2026 National First Nations Elder's Wellbeing Conference

Joedie Saunders a local Biripi woman and artist, has been creating contemporary Aboriginal art for over 30 years. Her artworks deeply reflect her culture, stories of her country, and a range of emotions and feelings. Joedie is passionate about sharing her art and loves seeing the connections others make with her creations.

As a proud Biripi woman, she draw strength from her roots – a lineage of resilient mountain women, the Wimara, known for their strength and wisdom. Joedie worked tirelessly in juvenile justice and child protection, confronting the harsh realities of sexual abuse in remote communities.Transitioning into cultural heritage conservation, she spent years advocating for our land and traditions, eventually becoming the first woman CEO of the Land Council in Taree. Currently, she works as Manager of Community Engagement & Investment at the Department of Premier & Cabinet and felt privileged to continue the work of her late brother, advocating for the revival and preservation of Aboriginal languages statewide. It's a tribute to his legacy and our shared dream of cultural preservation. Joedie stated, 'In everything I do, I pay homage to my family, my community, our culture, and our land. Together, let's walk forward, honoring the past and shaping a brighter future'. Joedie is a mother of two beautiful boys.

Aunty Dr Mary Graham is a respected Kombumerri and Wakka Wakka Elder, philosopher, and educator who has dedicated her life to advancing Aboriginal knowledge systems and community development. She has worked extensively in government, academia, and the community sector, and is well known for her teachings on Aboriginal history, politics, and philosophy at the University of Queensland. Her work emphasises Indigenous ways of knowing, particularly the principle that land is a living entity which shapes law, ethics, and relationships.

She has served as a Commissioner for Queensland Corrective Services, a Regional Councillor for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and was a founding member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Aunty Mary has also contributed to cultural competency training through The BlackCard and produced creative works including documentaries and scripts. Recognised with an Honorary Doctorate from QUT, she continues to influence students, policymakers, and communities by sharing Aboriginal philosophies that provide profound insights into social justice, governance, and environmental sustainability.

Dr Tiffany McComsey is CEO of Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, a Survivor-led organisation supporting Stolen Generations Survivors, their descendants and families. With two decades of research and community work across Aboriginal communities in Sydney, Tiffany holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and sits on the Indigenous Issues Committee of the NSW Law Society.

Harpreet Kalsi-Smith brings over 20 years working with First Nations communities, including Stolen Generations Survivors, across health, healing and social justice. A trauma-responsive practitioner specialising in serious illness and end of life, she is a nationally recognised palliative care consumer advocate, Board Director of Compassionate Communities Australia, and founder of The Kindness Company.

Isabelle Meyer joined Dementia Training Australia as Executive Director in February 2023. Isabelle has extensive experience as a Senior Executive managing service delivery in Health and Education sectors. Among Isabelle's transition and service reform initiatives are Emergency Patient Transport, Indigenous Health, Palliative and Residential Care, NDIS, and Community Aged Care. Former roles include Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, NSW Health; CEO, Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries NSW; Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor, and Director of Social Policy, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Isabelle strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia and the staff who support them.

Cassara is a proud Dunghutti woman from Northern New South Wales, born and raised on Dharug Country in Western Sydney. Cassara's role within NATSIAACC is Director of Operations. Cassara brings over eight years’ experience across the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, spanning frontline service delivery within an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and strategic leadership within a state peak body. Over the past two years, she has worked at the national peak level focused specifically on ageing and aged care reform, contributing to policy development, sector advocacy, governance strengthening, and national stakeholder engagement. Cassara's work centres on advancing culturally safe, community-controlled models of care for Elders and Older People, strengthening the sustainability and capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Providers, and influencing system reform to ensure the voices of communities are reflected in national policy settings. Cassara is particularly committed to building career pathways and leadership opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, recognising workforce development as fundamental to improving long-term health and wellbeing outcomes for communities.

Uncle James Morrison is one of the Aboriginal men who survived the Kinchela Boys Home in Kempsey, New South Wales, an institution that operated from 1924 to 1970 and was notorious for forcibly removing Aboriginal boys from their families. Like many survivors, Uncle James endured harsh conditions, cultural disconnection, and systemic abuse, experiences that profoundly shaped his life and identity. Despite these challenges, he has remained committed to sharing his story as part of the broader truth-telling movement in Australia, ensuring that the realities of the Stolen Generations are acknowledged and remembered.

Today, Uncle James Morrison is actively involved with the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation (KBHAC), which is dedicated to supporting survivors and their descendants. Through KBHAC, he contributes to healing initiatives, community education, and advocacy for culturally safe practices in health and aged care. His testimony helps transform the former site of trauma into a place of remembrance and healing, reinforcing the importance of truth-telling in reconciliation. Uncle James’s life stands as a testament to resilience, cultural strength, and the ongoing fight for justice and recognition for Aboriginal peoples.

