Our Patron
Professor Tom Calma AO
Professor Tom Calma AO is an Elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group. He has been involved in Indigenous Affairs at a local, community, state, national and international level for 45 years.
From 1995-2002, Tom served as a senior Australian diplomat in India and Vietnam. He served as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner from 2004-2010; and as Race Discrimination Commissioner from 2004-2009, both roles within the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Tom has a special interest in Indigenous health, social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, suicide prevention, social determinants theory, and empowerment programs. He is an international public speaker, as well as being at the forefront of research and research-translation into government policy, in these areas. In particular, Tom led the Close the Gap for Indigenous Health Equality Campaign (2006 on) and has held the role of National Coordinator Tackling Indigenous Smoking since 2010. He chaired the ministerial committee that developed the inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy in 2013 and is currently Chair and Patron of the Poche Indigenous Health Network and a Chair and/or member of a number of other boards and committees across Australia.
Appointed as Chancellor of the University of Canberra in 2014, Tom is the first Indigenous male chancellor of an Australian university. He is currently also Professor of Practice (Indigenous Engagement) in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney.
In 2012, Tom was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the Indigenous community as an advocate for human rights and social justice through contributions to government policy and reform, and through his work in supporting cross cultural understanding. In 2013, Tom was named the ACT Australian of the Year for his service and commitment to the Indigenous community as an advocate for human rights and social justice and in January 2023 he was announced Senior Australian of the Year 2023 in recognition of his work in aged care and the Voice.
Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors bring decades of experience in health, medicine, psychology, psychiatry, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, leadership, research, and policy
Our Board is made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts and member representatives who are responsible ensuring we achieve our objectives, including:
Promoting an Australian mental health system that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, families, and communities to access the best cultural and clinical approaches to support their social and emotional wellbeing and mental health, and to prevent suicide.
Promoting the adoption and proactive implementation of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration by all levels of Australian governments and across all the stakeholders in the mental health system and as relevant.
Promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and presence at all levels of the mental health system.
Promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership within the mental health system.
Professor Helen Milroy AM, Chair
Professor Helen Milroy AM is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia but was born and educated in Perth.
She is Australia’s first Indigenous doctor and child psychiatrist. Currently Helen is the Stan Perron Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Perth Children’s Hospital and University of Western Australia and Honorary Research at the Telethon Kids Institute. Helen is the Chair of the Gayaa Dhuwi Proud Spirit Australia organisation and a board member of Beyond Blue. Helen has been on state and national mental health and research advisory committees and boards with a particular focus on Indigenous mental health as well as the wellbeing of children.
From 2013-2017 Helen was a Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and from 2017-2021 was a Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission. In 2020, Helen was the joint winner of the Australian Mental Health Prize and named the WA Australian of the Year for 2021.
Helen is also an artist and published author and illustrator of children’s books. She has been shortlisted for several children’s literature awards and received the 2021 Whitley Award for best early childhood reader for Backyard Birds.
