Mick Gooda (Australia)

Mick Gooda’s people are the Ghungalu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. He has spent the last 30 years advocating for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. He was appointed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner in February 2010 and held that position until September 2016 when he was appointed Co-Commissioner on the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.

He has undertaken work a wide range of roles such as the CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, Native Title Consultant with the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ATSIC.

He chaired the Queensland Stolen Wages Reparation Taskforce and the National Centre of Indigenous Genomics and has been a member of the Expert Panel and the Referendum Council which were convened to advised the Federal Government on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian constitution.

More recently, he was a Co-Chair of the Queensland First Children and Families Board which is tasked with the overseeing reforms to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection and youth detention systems and Co-Chaired the Treaty Advancement Committee which recommended the next steps in the Queensland treaty and truth telling process.

Sue-Anne Hunter (Australia)

Sue-Anne Hunter is a proud Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman and the Deputy Chair and Commissioner of Australia’s first truth telling process – the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

A child and family services practitioner by trade, Sue-Anne has over twenty years’ clinical experience responding to developmental, transgenerational and community trauma.

She is widely recognized for developing rights-based, transformative practice responses that empower Aboriginal people to heal from the continuing effects and processes of colonization.

Sue-Anne has extensive experience in the governance and the leadership of Aboriginal community-controlled organizations, and her expertise is regularly sought for government inquiries, parliamentary and ministerial advisory committees, academic research projects and media interviews.

Sheri-Ann Daniels (Hawaii)

Sheri-Ann Daniels is the Chief Executive Officer of Papa Ola Lokahi, the Native Hawaiian health board responsible for the federal act regarding health and well-being for Native Hawaiians in Hawai’i and within the US.

Born and raised on Maui, Dr. Sheri-Ann Daniels is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama campus. She holds degrees in the field of counseling psychology and has several license certifications.  She has more than 25 years of experience in social services programs across Hawai’i in both the non-profit and government sectors. 

She has been recognized with various awards over the years for her work within her communities. Beginning in early 2020, Sheri shared co-leadership for the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Hawaii COVID-19 Response, Recovery & Resilience Team (NHPI 3R), for which Papa Ola Lōkahi served as the backbone organization.  Committed to meeting the needs of our community through public policy and strategic partnerships, she was named among the Pacific Business News’ 2022 Women Who Mean Business. 

Sheri continues to make Maui her home with her ‘ohana (husband, 4 children and extended family). She is also a cultural practitioner in Ho’oponopono.

Riana Manuel (New Zealand)

Riana is the Chief Executive, Te Aka Whai Ora, Māori Health Authority Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Kahungunu.

Riana is a skilled, strategic, and visionary leader within the Māori and health sectors and has extensive experience leading Kaupapa Māori organisations. Before joining Te Aka Whai Ora – Māori Health Authority as its founding Chief Executive, Riana was Chief Executive of Hauraki Primary Health Organisation and Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki. 

Riana is a registered nurse by profession and has enjoyed a career that has seen her work in many areas of the health sector.

Riana is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Māori and believes in doing so, will impact positively on the health and wellbeing of Aotearoa.