Karen Jackson

I am Yorta Yorta – and so very proud of my Ancestors and Elders. For more than 20 years I have been involved in building relationships and communities with Aboriginal community members and service providers in the western suburbs of Melbourne. I lead and co-chair organisations and programs that create a culturally safe, fair and opportunity-based environment for our community that is embedded in relationships to land, culture, law and Elders.
 
As Executive Director, Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit at Victoria University, I help develop the University Strategic Plan and the Bathelmun Yalingwa plan to grow the numbers of Aboriginal community engaging and partnering with us, sharing knowledge through teaching, learning and research and connecting the physical environment to Aboriginal spaces and to Melbourne’s West to help epistemic justice.
 
I oversee a team that includes Aboriginal academic staff to deliver the Aboriginal Education Kyinandoo (AEK) units in Diploma, undergraduate and Master programs. My role also includes supporting and caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across the university, engaging with Aboriginal community and service providers in Melbourne’s west including Wyndham, Melton and Footscray to improve services. I also work on designing and undertaking collaborative research projects.
 
I am a member of the Western Metropolitan Partnership, part of the Metropolitan Partnerships, a significant State Government initiative aimed at listening to the voices of the west, in order to inform policy and outcomes deliver specific services that can assist communities. I am also co-chair of Koling wada-ngal Aboriginal Corporation located within the Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Centre, in Wyndham.
 
I believe all Australians benefit if we respect and recognise Aboriginal People as Sovereign Peoples, understand terra nullius is a lie and we begin serious work towards a treaty and truth telling.