KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

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Selwyn Button has been appointed for a 5-year term as a full-time Commissioner in June 2024.

Selwyn is a Gungarri man from Southwest Queensland and an experienced leader of health, education and governance organisations across the public, private, not-for-profit and community-controlled sectors.

Prior to joining the Commission, Selwyn was a partner of PwC Indigenous Consulting (PIC), where he worked with a range of organisations to realise the commercial and community potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, projects and initiatives. Previously, Selwyn has been the national Registrar of the Office of the Registrar for Indigenous Corporations, the Assistant Director-General for Indigenous Education in Queensland, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, and Chair of the Lowitja Institute.

Selwyn has led major policy, service delivery, governance and legislative reforms in his various leadership roles. He has also made significant contributions through his service as a board member of numerous sporting, arts, culture, health and early childhood education and care organisations.

A former primary school teacher and Queensland police officer, Selwyn holds a Bachelor of Teaching, a Master of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration. He was a Wolfensohn Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is an active member of the Harvard Club of Australia.

Selwyn co-leads the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stream of work at the PC.

Adjunct Professor Janine Mohamed is a proud Narrunga Kaurna woman from South Australia, based on Wurundjeri Country since 2019.  Her most recent role before joining the NDIA as the Deputy CEO of First Nations was a five-year term as the CEO of Lowitja Institute – Australia’s only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health research institute.  

Over the past 30 years, Janine has worked in nursing, management, research, and health policy in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector. Many of these years have been spent in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector at state, national and international levels. This includes the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA), the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), where she was the CEO from 2013 – 2018. Janine has worked tirelessly to address racism and embed cultural safety in systems, co-authoring a recent discussion paper titled Cultural safety in Australia.

Janine has served as a Board director on many boards, including establishing and serving as Director at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker and Practitioner Association, which earned her a Lifetime Achievement award for her service and achievements. Janine received the 2017 ACT NAIDOC Award, an Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity Fellowship in 2019, and a Doctor of Nursing honoris causa from Edith Cowan University in January 2020. 

In 2021, Janine was awarded a Distinguished Fellowship by The George Institute for Global Health Australia and is currently the 2024 Australian of the Year for Victoria. She has been a regular spokesperson on critical topics such as research, cultural safety, the social and cultural determinants of health, climate and health, workforce and Indigenous data governance and sovereignty. 

Associate Professor Hannah McGlade is from the Kurin Minang people of south-west Western Australia. 

She holds degrees in law and human rights, and she is currently an Associate Professor at Curtin Law School and an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. 

Hannah's Ph.D. received the Stanner award and was published by AIATIS, 'Our Greatest challenge, Aboriginal children and human rights'. She has worked extensively as an advocate for Aboriginal people's human rights, including in health and human rights.

Pat Anderson AO is a Co-Patron of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance. 

Aunty Pat is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as an advocate for the rights and health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including community development, policy formation and research ethics. 

Aunty Pat was Co-Chair of the Referendum Council, the Co-Chair of the Uluru Dialogue, and a key advocate for the YES vote for the Voice to Parliament 2023 Australian Referendum.