Professor Keitha Dunstan
PhD, MBus, BCom, FCPA, CA, GAICD
Board of Advice Chair
Professor Keitha Dunstan is a proud descendant of the Mandandanji people of South-West Queensland.
Professor Keitha Dunstan holds the role of Provost of Bond University. She leads the research and education strategies and oversees the academic operations of the university. Her role encompasses leadership of the Bond University College, Office of Learning and Teaching, Office of Research Services, Transformation CoLab (including the University Core Curriculum and Beyond Bond), Higher Degree Research Unit, Academic Integrity Unit, Research Integrity Unit, Academic Integrity Project, and Microcredential Unit. Professor Dunstan also oversees the Inclusion portfolio of the University, which encompasses its Gender Equality, Equity and Diversity and Indigenous strategies. Professor Dunstan’s first appointment at Bond was as the Head of the School of Business in 2009. Shen has Chaired the Bond University Women's Network since 2014 and was the Chair of Academic Senate 2012 - 2016.
Professor Dunstan was a Commissioner of the New Zealand Securities Commission 2003-2011. In 2005, she was appointed as a member of the New Zealand Securities Commission Audit Committee and was the Chairman of this committee from 2008 until 2011. Professor Dunstan is the Chair of the Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal, and the Indigenous Advisory Group for CPA Australia. She is a Board Member of the Gold Coast Waterways Authority and is the Chair of their Audit and Risk Committee.
Professor Dunstan is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is a past President of the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand 2005-2007, a past co-editor of the 'Pacific Accounting Review' 2002-2006 and is a member of the editorial board of ‘Accounting and Finance’.
Mr Ben Gertz
Board of Advice Deputy Chair
Ben Gertz is a born and bred Townsvillian, and a descendant of the Gugu-Badhun and Ngadjon-ji people of North Queensland, and the Meriam People of the eastern Torres Strait.
Ben completed his high schooling at Ignatius Park College in Townsville, and since then has spent most of his professional working career working in numerous policy and stakeholder engagement roles between Townsville, Brisbane, and Mount Isa, including a stint as a Policy Advisor in the office of then Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Curtis Pitt MP.
Ben has since returned home to Townsville, and currently works as a Senior Associate – Indigenous Outcomes at the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, where he works with stakeholders in industries such as transport, resources, energy, agriculture and education to develop Indigenous Engagement outcomes associated with large scale Infrastructure projects across Northern Australia. In addition to his work, Ben sits on the Healthy Water Traditional Owner Technical Working Group for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
While Ben is not a QATSIF recipient (having completed high school a few years before the foundation was established), Ben’s youngest brother, Alex, was a QATSIF recipient in 2014, and Ben has seen firsthand the value that QATSIF provides in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families.
Ben is passionate about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people pursuing opportunities to further advance their education, and regularly takes the opportunity to visit Ignatius Park College to share his post school experiences with current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Mr Mark Brand
Board of Advice Member
Mark has worked with privately owned and publicly listed companies in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as closely with Government for more than 20 years. He is a broadly experienced manager with strategic and operational experience in the technical, consulting, human resources and not-for-profit sectors. He has visited and engaged with a number of Aboriginal communities, particularly on Cape York since 2004 and seeks to contribute towards improved educational outcomes and the growth of the Foundation.
Mark is the Principal Consultant at Turning Point Partners, an ICC Certified Coach & ICC International Coach Trainer and Peer Advisory Group Chair – TEC82: The Executive Connection.
With a desire to improve employment outcomes for young people from both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous backgrounds by balancing Secondary, Vocational and Tertiary education, he also maintains a strong focus on corporate governance and appropriate process, most recently working as a Director and Board Chairperson of the Queensland PCYCs.
Mr Kenneth James (Jim) Walker
Board of Advice Member
Jim Walker is an Aboriginal Elder of the Yiman and Goreng Goreng First Nations peoples of Australia.
He is a lecturer within the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Queensland and is the Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of Earthwatch Australia, Chair of the First Nations Advisory for the Co-operative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies, a member of the Science Advisory Committee for Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network and, a member of the Queensland Chief Scientist’s Native Vegetation Scientific Expert Panel.
He has been involved in advocating for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in excess of 20 years both in Australia and internationally. Jim has been involved in development and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policies and programs in the fields of environment protection, science research, social justice, education, health, housing, economic development, Indigenous rights advocacy, and Indigenous cultural protection.
Mr Brad Jarro
Board of Advice Member
Brad Jarro was born in Brisbane and is a descendant of the Bidjara and Ghungalu people of Central Queensland. He is currently working as the Manager of Brisbane Catholic Education’s Ngutana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies Centre.
Brad began teaching in 2006 and has held several senior and middle leader positions during this time, having taught in secondary colleges with both Brisbane and Rockhampton Catholic Education.
Brad is an active member of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission’s (QCEC) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Network. He was a member of the former Queensland Study Authority’s (QSA) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Committee, the Diocesan Pastoral Council for the Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton and various other committees throughout his time in education.
Brad is passionate about education and working across schools and colleges to ensure they become places of true reconciliation, whilst providing culturally safe environments for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families and empowering all young people to achieve their full potential.
Mr Brenton Bowen
Board of Advice Member
Brenton was born in Cairns and raised in Hopevale, he is a proud Guugu Yimithirr man. He still has strong ties to his community and regularly visits his family who still live there.
Brenton excelled in both sports and his studies as a boarder at St. Teresa’s College, Abergowrie. At the age of 17, he signed his first contract with the North Queensland Cowboys and made his NRL First grade debut at the age of 19. His career in the NRL spanned 8 years and saw him play for North Queensland Cowboys and the Gold Coast Titans.
After retirement from football, Brenton worked for 10 years in the Department of Human Services. He is currently working for IUIH as a Deadly Choices Ambassador. Brenton is passionate about Indigenous Health and empowering students and community to make a Deadly Choice through healthy eating, being physically active and being mentally strong.
Brenton also encourages students who have aspirations of becoming professional athletes to gain a tertiary education or trade, as professional sport does not last for ever. He strongly believes that having tertiary qualifications or a trade is very important to set you up for life after professional sport.
Ms Amanda Martin
Board of Advice Member
Amanda Martin is a proud Gadigal woman and was a Round 7 QATSIF student at the Brisbane School of Distance Education.
Amanda holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) from Griffith University. Amanda was admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2022 and is now an employment lawyer working for MinterEllison. She is experienced in many areas including: workplace law including WHS, industrial relations, investigations, anti-discrimination and unfair dismissals.
Since graduating from school, Amanda has continued to support QATSIF’s work by volunteering as an Ambassador at graduations and community events. She also regularly shares her educational journey to inspire the next generation of young leaders both online and at our QATSIF graduations.
Amanda is the second former QATSIF Scholarship Recipient to be appointed to the QATSIF Board of Advice.
Ms Judith Meiklejohn
Board of Advice Member
Judith Meiklejohn is the Senior Impact Manager: First Nations communities at Orange Sky Australia.
Judith has been a health research assistant at the University of Queensland, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Menzies School of Health Research.
In her current role with Orange Sky, Judith oversees many areas including: the growth, management and evaluation of Orange Sky service operations in partnership with key stakeholders across remote and Indigenous communities to maximise social impact; the Recruitment, management and training of volunteers, and employees in Indigenous communities; and manages local service response to disaster recovery efforts in collaboration with local and state government disaster recovery frameworks.