First Nations Social Work Leaders: Celebrating Excellence

The AASW PhD Webinar Series

First Nations Social Work Leaders: Celebrating Excellence

This second event in the series will take place on Thursday the 28th of September, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm AEST.

Free for members, join us to celebrate three outstanding AASW First Nations Members who have elevated the social work profession through their research and careers. Presenters will discuss their work and research findings and also the career journeys and experiences from their PhDs and beyond.

We are also delighted to share that Sue Green will be chairing this event.

Presenting at this event will be Dr Karen Menzies, Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng and Dr Lorraine Muller. More about our chairperson and presenters below.

Please note that this webinar will be a live event only. The recording will not be available after the webinar has concluded.

Register now!

Sue Green

Susan Green is a Galari woman of the Wiradjuri nation and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Director. Sue holds the role of Professor in Indigenous Australian Studies, GCWLCH Co-ordinator and Professorial Fellow at Yindyamarra Nguluway in the Office of Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research at Charles Sturt University.

Sue has had an extensive history spanning 20 years in indigenous higher education across a number of roles such as student support, teaching and research. She also has sat on various committees, councils, boards, and networks including the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council and National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network. Sue obtained a PhD in social sciences and her research interests include welfare history, indigenising social work education and practice, cultural responsiveness and cultural support, colonial history, decolonisation, climate change and disaster mitigation.

Her foremost interest is ensuring that Wiradjuri language and culture underpins her all aspects of her personal and professional life. Susan is Chair of the Association’s Reconciliation Action Plan Committee, a Member of the National Ethics Committee and a Member of the Constitution Review Committee.

Dr Karen Menzies

Dr Karen Menzies is an Indigenous Australian woman from the Wonnarua people in the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales (NSW). Her PhD is titled, "And it's Not History. It's Now: Embedding a Trauma Framework into the Practice of Welfare Practitioners who Work with Aboriginal Families in the NSW Child Protection Sector". Karen also has a Bachelor and Master of Social Work, and a Master of Medical Science (Clinical Epidemiology). Dr Menzies currently works as a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Newcastle.

Dr Menzies has an extensive background working in child protection, education, health, human rights, and welfare services as a practitioner, academic, researcher and training consultant. Karen also worked as a social worker on the Stolen Generations Inquiry at the Australian Human Rights Commission, where she witnessed hundreds of very personal and painful testimonies from Indigenous people who had been forcibly removed from their families.

Dr Menzies has a record of publications in international and national journals. Her work has also been published in recommended textbooks for undergraduate and postgraduate students in education, health, law, social work, psychology, and those working in related areas.

Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng

DR. TJANARA GORENG GORENG PhD, MSA PDM Grad.Cert.Soc.Sc. (Couns.) MSW (Current)

Australian National University & University of Queensland Alumni

Founder Chief Visionary One INMA Global – Transformational Leadership and Research Consultancy

Research Scholar Australian National University, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR)

Founder & National Convenor, Foundation for Indigenous Recovery & Development, Australia (FIRDA)

Grandmother, Traditional Custodian, Public Policy Commentator – First Nations Affairs

Tjanara is a Wakka Wakka/Wulli Wulli Traditional Custodian of the Djawun Djumbe Nation of Central Queensland. She carries the traditions of her clan through medicine practice, being a Songwoman and teaching Law & Spirituality to people throughout the world. Tjanara is a published poet, writer, performer of traditional song and dance and contemporary Murri artist who regularly facilitates Aboriginal Women’s Business workshops and Aboriginal Law, Culture & Spirituality workshops in Australia and overseas.

For 45 years Tjanara has been working with groups and organisations in Australia and overseas in research, policy design, community development, transformational leadership, mentoring, cultural systemic change, self-managing, and sacred leadership. She regularly gives talks on Sacred Leadership in a variety of forums since completing her PhD at the Australian National University on Sacred Leadership. She is a professional mentor in Sacred Leadership and certified Leadership Circle Coach.

Tjanara is the CEO of OneINMA Global a Transformational Leadership & Research Consultancy, Founder & National Convenor of the Foundation for Indigenous Recovery & Development Aust. (FIRDA) a retired public sector executive, University Administrator, academic scholar, university lecturer and public policy commentator on First Nations Affairs.

Dr Lorraine Muller

Lorraine Muller is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the College Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University; Adjunct Research Fellow, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, University of Queensland; Adjunct Professor, Jawun Research Centre, Central Queensland University; Adjunct Professor, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.

Lorraine is Indigenous Australian and the first person to graduate with two PhDs from James Cook University.

Her second doctoral study shifted the research lens to explore non-Indigenous mainstream Australian culture and sought to address questions and issues raised in her first PhD that documented the theory that informs Indigenous Australians in the helping professions.

Her areas of expertise are Indigenous Australian knowledges and practices, and non-Indigenous mainstream Australian culture having extensively studied the values and principles that construct both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian cultural identities.

Lorraine identifies the Indigenous understanding of respect as central to being able to sensitively broach difficult subjects in her research endeavours. Lorraine’s work, grounded in a decolonisation framework, is contributing to curriculum development, and improving front line service delivery. Her research and publications have been well received by peers and are recognised at a national and international level.

(2020) Muller, L., “A Theory for Indigenous Australian Health and Human Service Work: Connecting Indigenous knowledge to practice”.

Winner of Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2015: ‘Scholarly Resource’ category. Routledge. (originally published by Allen & Unwin and won the Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2015 'Scholarly Resource' category.

Book Chapters:

(2023) Muller, L. Decolonisation for social work practice: Preparing to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) peoples. In J. Maidment, R. Egan, R. Tudor, & S. Nipperess (Eds.), Practice Skills for Social Work & Welfare (4 ed.): Routledge.

(2022) Muller, L., Burton, H., & Ludwig, S. Culture and Identity: Building Intercultural Respect. In W. Edmondson & R. Williams (Eds.), Burda-burda Balayi Health Professionals and Indigenous Health: Working at the Interface..

(2023) Decolonisation: More than a trendy word. Australian social work journal.

2 PhDs

(2017) Muller, L., Shifting the Lens: Indigenous research into mainstream Australian culture. PhD Thesis. JCU Library.

(2010) Muller, L., Indigenous Australian Social-Health Theory. PhD Thesis. JCU library.

Upcoming Book:

https://www.routledge.com/Indigenous-Research-into-Mainstream-Australian-Culture-Shifting-the-Lens/Muller/p/book/9781032161686