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In June, the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership welcomed Senior Project Officer Ashley Shepherd to the team. Ash works with us two days per week at UNSW, primarily supporting the Aboriginal community leadership, capabilities & control stream of our work.

Ash has shared some thoughts about her time with us so far.

What drew you to working with the Partnership?

As a Wiradjuri woman, I felt working with Yuwaya Ngarra-li was a good fit seeing how genuine the community-led partnership between the Dharriwaa Elders Group (DEG) and UNSW. I also really appreciated how multi-disciplinary the team is. It's amazing to see how DEG sets the vision and how we all work together to make it happen. I enjoy working for Yuwaya Ngarra-li as there are always lots of new areas to learn and grow in as well as an opportunity to use my own experience to assist in making change for the community.

How else do you spend your time?

Outside of my two days working with Yuwaya Ngarra-li, I am focusing on my PhD looking at Aboriginal and Torres Strait LGBTQIA+SB young people's mental health. Other than that, I love travel so I'm most likely scheming my text trip.

What did you do prior to working at UNSW?

I was working at the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), starting as a graduate and continuing to move around teams to gain further experience. During my time at DPC I worked in internal communications, the Premier and Minister correspondence team, the Closing the Gap Priority Reform Four Data Sovereignty team, and finally my last role as Department Liaison Officer for the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. I left DPC to pursue my PhD and worked at UTS in the Aboriginal Vice Chancellors office before moving to UNSW.

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

That's a hard question. I hope I get to continue to be led and guided by DEG, which will in turn set what I will achieve. I mainly hope I can use my skills and experience to assist with the priorities that will bring real change for the Walgett community while getting to learn and grow with the talented people across DEG and Yuwaya Ngarra-li.