SNAICC CEO

An Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia, Catherine is a leading advocate in upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, influencing and driving positive change. As CEO of SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, she works to strengthen, represent and amplify the voices of children and families.

Chairperson, SNAICC

SNAICC, Policy & Engagement Lead - Youth Voice

Joel is a Meriam man from the Torres Strait Islands, with connections spreading far and wide, including to Ngāti Awa and Ngai Te Rangi and Czechia.

Joel has a decade of lived experience growing up in the remote communities of the Torres Strait Islands, absconding from school to completing university, working in not for profits and for profits, working both ‘on the ground’ and in project management roles, being a carer, and even a former athlete turned strong advocate for youth and social justice.

This experience coupled with a passion for empowering and enabling the next generation to thrive in life has led Joel to be the Policy & Engagement Lead for the SNAICC Youth Voice.

Based in Melbourne, Rylie is connected to many mobs, including Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung,  Bunitj, Wotjobaluk, Taungurung, Bungandidj,  Muthi Muthi, Wiradjuri,  Barapa Barapa, Boon Wurrung, and Palawa. These deep and diverse connections strongly inform his identity and passion for community work.

Rylie currently works at the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) within the Kinship Finding program. At VACCA he focuses predominantly on family history research but has previously worked in the Cultural Support Planning space, supporting many other ACCOs. His work allows him not only to reconnect Aboriginal children and their families but also to deepen his own connections and understanding of mob across Australia.

Raised in a strong family with well-respected Aboriginal Elders, Rylie has always carried a sense of purpose and responsibility to give back to his people. His work is grounded in cultural strength, integrity, and a commitment to achieving better outcomes for Aboriginal families. Rylie continues to grow by learning from the Elders and knowledge holders who have come before him. 

Samuel Dela Bon is a proud Geauram and Komet Le, born and raised on Waiben (Thursday Island), the land of the Kaurareg People, with ancestral ties to Murray Island in the eastern Torres Strait, K’gari, and Yarrabah. As a descendant of the Stolen Generations survivor his identity is deeply rooted in cultural and spiritual values. Samuel’s lived experience growing up in a remote community has shaped his commitment to advocacy, self-determination, and youth empowerment. He has worked extensively in education, youth pathways, and employment, supporting disengaged youth through roles including Transition Pathways Officer (DOE), Senior Project Officer/Employment Officer with Meriba Ged Ngalpun Mab. Samuel has also served as a union delegate, climate change ambassador, and conference representative. Now a member of the SNAICC Youth Advisory Group, he brings lived experience, leadership, and a strong voice for his region. 

Jaharn Mundy-Drazevich is a proud Ngunawal and Yuin man, born and raised in Canberra with strong connections to Wreck Bay. A recent Year 12 graduate, Jaharn is pursuing further education in Community Services, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), and Youth Work, alongside holding a Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance. His passion lies in community, culture, and creating safe, supportive spaces where people feel heard and valued. Guided by values of Empowerment, Cultural Strength, Kindness, and Joyfulness, Jaharn is committed to uplifting others—especially young people navigating challenges. 

Shai-lee is a proud Wiradjuri woman, granddaughter, sister, and aunty, with strong ties to the Murrumbidgee region in NSW, including Griffith, Wagga Wagga and surrounds. Raised on Ngunnawal, Ngambri, Turrbal and Yuggera country, she has spent the past five years working across the Aboriginal community-controlled sector in areas such as health, reconciliation, research, and casework supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, families and carers. 

Inspired by Elders and leaders- especially her grandmother, Isabelle Collins- Shai-lee is passionate about advocacy and ensuring Mob are heard in spaces that often silence them. She brings both professional and lived experience, having witnessed firsthand the impacts of systems like justice, out-of-home care, and drug and alcohol services on her community. 

Currently working in the out-of-home care sector, Shai-lee remains committed to amplifying the voices and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, and creating real, lasting change. 

South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, SA 

Image and bio coming soon!

Queensland Family and Child Commission – First Nations Commissioner, QLD 

Natalie Lewis is a Gamilaraay woman and the Commissioner of the Queensland Family and Child Commission. Natalie is fiercely committed to progressing a transformational reform agenda to strengthen Queensland’s focus on children’s rights. Her passion for children’s rights is inspired by the experiences of children and young people disadvantaged by the systems designed to protect them, especially those in statutory child and youth justice systems.  

Natalie has dedicated her career to improving life outcomes for First Nations Peoples across Australia and is deeply committed to addressing the systemic and structural issues that disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. She has led significant national reform across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child protection and family services sectors, playing an instrumental role in the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in Australian child protection legislation. She is a strong advocate for protecting the right of First Nations People to exercise self-determination and to remain meaningfully connected to kin, culture and Country. 

