres Strait.

Aaron is the Executive Director of his production company, Lone Star Production Group. He is an accomplished actor featuring in many Australian feature films and documentaries. He has led an illustrious career as a screenwriter, director and producer, which has resulted in many awards and nominations including the Cannes Film Festival and the Sheffield Film Festival.

Aaron is a Board Member at SBS, Screen Queensland and Supply Nation, and on the Advisory Committee for National Film and Sound Archive.

He is passionate and strongly committed to bringing the stories of the Torres Strait and Cape York communities to a wider audience and to creating better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Dr Bianca Beetson

Dr Bianca Beetson is a Kabi Kabi and Wiradjuri woman and has been a practising artist for over 29 years.

In 2018, Bianca was awarded a Doctor of Visual Art from the QLD College of Art, Griffith University.

Bianca is a former member of the seminal Aboriginal artists collectives Campfire group and Proppanow. She also has a background in curation and collaborative arts practice and has won awards for the guest curation of the ‘Myall Creek and Beyond’.

Bianca has lectured and directed the Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art degree at the Qld College of Art, Griffith University and is currently the Director of Indigenous Research Unit at the same institution.

Her current board and advisory group memberships include the board of trustees of the QLD Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art and its Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderAdvisory Panel; NAVA; Digi Youth Arts; Arts QLD, First Nations Arts and Cultures Advisory Panel.

She has mentored and supported many generations of young and emerging artists, not only as an educator but through her practice and passion for cultural sharing.

Ms Natalie Siegel-Brown

Natalie Siegel-Brown is the Commissioner specialising in Social Policy at the Australian Productivity Commission, currently leading major reviews of Australia's educational reforms, and the progress Australia has made under the national Closing the Gap agreement.

Natalie has unique experience leading organisations in all three sectors – government, NGO and private.

Her diverse background has been singularly driven by a passion to make the world a better place. Natalie began life as a lawyer where she worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in domestic and family violence, and crime prevention. This subsequently led to a career at the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Over the last decade, Natalie has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from Cape York to the Kimberley.

Ms Seleena Blackley

Seleena Blackley is a young Kalkutungu and Moa Island woman.

Seleena was a participant in the Queensland Indigenous Youth Leadership Program in 2022, and currently works as a Youth Specialist for 54 Reasons in Mount Isa. Seleena is a senior cultural facilitator for her family’s Kalkutungu cultural business, Malkarri Cultural Centre. She is also a member of the Aboriginal & Islander Development Recreational Women's Association, which advocates for the rights of women and their families impacted by domestic and family violence.

Seleena is due to commence a Bachelor of Indigenous Governance and Policy in 2023.

Ms Cheryl Buchanan

Cheryl Buchanan is a proud Guwamu woman from southwest Queensland. She is a renowned publisher, playwright, author, speaker, director, teacher, lecturer and traditional dancer.

Spanning more than five decades, Cheryl has played an integral role in driving social change for her people—both at state and national levels. To this day, she remains a vocal political activist and passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Cheryl was a former Treaty Working Group member that led the initial conversations around the State on Queensland’s Path to Treaty, in 2020.

She has extensive experience in cultural advocacy and is a founder of well-known community organisations including the Aboriginal Legal, Medical Services and Childcare Centre in Brisbane, Black Community School, and Black Resource Centre, as well as being the first Aboriginal publisher (Murrie Coo-ee).

She has also served as the first Aboriginal Commissioner with Queensland Corrective Services, and as Chair of the Queensland and National Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committees. As a founding member of the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations, Cheryl is currently a Director, and is also a Director of Queensland Murray-Darling Catchments Limited.

Cheryl is currently a member of the State Library Board and an executive member of the Indigenous Peoples Organisation and was selected to attend COP27 in Egypt.

Ms Sallyanne Atkinson AO

Sallyanne Atkinson was the first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, and the only woman to have held the position.

Sallyanne is the Elected Member of the University Queensland Senate, Member of the Queensland University of Technology Indigenous Chair in Creative Industries, Chairperson of the Museum of Brisbane, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, and has been President of the Council of The Women's College at the University of Queensland.

Sallyanne was a member of the Treaty Advancement Committee, responsible for the report to government.

Emeritus Professor The Hon Michael Lavarch AO

Michael Lavarch is a proud Queenslander, who has spent his life serving his community.

He completed his Law degree in 1984, before being elected to the House of Representatives as the member for Fisher in 1987, and for Dickson in 1993.

In his role as the Attorney-General in the Keating Government from 1993 to 1996, Michael worked to establish the National Native Title Tribunal and conducted negotiations with State and Territory governments for the implementation of the Native Title Act. He also initiated a wide range of law reform, including the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

Michael has maintained strong links to the legal profession and is an Emeritus Professor of Law at the Queensland University of Technology. He has served as a board member in the finance, energy, and not-for-profit sectors and has conducted numerous reviews for government.

Ms Marg O’Donnell AO

Marg O’Donnell is a proud Queenslander with extensive board and public service experience.

Marg was the Director-General of three state government departments in Queensland: Aboriginal Affairs, Equity and Fair Trading, and the Arts.

She is currently a mentor to senior executives and a member of the Advisory Board to Professor Wesley Enoch, Indigenous Chair in the Creative Industries at the Queensland University of Technology.

She has previously held roles as Chair of Legal Aid Queensland, the Griffith University Law School Visiting Committee, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Marg was also the former Chair of the Board of the National Breast Cancer Network of Australia and SANE Australia, and a member of the Playing Australia Committee.

Mr Ray Rosendale CSM

Ray Rosendale is a Kuku Yalanji man of the Western Sunset People. He is also proud of his Danish and English heritage.

Ray has enjoyed a long and decorated career in the military, including as the first cultural advisor appointed to a service chief and as a mentor assisting disadvantaged youth prepare for a career in the Australian Defence Force.

Ray has worked as a case manager at Anglicare and currently works as a Community Services Officer with Cairns Regional Council.

He strives to support others and make First Peoples advancement and self-determination a priority for Queensland. He works closely with the community to resolve concerns, issues, and problems they may be experiencing, particularly across North Queensland. in the region. Ray has a degree in human services and an honours degree in social work and is currently the only male Aboriginal veteran social worker in Queensland.