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Our Founding Elders

Vale Uncle Lester Bostock

Founding Elder

Biography

Uncle Lester Bostock OAM was the Founding Elder and long-time Board member of both FPDN and the Aboriginal Disability Network NSW. Uncle Lester passed away in November 2017. We pay our respects to him as our Founding Elder and acknowledge his tireless work over decades to progress the rights and opportunities of Aboriginal people.

Uncle Lester was a proud Bundjalung man with disability who was at the forefront of promoting and protecting the human rights of Aboriginal people with disability in Australia over several decades.
Lester publicly introduced the concept of “double disadvantage” and how it relates to Aboriginal people with disability in 1991 when he gave the Meares Oration entitled Access and equity for people with a double disadvantage.
Uncle Lester is widely recognised as one of the pioneers of Aboriginal media in Australia.

Uncle Lester received numerous awards for community service over the years including a Centenary Medal, the NSW Law and Justice Foundation Award for Aboriginal Justice and in 2010 Uncle Lester was the NAIDOC Elder of the year.

Read Uncle Lester’s Eulogy.

Read the tribute.

Vale Aunty Gayle (Leila) Rankine

Founding Elder

Biography

Aunty Leila Gayle Rankine was Chairperson since the formal constitution of the First Peoples Disability Network in 2014. Her advocacy for people with disability goes back to the very beginning of our social movement. She was also widely known and respected as a leading voice for all Australians with disability.
Gayle was a Ngarrindjeri woman born in Raukkan (Point McLeay Mission) on Lake Alexandrina in South Australia.
Gayle represented Australia and FPDN at the United Nations in Geneva and New York.
Gayle was recognised for her extensive knowledge of the needs of people with disability across urban, rural and remote communities. She had a lived experience as a person with physical disability and as a carer of relatives with physical and neurological disability, including autism.

Read Aunty Gayle’s Eulogy

Read the tribute.

Our Board

Kay Sadler

Board Member

Biography

Kay Sadler is a Worimi woman of the Biripi nation born on the Pacific Highway, ten kilometres south of Taree.

Kay is a delegate to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and a member of the Biripi Land Council. She holds a Diploma of Business (Governance) from Tranby Aboriginal College.

Maureen Logan

Board Member

Michael Evans portrait

Michael Evans

Board Member

Sereako Treloggan

Sereako Treloggen

Board Member

Rhys Nagas portrait by B Mason

Rhys Nagas

Board Member

Community Advocates

Uncle Brian Tennyson photo

Uncle Brian Tennyson

ELDA Council Chair

Aunty Louisa Uta

ELDA Council Vice Chair

Jane Rosengrave

Community Advocate

Our Staff

National Team

CEO Damian Griffis

Damian Griffis

CEO

Lai Ha Wu

CFO

Ben Riemer

Administration and Communications Officer

Lisa Hindman

Lisa Hindman

Strategic Business Manager

Kelly Treloar

National Sector Strengthening Manager/Disability Royal Commission Project Manager

Lorraine Cornell

Human Resources Manager

Communications Team

Luke Briscoe

National Communications Manager

Policy Team

image of team member mali hermans

Mali Hermans

Senior Policy Officer

Biography

Mali Hermans is a disabled and neurodivergent Wiradjuri woman deeply invested in disability justice and abolitionist work. Mali is a Senior Policy Officer at FPDN with a focus on the justice system, gender-based violence prevention and international human rights advocacy.

Alicia Johnson (AJ)

Senior Policy Officer

Biography

Alicia Johnson (AJ) Is a Barkindji and Buri Gubba woman, with a background in Indigenous child protection and casement. AJ is a Senior Policy Officer within FPDN with a focus on early intervention and the out of home care system.

Sophie Geeves

Policy Officer

Biography

Sophie Geeves is a young disabled woman who is passionate about all things NDIS, education and advocating for a more equal society. She works as a policy officer at FPDN.

Kylee Roberts

Project Officer

Biography

Kylee is a project officer at FPDN, working on the DSSP and the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health.

She has extensive experience in health, inclusion for people with intellectual disability and especially in Easy Read.

She is also a proud mum of 3, who lives with C-PTSD and continues to show her commitment to ongoing learning in human rights and social justice.

Elena Macdonald

Policy Officer

Biography

Elena is a descendant of the Paredarerme Nation, located on the east coast of Trouwunna/lutruwita (tasmania). Elena’s background is in early childhood, child protection and the welfare and wellbeing of disabled First Peoples. Elena has multiple complex disabilities and splits their time between Trouwunna and Naarm.

image of team member jodi lamanna

Jodi Lamanna

Policy Officer

Biography

Jodi Lamanna is a neurodivergent person, and is a policy officer at FPDN. Jodi has a background in research that focussed on education, equity and employment.

Kelly Cox

Policy Officer - NDIS Lead

Biography

Kelly Cox has been an active member of the Disability Rights Movement in Australia for a number of years, both at a grassroots and organisational level. She holds specific interest in International disability and human rights work and has represented at the United Nations on various occasions.

Training and Engagement Team

Carly Wallace

National Training and Engagement Manager

Bernard Namok Jnr

National Training and Engagement Officer

Jordan Wishart

National Training and Engagement Officer

Disability Royal Commission Team

Nancy Bates

Senior Indigenous Advocate

Melicha Woodcock

Indigenous Advocate, Far North Queensland

Bobby Fish

Indigenous Advocate - Newcastle/Hunter

Krisha Ketchell

Indigenous Advocate - Darwin, NT

NSW Advocacy Team

Debbie Lee Portrait

Debbie Lee

NSW Advocacy Manager, Systemic

Stephen Taylor

NSW Indigenous Advocate

Justice Project - Talk Up

Melanie Marne

Project Officer

Paterson St Hub, Tennant Creek NT

Brian Tennyson

Paterson Street Hub Mentor

Alba Brockie

Paterson Street Hub Coordinator

Research Community Partner

Dr Scott Avery Portrait

Dr Scott Avery

Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences - Western Sydney University

Community Volunteers

Ray Peckham

Volunteer

Friends of FPDN

Join the First Peoples Disability Movement. Add your voice and sign up as friend of FPDN. Friends will receive updates about our work and have opportunities to get involved and speak up.

First Peoples Disability Network Australia is a national organisation of and for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities. Our founders are the leaders of the Aboriginal disability movement and in order to continue their legacy we want to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to connect and communicate with us, and each other.

FPDN’s purpose is to promote respect for human rights, secure social justice, and empower First Peoples with disability to participate in Australian society on an equal basis with others.

Become a Friend of FPDN:

Sign up to our newsletter
and stay informed!


    ELDA – Elders Living with Disability Australia

    FPDN is an organisation of and for First People with disability. We take pride in our culture, our communities and our history. Our Elders with lived experience of disability are the holders of knowledge and wisdom. We are proud to work with a number of Elders and our organisation benefits from their guidance and advice.

    As part of our Strategic Directions, FPDN is working to build its Elders Council, known as ELDA. ELDA ( Elders living with disability Australia) is a national advisory group of Elders with a lived experience in disability, who conduct disability business. ELDA currently has representatives from NSW, NT, QLD, TI and SA.