Natalie has held senior executive roles in the Queensland Government, the advocacy sector and been appointed to numerous national boards and councils. 

Commissioner for Children and Young People, WA 

Children’s Commissioner, NT

Shahleena is the Children’s Commissioner in the Northern Territory. She is a Larrakia woman from Darwin (Garamilla) in the Northern Territory with over two decades experience working in legal, policy and advocacy roles with a focus on child rights and youth justice. 

Shahleena gained her legal qualifications in the Northern Territory and has been admitted as a legal practitioner in the Supreme Courts of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria. She has worked as a human rights and youth justice advocate, criminal lawyer, and prosecutor; and has extensive experience in policy development, project delivery, law reform, and strategic research. 

Specific to her role as Commissioner, Shahleena brings a wealth of skills and experience having worked to improve legal and policy outcomes for children, youth, families, and communities for more than 20 years.

State Guardian, SA

Eastern Arrernte woman, Shona Reid, is South Australia’s Guardian for Children and Young People and Training Centre Visitor, appointed to promote and advocate for the rights of children and young people in care and youth detention. 

Shona has devoted her knowledge, experience, professional and personal life to the advancement and rights of Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities. For 15 years, she worked across the child protection, young offending and the out-of-home care sector, predominately in regional and remote areas, including the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. 

Prior to becoming the Guardian, Shona was the CEO at Reconciliation SA and held various roles in public service including at the Legislative Council - Parliament of South Australia, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Ministerial Offices, and various iterations of the now Department for Child Protection. In early 2020 she was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award for service to Aboriginal Children, Young People, Families and Communities from Flinders University.

Commission for Children and Young People, VIC

Executive Director, Literacy for Life Foundation 

As the founder of Nguki Kula Green Labs, she develops reusable, low-waste detergents for remote communities. Named 2025 Young Australian of the Year, she’s a passionate advocate for Indigenous representation in STEM.

Jack Beetson is Executive Director of the Literacy for Life Foundation. He’s a Ngemba man who has been working in Indigenous education for decades. Jack’s expertise has been recognised around the globe – he has received a United Nations Unsung Hero Award and is the first Indigenous Australian to be named in the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. The Literacy for Life Foundation is an Aboriginal organisation supporting communities to lift adult English language literacy levels through a community-led approach. Evidence shows that adult literacy is linked to achieving positive results in areas such as health, children's education, employment, justice and self-determination.

Group CEO Cape York Partnership

Fiona Jose has led pioneering reforms tackling Indigenous disadvantage in Cape York for more than 15 years. She integrates research, policy co-design, to develop scalable programs focused on family empowerment. 

Fiona founded Cape York Girl Academy, Australia’s first boarding school for teen mothers and disengaged girls. She oversees ten entities and social enterprises building education, employment, and health capabilities. Other bold innovations include a fresh food enterprise, and an award-winning tech product. 

Fiona serves on the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital Board and belongs to the Kuku Yalanji and Zenadth Kes peoples. At the heart of her mission: children, their education, and the adults who support them.

Joe Williams, a proud Wiradjuri/Wolgalu man, is a former professional athlete and dedicated mental health advocate. After an NRL and boxing career, he founded The Enemy Within, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, particularly in Indigenous communities. 

As an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, he champions "cultural supervision," ensuring culturally safe mental health support. 

Through lived experience, advocacy, and education, Joe empowers communities with strength-based approaches to wellbeing, resilience, and cultural identity. His work continues to inspire systemic change in Indigenous mental health and healing.

Dr Katrina Wruck is a proud Mabuyag woman from the Panay Nation of the Western Torres Strait Islands. She is an award-winning industrial chemist, science communicator, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at QUT. Her research explores sustainable chemical solutions to environmental challenges, including the destruction of persistent "forever chemicals" through electrochemistry. 

As the founder of Nguki Kula Green Labs, she develops reusable, low-waste detergents for remote communities. Named 2025 Young Australian of the Year, she’s a passionate advocate for Indigenous representation in STEM.

Image credit to Salty Dingo*

Narelda Jacobs OAM is a Whadjuk Noongar journalist and presenter. Her career at Network 10 spans a quarter of a century. Narelda presents the daily one-hour national news bulletin 10 News: Lunchtime, and 10 News: Afternoons. You'll also find her on NITV and SBS, the ABC, podcast airwaves, appearing in documentaries and Australian dramas, hosting events around the country and internationally, sharing her lived experience on panels and giving back to her community through various ambassadorial and board roles.