The Red Dust team

Simon McKeon is Chancellor of Monash University, Chairman of In2Science and the Group of Eight's Industry and Innovation Board. He is also a member of the Big Issue Advisory Board and an Australia Day Ambassador for the Victorian Government. He previously served as Chairman of AMP and CSIRO and was Founding President of the Federal Government's Australian Takeovers Panel, as well as its Point Nepean Community Trust.

Other previous roles include Founding Chairman of MS Research Australia and Business for Millennium Development. He was also Chairman of the Federal Government's Panel which in 2013 completed a Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research. Simon was also the 2011 Australian of the Year.

Martin was introduced to Red Dust Role Models through his various basketball connections.

He has spent his career in the sport business sector and brings a wealth of experience to the Red Dust leadership team and expertise based around business strategy and market research.

Ray 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 earned a BA in Theology and helped establish the Aboriginal Education Unit in Murdoch University. He has also worked for World Vision Australia's Indigenous programs.

An accomplished and motivated Indigenous professional with over 18 years’ experience in Indigenous affairs and community engagement.

Experienced in consultation, facilitation and community engagement, Tania has completed a Bachelor of Business from Queensland University of Technology and also holds an Advanced Diploma of Business Management.

John Wayne Parsons is a proud Yuggerabul Ugarem le (man),based on Narrm (Melbourne), on the homelands of the Kulin Nation. He is a singer songwriter who has always loved singing and growing up in a family with strong spiritual and cultural influences. Among his many credits as a singer, John’s past performances and musical projects have contributed to telling the complex and varied stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. John Wayneprides himself on his culture and his singing practice, which is deeply embedded within his cultural identity and ancestral ties to cultural warriors and knowledge holders from both sides of his Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage. John Wayne incorporates these important cultural perspectivesinto his music practice. John Wayne currently works at the University of Melbourne as the Team Leader for Indigenous Student Success at Murrup Barak, at theUniversity of Melbourne.

‍

A longtime Red Dust Role Model, Will was warmly welcomed to the board at the end of 2014. A former player in the Western Bulldogs, Will was selected 20th overall in the AFL Draft and began his professional career when he debuted in 2004.

Most recently, Will completed his Sciences Degree from the University of Melbourne.

Roslyn is passionate and committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all Australians. She holds a Masters degree in Public Health and has an extensive professional career in the health sector.

Roslyn has developed national prevention programs for leading Australian organisations including the National Stroke Foundation and Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation. She is currently responsible for managing strategic relationships as the Head of Clinical Engagement at Medibank Private.

Chris is a former AFL player forging a successful career spanning over 150 games with Richmond and Port Adelaide. Following his football career Chris has taken on numerous executive roles in the sporting and nonprofit sectors including 4 years as CEO The Reach Foundation.

In his time at AFL Sportsready he implemented an Indigenous employment program which continues to this day. His wealth of knowledge and insights is a welcome addition to the Red Dust Board.

Gavin has a successful 30-year Corporate career primarily in the Oil & Gas and Energy sectors with Santos and Origin Energy.

His areas of expertise include Leadership, Finance, Accounting and Governance and has been a driving force in both growing businesses and improving efficiencies. He has a history of volunteering and Indigenous reconciliation through the Origin Foundation.

Gavin is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mia brings extensive legal, governance and corporate strategy experience to the Red Dust Board, having worked in the professional services, major events and sporting industries. Throughout her career, Mia has been fortunate to work and volunteer with a number of indigenous organisations and charities.

Mia currently holds a Victorian Legal Practising Certificate and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and is currently studying for her Masters of Business Administration.  

‍

Jen is a Registered Nurse and Midwife specialising in Maternal and Child Health and Lactation Consultancy. She is currently working in community based health and brings many years of experience working with families of 0-5 year olds.

Jen is the wife of our late founder John Van Groningen. Jen has had the privilege of walking the Red Dust journey with John. She has been there from the early days in the 80s when John was a light aircraft pilot flying around the Tanami desert to later years when as a sports Chaplain John first started taking sports role models out on Community. Through this, John and Jen both saw the power and influence positive role models have on kids and their families, the importance of two-way learning and the strength and beauty of Indigenous culture.

Jy is a Yorta Yorta man, Co-Captain of the North Melbourne Football Club, and 2021/22 Syd Barker Medal Winner. Jy was first introduced to Red Dust in 2018 as part of a Healthy Living Program in Yuendumu and is an active Ambassador of Red Dust. Jy was one of three Indigenous NMFC Players who inspired the ‘Connecting through Identity’ design of the 2023 NMFC Indigenous Guernsey for the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

‍

Ally Anderson is a proud Gangulu woman and AFLW midfielder for the Brisbane Lions. She was part of the Brisbane team that won the AFL Wonmen’s premiership in 2021 and won the AFL Women’s season seven best and fairest award. Ally was also a duel Brisbane best and fairest winner and was named in the 2019AFL Women’s All-Australian team.

