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Biography

I am descended from the Waanguybuwan tribe of New South Wales, from Scottish convicts of the First Fleet, from a Latvian immigrant, and from English people. Since 1995 my work experience in the Indigenous health sector includes positions of an non-influential nature in health promotion, project management, policy advice and lecturing. These occurred in a variety of organisations—an Aboriginal Medical Service, Commonwealth and state governments, and universities. The PhD thesis is the last in a series of qualifications from a BSc in Biochemistry, Honours in Nutrition, and a Master of Public Health degree from the Menzies School of Health Research. I will continue to conduct Indigenous health policy research in order to improve national policy processes.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Melbourne, 2009
• Master of Public Health, Northern Territory University, 2003
• Bachelor of Science, Deakin University, 1997
• Bachelor of Science (Honours), Deakin University, 1997

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Research

Research keywords

• Indigenous health policy
• Social network analysis

Research expertise

Policy analysis of critical concepts (holistic, participation) through content analysis, discourse analysis, and social network analysis.

Collaboration

Collaborative efforts are founded on how I use the tools of social network analysis to visualise and mathematically analyse indeterminate concepts such as participation, engagement, collaboration, and so on. Therefore the approach is applicable to any social policy area in Australian society. The central theory that I link to is Anthony Giddens' Structuration Theory, which 'is an attempt to formulate a framework for understanding society in terms of social structure and human agency and interaction'.

I have developed collaborative links with the University of Melbourne's Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics; where I work on a project to provide social network analysis advice and analysis. At the University of Newcastle, I have established relationships with the Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing, the Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, and the Priority Research Centre of Physical Activity and Nutrition.

I am dedicated to establishing collaborative research with practitioners, policy makers and researchers in order to improve policy governance processes in Australia.

Languages

• English

Fields of Research

Description (Code)	%
Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Policy(160501)	50
Health Policy(160508)	25
Social Policy(160512)	25

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - International Network of Social Network Analysts

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

Eight years of administrative experience in Indigenous health - from community controlled organisations to state and commonwealth governments to tertiary institutions.

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Health policy
• Indigenous health

Teaching expertise

Delivery of Master of Public Health course units to Indigenous Chief Executive Officers for six months in 2003. Numerous guest lectures on aspects of Indigenous health policy.