Board of Directors
Leanne Miller
Board Member - Chairperson
Leanne is a proud Dhulanyagen Ulupna woman of the Yorta Yorta people. Leanne is an experienced Director with a demonstrated and connected history of working in government, non-government and social organizations. Leanne is skilled in governance and leadership in Non-profit Organizations, Corporate Social Responsibility program areas, Program Evaluation, Conflict Resolution, and Culture Change.
Leanne is an Atlantic Fellow, having completed the GC-EDGEN Graduate Certificate focused in Social Change Leadership from University of Melbourne. Leanne brings extensive experience advocating for and building opportunities with women in business, including in environmental management areas, and in tourism.
Robert Taylor
Board Member - Treasurer
Robert, a Nhanda Yamaji man, has worked the past six years as WAITOC CEO. Robert has taken the organisation from a marketing and advocacy Aboriginal tourism organisation and introduced business development as a further arm of the organisation to build business leaders for the future and create a solid Aboriginal tourism sector for Western Australia. His drive to ensure the country understands Aboriginal tourism's value has been rewarded by securing local and federal funding for Aboriginal tourism.
Rob offers over 36 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. He has owned and managed hospitality, tourism, mining, sport and recreation and construction industries. Having an entrepreneurial spirit, he has proved his diversification capability by utilising his skills and knowledge to cross industries to develop diverse income streams.
Robert became CEO of WAITOC in 2015. In this time, he has successfully delivered the Aboriginal Tourism Development Program. Growing 39 new Aboriginal businesses across W.A., These businesses have created 104 full-time equivalent jobs for urban, regional and remote communities.
Today Rob brings his expertise and advice to the Outback Academy Australia cooperative business development programs in agri-business – Follow the Flowers OAA Flagship Initiative – with a specific portfolio of linked Aboriginal tourism on farms and overall business development.
Clare O'Kelly
Board Member - CEO
Clare is passionate about the creation of ethical and cooperative business models that can bring about significant social and economic change for those most in need including young people, families living in poverty and people with disability. After working for over 30 years with Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and Traditional Owner groups striving to build strong, ethical and successful business models, Clare became a co-founder of the Outback Academy Australia in 2013. Clare also brings her experience during that time is building Aboriginal and other workforce development programs from entry levels to tertiary pathways and employment.
Executive Leadership Team
Taleisha Ahmat
Executive Assistant and Special Projects Lead
Neville Atkinson
Partnerships and Relationships
Neville is a Yorta Yorta man from north-east Victoria. Neville has worked in senior roles governance and business leadership roles within Aboriginal community-controlled and prescribed body corporate organisations. Neville is passionate about working with the business and broader community to achieve economic and social change with his people. Neville has worked for over 30 years in government roles in environmental management, justice, health and community development. He is committed to seeing Outback Academy supported business activities as able to accelerate economic, social and health benefits with communities while also addressing climate change and improved health of country.
Terry Kennedy
Terry has extensive experience in working with all levels of government at policy and program levels and has managed many large funding projects at a State and National level.
He has run his own company in workforce and education research and program design, as well as published educational resources focusing on how education and employment settings can be more inclusive while increasing productivity.
Terry has co-designed and project managed a range of initiatives with First Nations businesses and communities, including the initiative that was the precursor to Outback Academy Australia – Networked Communities for Sustainable Futures.
Kelly Flugge
Business Development Lead WA
Kelvin (Kelly) Flugge is a Wudjari Noongar man from the South Coast of WA, with over 30 years’ leadership experience in management professions across Commonwealth, State, and private sector.
He has a strong professional background in Aboriginal Agricultural Enterprise Development, Regenerative Land Use Planning, Organisational Workforce Development and Community Employment Skills Training.
Over the years he has worked with Southern Agricultural Indigenous Landholder Service (SAILS), the Indigenous Landowner Service (ILS) for the Dept of Primary Industry & Regional Development WA (DPIRD) and Australia’s first Incorporated Aboriginal landowner producer group the Noongar Landowner Enterprises group (NLE).
