Leadership Team

Glenn Johnston is a proud Dharug man from Western Sydney who has at least 6 generations of his Aboriginal heritage from the Dharug Nation, forming a long continuous connection.

Glenn has more than 30 years of leadership experience in commercial, procurement and logistics positions across the private and public sectors. He is a nationally recognised, passionate  advocate for Aboriginal business development and employment.

He is a Director and Deputy Chair at Supply Nation, a Director of AIATSIS Foundation, a Director at Wellbeing Australia and on the Advisory Board of Academy Global. Glenn is Adjunct Faculty at UNSW – AGSM, helping with Aboriginal content creation and program delivery across MBA and other executive programs.

Glenn is a recognised leader in the development and delivery of Reconciliation Action Plans for a wide range of organisations in the NFP, private and public sectors.

Karen Cooper is a proud Kamilaroi woman from Southwest Queensland.
Karen has extensive experience in senior leadership in both the private sector and not-for-profit organisations.
She has over 25 years of experience in banking, employment and community development, most recently as CEO of RISE Ventures, a Community Development provider aimed at building capacity of local Indigenous communities and their economies.
Through her private consulting business, Karen works with Boards and Senior Executives in strategy development, organisation design, governance and leadership development. She has served on numerous RAP Committees and Advisory Groups to local and state committees. Karen holds a Masters of Business Administration.

Cecilia is a strategy, research and engagement expert with specialist knowledge working with and for diverse communities across a range of policy areas, including education and employment. She is General Manager, Advisory Services at Inside Policy, an Aboriginal owned and led consultancy. Cecilia has been involved in Aboriginal policy, advocacy and affairs for more than 20 years to support equity and advancement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in NSW and nationally, including as a senior advisor to the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, at the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and with National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and as a freelance consultant. She has worked in the area of Aboriginal employment and economic development across many of her roles. At the core of her work ethic is the belief that all communities have a right to self-determination and to have their voices heard. She has recently stepped down after five years as non-Indigenous Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.

Sean’s traditional lands are located at Padthaway in South Australia from the extended Potaruwutj family of the Tatiara region and has worked serving Indigenous communities around Australia over the past decade.

Sean joined IBA in June 2020, he is an experienced executive in corporate, community and not for profit sectors. He has managed and delivered nationally award-winning programs impacting communities throughout Australia in collaboration with Federal and State governments resulting in the employment of more than 900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and tens of millions of dollars procured through Indigenous businesses.

His community engagement involved co-founding CareerTrackers, and board membership across multiple foundations.  Sean is a member of the alumni council at the University of Melbourne.

Malcolm has held senior executive roles in a number of large corporations. He is Chair of three Boards, holds a Masters of Economics and Bachelor of Engineering and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Lee is a proud Bundjalung women through her father’s heritage from Grafton NSW. Lee is an experienced people leader with 20 years’ experience in human resources, training and learning & development. She has worked in corporate, professional services, SME and NFP sectors. She is the CEO and founder of Optimal HR, a consultancy specialising in workplace mediation, alternative dispute resolution, HR strategy and executive coaching. Lee is an NMAS Accredited Mediator, MAICD, Certified Executive Coach, and holds a Bachelor of Training & Development (Adult Education).

Kerry is an Aboriginal lawyer, specialising in employment, safety and disputes, and has worked for both private legal firms and government. Kerry is currently Chair of Redfern Legal Centre.

Matt is a proud Ngunnawal man from the Far South Coast of NSW and was appointed as the Inaugural CEO of Yilabara in 2020. Matt comes to Yilabara with over 20 years of combined experience in employment services and Aboriginal Health.

Matt has worked primarily in the NFP sector. His previous roles were Deputy CEO of the National Employment Services Association (NESA) and National Executive Manager for Campbell Page. 

Matt has always been a passionate advocate for Aboriginal employment and economic development and this has seen him invited to talk on these matters domestically and internationally. 

With a committed focus on equity Matt has been at the forefront of government reform leading several national Closing The Gap projects in areas of employment services, capacity building, mental health and remote school attendance.

Matt brings to Yilabara a strong belief in collaboration and a measured approach ensuring that conversations always flow from challenges to solution.  He is the current deputy chair of Birribee where he continues to explore new relationships between Aboriginal employment and housing.

Alix has been with Yilabara since its inception. She leads Yilabara’s Corporate Services team and is Company Secretary. 

She has held a number of senior executive roles within the human services sector. During her career in the NSW health, ageing and disability sectors, Alix lead both strategic and program policy areas spanning a wide range of areas including Aboriginal health, supported accommodation for people with disability, boarding house regulation and individualised funding. She has been a director on a number of volunteer Boards, holds a Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Public Policy and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2014. 

Alix lives on the lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra people in the Lower Blue Mountains.

Julie is a proud Wiradjuri woman, with over 20 years’ experience in senior management roles in both the government and the not-for-profit sector. Julie has a diverse employment background including financial management, community engagement, education and employment and training. Throughout these roles Julie has demonstrated effective strong leadership, performance management and supervisory skills as well as an ability to manage change. 

Most recently Julie was the Regional Manager for Aboriginal Affairs for the Central, Far and Riverina Murray regions.

As Operations Manager, Aboriginal Community Programs, Julie is responsible for

• Barranggirra funded by Training Services NSW 
• Aboriginal Mental Health Health First Aid 
• More Jobs More Care Phase 2 funded by the Department of Communities and Justice.