Dr. Melinda Mann
BBus (HRM); MLMgt; PhDSenior Learning Designer/Lecturer - First Nations Cultural Competency
Office of Indigenous Engagement
11 - G.16
Dr Melinda Mann is a Darumbal woman and South Sea Islander. Melinda lives on her Darumbal homelands in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. She is a passionate advocate for Indigenous Nation building, Pacific sovereignties, and regional and rural communities. Melinda has a background in student services, learning design, school and tertiary education, community organising and academic research. Her lived experiences as a Darumbal person living on Darumbal Country and in community with Elders and others inform her worldview and approaches to her professional work.
Universities Studied At
CQUniversity, Australia
Awards
Outstanding PhD Thesis - Tracey Banavanua Mar Award (Australian Association for Pacific Studies)
Media Citations
Mann, M (2019) If Australia is serious about jobs for Indigenous youth we must invest in specialist career roles in schools. IndigenousX https://indigenousx.com.au/we-cant-afford-to-leave-indigenous-students-behind/
Mann, M (2020) One Nation failure in Queensland's election doesn't mean race relations are better. IndigenousX, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/10/one-nation-failure-in-queenslands-election-doesnt-mean-race-relations-are-better
Professional Experience
First Nations Art Officer, Rockhampton Museum of Art (current)
Community Justice Group Evaluator, MYUMA Pty Ltd (current)
Chair of the Queensland Widening Participation Widening Participation Consoritum (previous)
Deputy Director, Student Life and Wellbeing, CQU (previous)
Coordinator, School Outreach, CQU (previous)
Indigenous School Outreach Officer (previous)
Professional Memberships
Australian Association for Pacific Studies
Responsibilities
Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee (QATSIETAC) - school representative (Education Minister-appointed)
Community Gambling Benefit Fund - Indigenous representative (Attorney General and Minister for Justice-appointed)
Professional Interests
Indigenous Nation building - renegotiating relationships in settler colonies based on Indigenous sovereignty
Learning systems and policies that hold Indigenous sovereignty at its core for all Australians
Consultancy Work
First Nations Co-Chair - Learning Creates Australia