Since 2019 he has run his own Indigenous consultancy company with his vision to lead diversity in ethical business development on Aboriginal owned and managed lands in SW Western Australia.
His passion includes re-establishing traditional ecological knowledge production systems into land enterprise opportunities providing broader land and cultural regeneration capability.
Kevin Kropinyeri
State Lead SA
Kevin is a Ngarrindjeri/Narungga Man from the Lower River Murray Lakes and Coorong in South Australia. Kevin’s passion is in conservation and business development within community and private Aboriginal organisations and has been doing so for 10 years, he has also been a part of the leadership and development of Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporations conservation and flower industry. Kevin currently serves a role with Outback Academy Australia as the business development lead SA.
Kianna Taylor
State Lead Victoria
Jacob Hegedus
State Lead NSW and OAA Economic Sustainability
Technical Experts
OAA is supported by a team of technical experts. We acknowledge the following team members.
National
Dr Kylie Cripps – National Evaluation Advisor
Isaac Harrison – National Marketing Lead
Western Australia
Joanne Ludbrook, Operations and Project Planning
Fiona Pengel – Systems and Workforce Development
Mal Clifford - Lead Apiarist
Rod Carey – Nursery Development
South Australia
Laurie Rankin – Employment and Business Development
Reece Cameron – Lead Apiarist
Victoria
Gaye Sutherland – Technical Support to Farm Planning and Implementation
Leon Atkinson – Cultural Lead (Education, North East)
Dookie Artistry – Liz and Andrew Evans, Nursery Development
Lead Apiarist for Eastern States TBA
Anne Jenkins – Education Project Coordinator
Red Dust Heelers - Disability and Inclusion
The Red Dust Heelers were founded by Brad, Kathleen, Ryan and Robbie in 2013. Since that time, they have worked in a co-design model with remote, regional and urban communities across Australia raising awareness about disability, and greater access and inclusion across all areas of life. Leave no-one behind is their mantra and informs all other areas of OAA business and employment activities internally and with our partners.
Brad Ness OAM
Red Dust Heelers Co-Founder
Brad Ness OAM, with Ryan Morich, Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy and Rob Pike established the Red Dust Heelers in 2013.
Brad is a five-time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball and currently coaches the Australian Men's team, the Rollers. In 2024 he was inducted into the Basketball Australia's Hall of Fame.
He has played wheelchair basketball around the world and lived in Europe playing professionally for many years. Since returning to Australia a decade ago he has been committed to opening doors and supporting young Indigenous people with disability to participate in sport at any level, and especially in wheelchair basketball.
Brad was the inaugural coach of the Red Dust Heelers when they entered the National Wheelchair Basketball League in 2017.
Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy
Paralympian
Kathleen was part of the bronze medal-winning Australian Women's National Wheelchair basketball team - the Gliders - at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
Kathleen and her teammate Shelley Chaplain (also a Red Dust Heeler) were the first Australian women with disability to win scholarships to the University of Illinois, where they went on to win three US National Championships with the University of Illinois team.
Kathleen has also represented Paralympics Australia in 2016 as a guest panel member at the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability at the United Nations New York. She is a fierce advocate for rights and opportunities of people with disability, including First Nations youth across Australia, being a co-leader of the Red Dust Heelers Community Engagement and Education program.
Ryan Morich
Ryan is the first Aboriginal person with a disability to take up a sports scholarship in the USA. In his first year, he made the Intercollegiate All-Rookie Team.
In 2013, Ryan represented Australia at the Under 23 World Championships, where he led the team to a bronze medal win. Ryan was also a former Australian Rollers Squad member.
Ryan leads the Red Dust Heelers wheelchair basketball team with a strong focus on unearthing future Aboriginal athletes with disability. Ryan is also a key leader in the Red Dust Heelers Community Engagement and Disability Education Programs across the nation. He helps others by sharing his story on cancer, limb loss and losing loved ones to cancer. Ryan is working now with the Government of Western Australia where he continues to advocate .
Rob Pike
Coming soon