Presenters, Chairs and Facilitators

Session 3
» Ms Michelle Adams Chair
» Dr John Taylor
» Ms Laura Beacroft
» Ms Leah Armstrong
» Mr Harold Fuber
» Ms Elizabeth Ganter

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Ms Michelle Adams
TMs Michelle Adams was born and raised in Darwin and has family connections in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Cape York and the Torres Strait. She is currently the State Manager of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service (ATSIS) in the Northern Territory and her office is responsible for policy development and advocacy support for ATSIC elected members and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Territory. In her current position she has taken a leading role in developing partnership agreements with Commonwealth and Northern Territory government agencies which aim to improve outcomes and service delivery to Indigenous Territorians.

Ms Adams has worked in Indigenous affairs for more than a decade and has worked as ATSIC Darwin’s Network Regional Manager, as National Program Manager for CDEP and was an ATSIC field officer for the West Arnhem Land region. She has also worked with the (then) Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services and the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services in Central Australia looking at issues such as primary health care and substance abuse.

Dr John Taylor
Dr Taylor has a disciplinary background in geography and population studies. From 1986 to 1990 he was based at the Australian National University's (ANU) North Australia Research Unit in Darwin. Since 1990 he has been at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) based at the ANU in Canberra. A major focus in his research has been on measuring demographic and economic change among Indigenous people in the Northern Territory, with a particular emphasis on regional case studies. He is the author of numerous reports and papers on these matters and is currently commissioned by the Indigenous Community Coordination Pilot (ICCP) based at Wadeye to develop baseline social indicators for regional planning.

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Ms Laura Beacroft
Ms Beacroft is the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations. It is a position that was established to support flexible incorporation of Indigenous groups under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act. The Act is being reformed and a new Act is likely to be in place in mid 2004. The Office of the Registrar has been changing the way it works over the last few years so that it assists at an earlier stage with issues and needs connected to governance and corporations. Laura is a lawyer who has worked with community and Indigenous organisations over many years.

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Ms Leah Armstrong
Ms Leah Armstrong is the Executive Director of Yarnteen Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Corporation, and has been a founding director and employee since its establishment in 1992. Other directorships and committee appointments include the Indigenous Business Australia since 2001, Chair of the Aboriginal Business Round Table NSW and the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training.

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Mr Harold Furber
Mr Harold Furber is a Board Member of the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre. He was born in Alice Springs and he has had a varied background as an administrator and an educator in Indigenous issues. He currently serves as the Special Project Policy Officer at the Central Land Council where he has worked in several executive positions since 1995. Previously he has worked as an administrator at Yipirinya School and at the Centre for Appropriate Technology as well as at Yirara College and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.

Mr Furber has a BA in Management (with a sub-major in Public Policy) from the University of Canberra and a Diploma in Community Development and Social Work from the South Australian Institute of Technology (now the University of South Australia). He was a recipient of an Aboriginal Professional Study Award (1991) and other awards including a Central Australian of the Year NAIDOC Award. He is foundation Chair of the Desert Peoples Centre and he was a strong participant in the Steering Committee to establish the Desert Knowledge CRC. He is also on the steering committee of Desert Knowledge Australia and the Desert Knowledge Precinct Master Planning Group.

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Ms Elizabeth Ganter
Ms Elizabeth Ganter is Joint Theme Leader (Governance, Management and Leadership for Sustainable Futures) with the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre. She has qualifications in Social Anthropology, Public Sector Management and International Management. She has worked in Central Australian remote communities, indeed many communities throughout the Northern Territory, and has advised the Northern Territory Government on anthropology, land and wider policy issues in Aboriginal development. She has also participated in a number of major NT Government initiatives including early stage implementation of the Learning Lessons Indigenous Education Review by the Hon Bob Collins. Ms Ganter has an ongoing role in the Office of Territory Development advising Government on strategies and priorities for research and innovation in the Territory.

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