Vanessa Langenberg Research and Community Impact Team Lead, from the national not-for-profit Independent Living Assessment (iLA). Vanessa leads iLA’s work with unique communities, drawing on expertise in assistive technology (AT) and reablement, inclusive research and communications. She is passionate about collaborating with these communities to rethink and improve mainstream programs, ensuring benefits are returned. Vanessa’s national research with older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, received the Assistive Technology Service Award 2024 from Australian Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Association (ARATA)

Professor Shane Hearn is a direct descendant of the Whadjuk, Ballardong, Noongar people, and is the Associate Dean, First Nations Health, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University. Shane is a highly experienced leader in First Nations health, education, and community engagement. He brings over 25 years of expertise in designing, implementing, and evaluating culturally safe programs, research initiatives, and policy frameworks across health, education, and not-for-profit sectors, with a focus on co-designed, inclusive approaches. Shane has led national-level campaigns, developed strategies for First Nations participation, and successfully guided multi-sector collaborations to deliver measurable outcomes for diverse communities.

Professor Marcia Langton AO, FASSA, AFTSE, is a Yiman and Bidjara woman from Queensland. She is an anthropologist and geographer, and currently serves as the Associate Provost, Melbourne Laureate Professor, Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, and Director of the Indigenous Studies Unit at Onemda, within the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. 

A highly published scholar and public intellectual, Professor Langton continues to shape policy and public discourse across a wide range of areas, including Indigenous health, domestic and family violence, and Indigenous data sovereignty.

An acclaimed author and editor, her recent publications include Welcome to Country: A Guide to Indigenous Australia(2021); Law: The Way of the Ancestors (2023, with Professor Aaron Corn); Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne – Volume 1: Truth (2024), and Volume 2: Voice (2025); 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art (2024, co-edited with Judith Ryan AM); and Indigenous Knowledge: Australian Perspectives (2024, co-edited with Professor Aaron Corn and Dr Samuel Curkpatrick). 

Professor Langton brings a deeply informed and generous perspective to this event, grounded in decades of cultural, academic, and community leadership.

Maria Callaghan is a nurse-midwife and a proud descendant of the Bol-anon tribe from her mother’s side and the mountain-dwelling Higaonon tribe from her father’s heritage. She completed her Australian Migration Law degree at Australian Catholic University. With over three centuries of Spanish rule and occupation of the Philippines, Maria knows too well the long-term effect of colonization the most devastating consequences for her people were the loss of cultural identity as her ancestors were chronically stripped of their unique traditions and languages from forced assimilation, coercion into adopting Spanish culture, Catholicism and cultural suppression that led to significant disconnect with their ancestral roots. The encomienda system, which granted Spanish colonizers control over Indigenous labour subjected her ancestors to brutal working conditions often without fair compensation and exploited their country's resources which continues to shape the social, economic, and cultural dynamics of the Philippines today. Maria has more than 20 years of experience in nursing and midwifery, health management, workforce development, event management, law and business. She’s passionate about building compassionate communities and has trained more than six hundred compassionate community connectors to date from Weipa in the Cape & Torres to Birtinya in Sunshine Coast where mobilised community connectors are making a difference and supporting families in communities one at a time. 

Bernice Hookey’s family lineage traces back to the Waanyi people from the Lower Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. She embodies courage despite the fear that occasionally arises. As a solo mother, aunty, sister, cousin, colleague, and friend, she is deeply passionate about challenging the status quo.

An accomplished Lead Facilitator for an Indigenous National Women’s Empowerment program via Tranby, Bernice is also the Founder of MZB Empowerment. She is widely recognized as a Changemaker, Difference Maker, and Cycle Breaker, as well as a published author, mentor, and multi-award winner. Her achievements include being a finalist for national and international awards that celebrate Indigenous Excellence and Leadership.

Bernice has overcome challenges related to disempowerment, feelings of unworthiness, and well-being depreciation, navigating limited opportunities and barriers to self-expression within cultural spaces. Through experiential learning, she has lived these realities firsthand and continues to thrive.

As both a participant and now a Fellow of a globally recognized top 10 leadership program, Bernice has developed invaluable leadership skills that have strengthened her confidence. These skills, combined with her grassroots-led leadership approach, drive her mission to advance generational equity. Above all, she remains a steadfast cheerleader for families and communities, inspiring those around her with her unwavering dedication and vision.

Dr. Amber R. Logan is a traditional Kahungunu Māori wahine, a New Zealand Health Psychologist and Doctoral Fellow in Public Health at Otago University. She teaches health psychology course work at the University of Auckland & Otago University and is well-known in New Zealand for her work in methamphetamine education and community activism. She is a consummate grant writer, health services evaluator and health services program designer. She has presented extensively in Australia, Canada, and the USA at Harvard University, the University of Washington, and to the US Federal Government.

Dr. Joseph B. Stone, PhD is an Anasaki-pikuni ceremonialist and traditionalist and member of the OKKAN (Sundance), the Last Star Thunder Medicine Pipe and Beaver Lodge. Dr. Stone works at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga – a Kaupapa Māori Health Provider; Awhina Whanu Family Services, and the Napier Family Centre all located in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. He has clinical experience with adult prisoners & corrections and juvenile justice in both New Zealand and USA. He is affiliated with the National Centre on Trauma and Project Making Medicine – Indian Health Service Assessment and Treatment of Child Abuse at Oklahoma State University. He has presented to, and served as consultant to, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs of Native Youth Suicide. Dr. Stone’s publications include articles on trauma, suicide, and other cultural & behavioural issues.