Foundation Governance – Nova Peris Foundation

a passion and commitment to empowering aboriginal people and their communities.

The Nova Peris Foundation is governed by a strong multi-talented Board with a passion and commitment to empowering Aboriginal people and their communities. The Board of Directors have extensive professional networks.

Nova Peris

OAM OLY MAICD

Nova is a descendant of the Yawuru & Gija people of the East and West Kimberley and the Bunitj Gagudju people from West Arnhem Land. She was a Young Australian of the Year and also has an OAM to her name. She is the first Aboriginal Olympic Gold Medallist and the first Northern Territorian to win Olympic Gold; a Commonwealth Games dual Gold Medallist and the only person in the world to make back-to-back summer Olympic Games finals in two different sports being Hockey and Athletics. She was the first Aboriginal woman to sit in the Federal Parliament as a Senator for the Northern Territory. More recently Nova has had her portrait hung in the Australian Parliament, had a 2.6m bronze statue unveiled and was inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame. Nova is a phenomenal leader and trailblazer. She has served in roles that include being an International Indigenous Human Rights Ambassador and also a National Ambassador for Reconciliation Australia. She has actively participated in promotional and advocacy campaigns for domestic violence, youth depression and youth suicide. She was an inaugural Board Member and acted as National Patron for Beyond Blue. Nova has also served as the International Ambassador for the World Health Organisation & Griffith University Youth Suicide Prevention, and as an International Ambassador for Hepatitis Australia. She is the current Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) and the current Patron of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA). Nova has written two autobiographies: Nova — My Story and Nova: Finding My Voice.

Dr Kris Rallah-Baker

OAM OLY MAICD

Associate Professor Kris. Rallah-Baker is Australia’s first and currently only Indigenous ophthalmologist. As a proud Yuggera/Warangu/Wiradjuri man, Dr Rallah-Baker is making a footprint not only on the Sunshine Coast, but also in the Northern Territory. Kris is a highly respected ophthalmologist. He is the owner and principal of Sunshine Coast Ophthalmologists at Noosa and Nambour, visiting medical officer at Noosa, Nambour and Kawana Hospitals, Honourary Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Qld University of Technology, founding member and former President of the of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, current Zeiss Key Opinion Leader on Cataract and Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Director on the Board of the Nova Peris Foundation, Director on the Board of Vision2020 Australia, Director on the Board of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance, Director on the Board of the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne and an immediate past Director on the Federal Board of the Royal Flying Doctors Service, as a RANZCO Fellow, he sits on RANZCO’s Federal Indigenous Committee and is Co-Chair of RANZCO’s Reconciliation Action Plan Committee.

Kris Rallah-Baker provides comprehensive ophthalmic care delivered in a culturally safe, compassionate and professional manner.

Emeritus Prof. MaryAnn Bin-Sallik

Professor MaryAnn Bin-Sallik is a Djaru woman born in Broome, W.A who spent most of her life in Darwin. She trained as a nursing sister at the Darwin Hospital, spending 17 years nursing in the N.T. In 1975 she became the first Indigenous person to be employed in the Higher Education sector and was at the forefront of what we know as Australia’s Indigenous Higher Education sector. MaryAnn‘s long and distinguished career has been marked by impressive and varied achievements. She was the first Aboriginal person to gain a Doctorate from Harvard University. MaryAnn is passionate about Indigenous participation in higher education. Her involvement in government, university, community advisory and review groups has greatly influenced education and equity policies for Aboriginal Australians. On her retirement in 2008, MaryAnn was made an Emeritus Professor of Charles Darwin University, in recognition of her decades of academic service and her contribution to the advancement of Indigenous education, cultures and heritage. In 2016 MaryAnn was awarded NAIDOC Female Elder of the year. In 2017 the University of South Australia awarded her the Honorary Degree of the University, and in 2018 Western Sydney University award her an Honorary Doctorate.

Dr Stephanie Trust

OAM OLY MAICD

Dr Stephanie Trust is a descendant of the Gija and Walmajarri people of the Kimberley region, Western Australia. From humble beginnings, Dr Steph is a prominent and widely respected woman of The Kimberley. Dr Steph is the Principal GP of the Wunan Health and Wellbeing Centre based in Kununurra, East Kimberley. In 2020, Dr Steph has been leading a team of health professionals deal with COVID-19, while overseeing the construction of a state-of-the-art medical facility for wholistic patient care. Dr Stephanie is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and, until recently, was the Medical Director at the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council in Broome. She is a Board member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association, the Kimberley-Pilbara Medicare Local, and the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation. Dr Stephanie is also a Cultural Mentor and Advisor for Western Australian General Practice Education & Training Ltd.

Dr Jeff McMullen

Journalist, author and filmmaker for over fifty years, Dr Jeff McMullen AM has been a foreign correspondent for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a reporter for Four Corners and Sixty Minutes, anchor of the 33-part issue series on ABC Television, Difference of Opinion and host of forums on National Indigenous Television. Recent documentaries have focussed on the human rights of Australia’s First Peoples, the impact of the Northern Territory Intervention on Aboriginal wellbeing and the pattern of chronic illness taking many lives. Articles and speeches on the global pattern of chronic illness, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, malnutrition and other conditions of poverty impacting maternal and infant health, the links between low birthweight and renal illness, education as a preventative health measure and new approaches to wellness can be found at www.jeffmcmullen.com.au

Kevin Kalinko

OAM OLY MAICD

Kevin owns and manages a portfolio of businesses across a range of sectors spanning education, childcare, energy procurement, property services and sport. Kevin owns the Australian College of Physical Education which is based in Sydney and was established in 1917 and delivers 16 Bachelor degrees in sport, health and fitness. Kevin also owns the Australian Institute of Personal Trainers and Foundation Education, based in Brisbane, which together are the leading privately owned vocational education provider in Australia. Kevin owns The Energy Alliance, a leading energy management business based in Melbourne. Kevin also owns the Liverpool Football Club International Academy in Australia which delivers football academies across Australia teaching the Liverpool Football Club values and playing techniques. Included in Kevin’s portfolio are also childcare and a commercial property services business. Kevin is involved in a number of philanthropic and charitable organisations both locally and internationally. Kevin has a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW and a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance.

Fred Linker

Fred Linker is a commercial lawyer with experience from a top-tier law firm, a leading investment bank and listed multinationals. He is the founder of boutique Sydney law firm Linker Legal, specialising in M&A, commercial, telecom and financial services, where he currently acts for a range of local and international companies, both private and listed. Fred holds an Australian Government Security Clearance NV-1. He is Company Secretary of Southern Cross Cable Network, a leading wholesale telecommunications carrier and a director and Secretary of Steps & Holes Theatre Company Limited. Fred is fluent in French and was awarded the University Medal in Political Science and French by UNSW for his analysis of far-right French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen. He maintains an ongoing interest in political extremism.