Community Reference Group

Roslyn Malay is a Yurriyangem Taam Kija women from the East Kimberley of Western Australia. She has expert knowledge on the complex social, environmental and cultural issues that both affect and influence the health and wellbeing of older Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. She is the co-chair of the  CRG alongside Uncle Harry Douglas.

Harold is a proud Gunnai man from south eastern Victoria. He is a research officer on the Let’s CHAT Dementia project and IRG co-ordinator, and also an Integrated Team Care Co-ordinator at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. Harry has worked as an aged care consultant and personal care assistant for 20 years and was also the manager of a planned activity group at the Aboriginal Community Elders’ Service (ACES) for a number of years. He was even the cook and gardener there for a while!

“I love working with my Community and in particular with Elders. I have found that taking a holistic approach to care, which might sometimes mean doing tasks outside the scope of my job description like taking people shopping, cooking them a meal, or physically taking clients to appointments, makes all the difference to my clients’ health and wellbeing. I have a lot of experience working with people on the dementia journey, and more recently have had the very personal experience of dealing with my mum’s diagnosis with dementia and the challenges of helping to care for her. I feel very strongly that the research that I’m involved with at Melbourne University is going to help my community improve their quality of life and get better, culturally appropriate support. I’m very keen to let Community know about what I’m doing and change perceptions about research and its potential value for Indigenous people, when it is conducted in a culturally and spiritually appropriate manner.”

Uncle Harry co-chairs the CRG alongside Aunty Roslyn Malay.

Uncle Terry Donovan OAM identifies as a Gumbaynggirr / Biripi man. His father was a Gumbaynggirr man and his mother a Biripi woman. Terry has had a diverse career, from military service, working in local government and non-for-profit community services, to providing education to health professionals on Aboriginal Cultural awareness. Additionally, Terry worked with the National Parks & Wildlife Service of NSW as one of 3 Aboriginal Sites Officers. As an Aboriginal sites officer, he travelled to all Aboriginal communities in NSW and collected information about Aboriginal Sacred sites, Aboriginal occupational sites and Aboriginal history & Culture. Most recently, Terry worked with the Aboriginal Health & Ageing Program at Neuroscience Research Australia for 8 years as a Knowledge Translation Officer, working closely with communities to collaborate on research and translation projects related to ageing and dementia.

Uncle Danny is a Mutthi Mutthi and Wemba Wamba man with over 40 years’ experience working with the Victorian Aboriginal community. Uncle Danny has a background in social work, beginning with The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) and has also worked in Koorie Services /Human Services Swan Hill in establishing the Mutthi Miah Aboriginal Family Preservation Program with Rumbalara and Morewell. He served on the Wilandra World Heritage Joint management committee for Mungo National Park in NSW for 15 years and was known as the 3TG’s as Mutthi Mutthi representative.

In 2001 Uncle Danny worked to establish the Balranald Aboriginal Medical Service in NSW. He is a long-standing committee member and has served the Special Ethics Committee for NSW Aboriginal Health Medical and Research Council as Elder’s representation since December 2004.

As of 2024 Uncle Danny has joined the Victorian Treaty process as one of the Elders of the Elders Voice for Treaty Group. He is currently working on The University of Tasmania “Privileging the spirit, voices, and culture of Aboriginal people in dementia care and is a voice on the OnTRACK Community Reference Group at the University of Melbourne.

Tracey Eades, is a Noongar woman from the Great Southern Region of WA. She has been living in Melbourne for the last four years and working at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service where she is currently the Elder Care Support Coordinator for My Aged Care support and services. She is excited to be involved with the OnTrack Community Reference Group and am looking forward to contributing to safe and effective research for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.