Michelle Steele | Change Maker

The QUT Alumni Team sat down with Michelle to chat about her career, inspiration and ask what can people do in their daily lives to move toward a more just, equity and reconciled country?

Congratulations on your new role. Can you tell us more about it?

As the Chief First Nations Officer, I form part of the executive leadership team who are really committed to making genuine change and positive impact for communities across Australia. Specifically, as the title infers, I do this in our efforts to empower First Nations communities through our philanthropic efforts. I have a role to play in contributing to the cultural safety and intelligence as an organisation, I do this with the partners we have made through our philanthropic funding, and importantly I do this with peers in the philanthropic space to really ensure we leverage each other to enhance grant making opportunities.

This really is my dream job! After 18 years in the public service, I was nervous to leave after building a network and reputation. But I was at the point where I knew the public service had provided me the skills and capabilities to take on a new role which would advance my leadership experience and my commitment to community in a different way.

The philanthropic sector enables a greater ability to respond to community needs as we can offer flexible and tailored approaches. This flexibility enables me to look at issues more holistically and see how they intersect a lot more than what I was able to in the public service, and more importantly I can use my voice in a different way to influence and motivate genuine engagement with First Nations peoples, communities and organisations.

What are some of your career highlights?

I have been extremely fortunate to experience many career highlights as a result of my public service experience, including:

• Leading the Australian Government’s COVID-19 response and vaccine implementation program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and remote communities.
• Representing Australia at the United Nations for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Undertaking the Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity Program as an inaugural Fellow and now part of a global cohort of change makers.
• Contributing to the Prison to Work report, which really kickstarted my passion for justice and safety.

But, I am also passionate about many things, including the impact and prevalence rates of dementia of First Nations peoples. As a result, one of my greatest achievements was undertaking the Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD) in Spain this year. The WTD was an initiative of one of my great friends Fernando Aguzzoli-Peres, also a Global Fellow of the Atlantic Institute, which aimed to bring together representatives from over 25 countries on the world-famous pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). The main aim was to show that people are living with dementia despite the diagnosis, challenges and stigma, can together rethink the way society perceives this community, and that aim was not only met but exceeded.

Can you tell us what emerging issue/s will have the greatest impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the next 5-10 years?

To me, three critical areas are emerging as the opportunity for the greatest impact: Voice, Treaty, Truth. The Uluru Statement from the Heart called for these three sequential reforms to make positive impacts for First Nations peoples, families, communities. For me, supporting the calls for this Statement, supporting Yes, can have a profound impact, as can the path to Treaty and as can truth-telling.

For example, I spoke about dementia earlier. Within Australia, 53 per cent of the dementia burden for First Nations peoples can be attributed to six modifiable risks including: overweight, hyperglycaemia, physical inactivity, tobacco use, impaired kidney function and high blood pressure (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022). All of these modifiable risks are correlated to the social and cultural determinants of health per the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan, and all contribute to outcomes which contribute to broader outcomes under the Closing the Gap National Agreement. To really make advances towards reducing the prevalence rates (3-5 times higher for First Nations peoples, and remote communities’ prevalence rates are among the highest in the world) a Voice advising on these matters would accelerate progress and increase positive impact especially toward preventative measures.

Your first manager encouraged you to capitalise on every opportunity and return to university. Can you share with us why it resonated with you and prompted your return to study?

Even from a young age I had a learning mindset. I was curious, I tried new things often, and learning brought me a lot of joy. The reason I ended university initially was mostly due to the fear of being away from family and friends, but being encouraged back to university and through a block release program I really shone and passed my Bachelor with ease. Undertaking my Executive MBA through QUT also started off similarly: it was a recommendation of a good friend of mine who I consider a critical friend and mentor, and I thought if she believes in me I can do this. And I did. And I have never regretted the time taken, the stress, the lost weekends, because without the further education my career would have not advanced in the way it has and would not have led me to this dream position. Further, it would not have expanded my network to include a wider range of diverse people and positions and industries.

What is one goal you'd like to achieve - professionally or personally - in 2024?

I am looking to commence my PhD in 2024. I would like to undertake the deep study, reflection and analysis of ways in which could consider models of care for First Nations people diagnosed with dementia. It is really important to consider First Nations people first, because if it can work for us it could work for all Australians, and with this, the current care models could be enhanced to meet the unique needs and our positions within family and community when designing and funding care models.

Can you name some Indigenous change makers who you think are doing great work or inspire you?

It is often the people’s names you don’t hear of who are really paving the way for change. So to me, there are three main “behind the scenes” people who are genuinely making a positive impact for the future.

Natalie Walker from Inside Policy, changing the world one policy advice and one board position at a time. To access Natalie as a Non-Executive Director in my role, has opened my worldview and challenged me to do and be better in all aspects. As are all the members on the First Nations Advisory Council at the Paul Ramsay Foundation, so I have to mention them because even in the initial stages of my work they have been phenomenal and generous in their advice and guidance.

I would also mention one of my colleagues, Eloise Bentley, who inspires me to be a good leader in a different way. As Eloise is a younger Aboriginal leader, I see a lot of me in her motivation, pace and dedication to change, so I want to make sure I am a good leader and really supportive of her career trajectory, to guide those efforts during the good and bad. But she really is leading the way in philanthropy and First Nations peoples access to and considerations within.

Last but not least, in June I had the pleasure of facilitating a three-day Government and Advocacy workshop for 26 leaders from across 10 Empowered Community regions in Canberra. We had the opportunity to meet with Political leaders and staff, senior executives from the public service, and including workshops on how to present ideas to advocate for their community. We also had the opportunity to witness the passing of the legislation in the Senate to support the upcoming Referendum. These leaders inspired me, because they are the change makers paving the way for all future young leaders, who work tirelessly in their community and are committed to making their communities, themselves and each other better. Thanks to Jawun for this opportunity to host these wonderful leaders and be reinspired to reimagine a better future.

Reconciliation Action Plans are becoming more common place for workplaces. What can people do in their daily lives to move towards a more just, equitable and reconciled country?

Reconciliation Action Plans are a great opportunity to outline how the organisation can enhance its commitment to genuine reconciliation. We must remain ambitious in our commitments, and this means we must incorporate the people and the community into the development, the implementation and the accountability framework to genuinely assess the approach to reconciliation.

At the basic level, people can learn, interact, be curious and importantly value Indigenous peoples and cultures. We are generous peoples, we offer our experiences, insights and hopes so openly and freely, so communicate with us and commit to the journey of reconciliation alongside us. So get out and attend events, volunteer at local community days, turn up and enjoy our offer of reconciliation.

What is one skill you couldn’t live without and why?

Someone very special to me once said “leaders are readers”, so for me, speed reading is the skill I couldn’t live without. It got me through study and every day assists me to read more due to the ability to read quickly but with accuracy and recall. I remember saying the quote to a friend of mine and she said maybe it should be “leaders are speed readers” given the pace of information. I encourage everyone to invest in a speed-reading course, professional and personal critical skill which will improve all aspects.

Do you have a question for Michelle? Connect with her on LinkedIn.