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Back row, from left: Margaret Blackman, Mary O’Reeri, Anthony Mara, Sean Gordon. Noel Pearson, Harold Ludwick,
Fiona Jose, James Fa’Aoso. Front row, from left: Neil Morris, Ian Trust, Chris Ingrey. 2014.
Photo: Louie Douvis
Rarrtjiwuy Melanie Herdman, Emerging Leader 2015
and a Yol
ŋ
u woman from East Arnhem Land, is now
acting CEO at Miwatj Health in North East Arnhem
Land (see case study on page 14). In her mid-twenties,
Rarrtjiwuy went on the Emerging Leaders program
and it proved a catalyst:
Emerging Leaders confirmed
for me the theory I had on how
I go about influencing and
empowering people. It helped
me answer the big questions I
had: What moves do I make?
What direction do I take to
reinforce what the old leaders
were doing in the past? And
how do I help plant the seed
for the next generation?
—RARRTJIWUY MELANIE HERDMAN,
ACTING CEO, MIWATJ HEALTH
Rarrtjiwuy used learning and motivation from
Emerging Leaders to set up a leadership program for
young Yol
ŋ
u (Indigenous) leaders in Arnhem Land:
Emerging Leaders directly gave me the idea to
set up this leadership program in this region. It
prompted me to look and identify the leaders
around me now, and the emerging leaders I can
see. And it helped me see more clearly that
there’s a gap between the two. There’s a big gap
between the leadership in our community and our
elders, and the leaders of tomorrow. This feeling
got stronger in me during Emerging Leaders.
Many Emerging Leaders alumni have returned
to their regions to pass on the baton to the next
generation of leaders. As well as actively recruiting
for the Emerging Leaders program among their
communities, many formally took on responsibilities
to support leadership development. James Fa’Aoso
is now Head of Leadership at the Cape York Institute.
Chad Creighton returned to the Kimberley and
became a committee member of the Kimberley
Aboriginal Youth Leaders initiative run by Aarnja as
part of Empowered Communities. And many other
past Emerging Leaders have gone on to reinvest
in young leaders while continuing on leadership
journeys of their own.
1. EMPOWERING INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP 13