Martin Hirons has spent his career in sport and brings a wealth of experience to the Red Dust leadership team. More recently, he was a Director of Sweeney Research/Sports and was responsible for the growth of this part of the business over a 12 year period. In November 2007, Martin sold his stake at Sweeney Research to commence a new chapter in his life. He is currently combining his chairing role at Red Dust Role Models with working on a range of new and exciting projects in the sports and commercial sector as Head of Research with Sports Business Partners.

Prior to joining Sweeney Research in 1995, Martin worked in the sport and sponsorship industry for various sporting bodies and event organisers in Australia and Canada.

Previously he has held roles as a Councillor of the Women’s National Basketball League and as a Director of the Vancouver Zoo.

Martin was introduced to Red Dust Role Models through his basketball connections (the most important being his wife, coach Lori Chizik). The enthusiasm of John Van Groningen and the impact of the program on the children and communities in remote NT have had a dramatic effect on his outlook of life in Australia.

Ray Minniecon is a descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation and the Gurang Gurang nation of South East Queensland, the South Sea Islander people, with connections to the people of Ambrym Island.

Ray’s most recent career engagement was with the Anglican Diocese of Sydney as a Pastor and Director of Crossroads Aboriginal Ministries. He is also the Chairperson of the Sydney Anglican Indigenous People’s Committee.

Ray is also a Director of Bunji Consultancies, which supports Aboriginal leadership and business initiatives with a number of corporate clients and is a consultant on the development of programs and projects for the remaining men of Kinchela Boys Home (KBH) with the University of New South Wales.

At Murdoch University, WA, Ray earned a BA in Theology and helped establish the Aboriginal Education Unit where he worked as its co-ordinator. Ray has worked for World Vision Australia’s Indigenous programs for twelve years and was its National Director for six of those years.

Ray has spoken about indigenous issues at local, national and international forums. In 1995 he made an intervention at the UN in Geneva on behalf of Indigenous Peoples at the first hearing of the Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2001, he spoke in Italy at a Global Forum on Ethics and Economics, where he also had a private audience with the Pope.

Ray is the father of three children and two grandchildren. He loves music, writing songs, sport, public speaking and travel.

Linley Frame won the 1991 World 100-metre Breaststroke Championship and an additional two silver medals in the 200-metre Breaststroke and the 4x100 Medley Relay at the same meet.

Linley represented Australia at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

During her career she was a Pan Pacific champion and won three World Short course medals, plus many other international medals throughout a career that spanned sixteen years.

Linley was a member of the Australian Swimmers Commission for 10 years. Since being forced to retire in 1996 Linley has worked as a television commentator for the swimming events at the last three Olympic Games, two World Swimming Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

In parallel to commentating, Linley has worked extensively as a motivational speaker for corporate, civic and educational events.

Post retirement Linley has lived in the USA and Russia for extended periods of time and has been involved with Red Dust Since 2001.

Find out more about Linley’s involvement with Red Dust

http://www.abc.net.au/nt/stories/s2065881.htm

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Paul is the General Manager, Victoria and Tasmania of Vodafone Australia. He joined Vodafone from Motorola, where he amassed 17 years experience in the communications industry. He has held many roles with Motorola, including General Manager and Vice President Asia Pacific, General Manager Australasia. He was involved in all areas including Direct Sales, Channel Sales, and Service Provisioning and has both Australia and Asia Pacific experience. As General Manager of Victoria and Tasmania, Paul is responsible for defining and driving the strategic direction of the business, which will encompass sales, marketing, sponsorship, distribution and business performance. He is committed to forming new strategic partnerships and increasing market share in the southern states.

Armed with three years' experience living in a remote indigenous community, a strong desire to make a difference and enough passion to fill the Northern Territory, John set out over 14 years ago on a mission to enrich the lives of disadvantaged youth living in remote communities. He hasn't looked back. He created a unique program that saw elite athletes visiting remote communities and conducting sport and healthy lifestyle programs, and has evolved it through the years to the become the successful entity that is Red Dust Role Models.

John has degrees in Aviation Science and Technology (Summa Cum Laude) and Theology and has combined these interests through his work as a bush pilot in Lajamanu community and later as a youth minister and sports chaplain.

He counts amongst his personal highlights as living with and becoming an active member of the Walpiri community, supporting athletes in the challenges they face in balancing their personal and professional lives and most importantly the partnership with his wife Jennifer and the parenting of their three beautiful children Austin, Miranda and Jackie.

Simon McKeon is Executive Chairman of Macquarie Group’s Melbourne Office. He is Chairman of MYOB, MS Research Australia, Melbourne Cares, Point Nepean Community Trust, Business for Millennium Development and Essendon Football Club’s Hutchison Foundation.

Simon is also President of the Federal Government’s Australian Takeovers Panel.

Simon is a member of the Victorian Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee and is also an Australia Day Ambassador for the Victorian Government.

A patron of the Australian Olympic Sailing Team, Simon is the helmsman of the Yellow Pages Endeavour which has featured since 1993 in the Guinness Book of Records as holding the outright world sailing speed record. The record was recently broken by a French sailor and Simon and his team are mounting a campaign to claim the record back and also be the first to sustain 50 knots (93km/h)

Associate Professor Ngiare Brown is an Aboriginal woman from the South Coast of NSW and one of the first few identified Aboriginal medical graduates in Australia. She is a medical graduate of the University of Newcastle, with postgraduate qualifications in public health and primary care, and clinical training in emergency medicine.

She is currently undertaking doctoral studies in health, law and human rights, and her professional interests focus on Aboriginal child health and international Indigenous affairs.

Ngiare has held a number of positions in medical education, policy, clinical practice and research. She is a founding member, and was Foundation CEO, of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association; was Assistant Director at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin; and has recently been appointed as Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Sydney, with other appointments including the National Health and Medical Research Council; the Australian Social Inclusion Board of the Deputy PM; and the Board of community focused role modelling and mentoring initiatives for Aboriginal youth.

Ngiare is also a foundation member of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Steering Committee for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equality Within a Generation initiative, known publicly as the Close the Gap Campaign.