Alongside being an ambassador for Red Dust, Ally is an ambassador for JobTrail. They help Indigenous job seekers along each step of their employment journey and assist employers with their Indigenous engagement initiatives. 

Ally is an active role model for young First Nations women and players and has coached the AFL Indigenous KickStart program made up of U17s Queensland and Torres Strait Islander girls. 

‍

Melanie (MJ) is known as a pioneer for women's cricket in Australia and around the world. She brings a wealth of sporting experience and achievement to her role, having represented Australia in winning multiple  World Cups and Ashes teams.

A qualified teacher, she went on to work in cricket development and sports management before pursing a media career and is currently commentating cricket on domestic and international cricket events including the Australian and England summers, ICC World Cups and the Indian Premier League.

MJ recently finished as a Director on the Board of Cricket Australia which included being Co-Chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Cricket Committee.

Jess is a current AFLW football player for Richmond Football Club. She was originally drafted in 2016 by the Carlton Football Club, however, moved across to Richmond in 2021, now playing alongside her twin-sister, Sarah.
Apart from Jess’ football commitments, she has also started up a charity called ‘2 Boots’, which aims to repurpose and distribute football boots and runners to remote communities within Australia.

‍

Sarah is the vice-captain of the Richmond Tigers Football Club and an experienced midfielder. Her passion and dedication for the sport is shown through her continuous success. One of these accomplishments is holding the most tackles in an AFLW game, with 16 tackles against GWS in 2018.

Using her influence for good, Sarah has been working with several initiatives and charities. ‘2 Boots’ is one of these charities and has been established by her twin sister, Jess.

‍

Santo is a filmmaker and TV personality with the Working Dog team. His work includes such classics as The Late Show, D Generation, Frontline, The Castle, The Dish, Thank God You're Here, The Panel, and worked with Glenn Robbins in All Aussie Adventures.

Santo generously gives his time and expertise to encourage remote students.

Shura Taft is a quirky and charismatic rising radio and television personality. Shura has worked on Channel 9, Melbourne's Nova 100 and has been involved in numerous charity events and MC events.

He is well known for his energy and enthusiasm that he brings to all his performances and is a professional on all levels.

A career spanning 16 years, Allan played 156 Cricket Tests for Australia, scoring 11, 174 runs including 27 centuries and finishing with an average of 50.56. He captained Australia in 93 Tests from 1984 to 1994 (a world record), winning 32 and losing 22. He was one of the 55 inaugural inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

Scott is an experienced public health executive who joined Red Dust in 2017 following five years as a senior manager at the Stroke Foundation.

Born and raised in North East Arnhem Land Scott is a passionate advocate for working in partnership with remote communities to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.

Jonathan is a fluent Pintupi-Luritja speaking man from the NT community of Walungurru (Kintore). He is a qualified teacher/educator and proud advocate for Aboriginal community leadership, youth empowerment and reconciliation.

Based in Alice Springs, Jonathan works for Red Dust as an Alcohol and Men's Health Educator and Coordinator, journeying with Aboriginal males (youth and adults) and their families.

Sharon is passionate about working with young women in remote communities and joined the Red Dust family in 2022 as our Strong Young Women’s Program Coordinator. Her mother is a Pintupi-Luritja and Walpiri woman from Papunya and her father is a New Zealand native who has worked in remote communities as a school principal.

Sharon grew up in the remote communities of Papunya and Yuendumu where she became fluent in the Pintupi-Luritja and Walpiri languages before moving to Larrakia Country (Darwin)

Sharon has extensive experience and cross-cultural knowledge working with Aboriginal people in remote communities. She has previously worked as a case worker with women and young children who have lived experience of domestic violence and as an interpreter with the Aboriginal interpreter service.

Lauren is a Trauma & Addiction Specialist and Accredited Social Worker, Clinical Supervisor and Trainer with more than 20 years experience in human services. Lauren has worked extensively in remote Australia in senior health management role, managing remote Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health workforces across both the Top End and Central Deserts of the Northern Territory. She has created over 30 assessment and intervention tools, manuals and videos for remote Indigenous work, including Australia’s first remote tools for clinical supervision and alcohol and pregnancy.

‍

Roberto grew up on Turrbal lands in South East Queensland and is a proud Italian-Australian. He found his passion working in health as a founding member of a dental startup.

Roberto joined Red Dust in 2019 bringing 20 years experience building relationships and partnerships with a range of stakeholders for organisations like Westpac, GE, Maven Dental, Heart Foundation and Stroke Foundation.

Wayne is a social worker who has worked in a variety of community based and forensic settings. From personal counselling, men's health and family work, focusing on drug and alcohol counselling with at risk young people.

He has also been a musician and songwriter most of his life, engaging young people in writing, recording and producing their own songs.

Born to parents of Maltese descent, Fiona was born on Gadigal land (Sydney), grew up on Dharug (Western Sydney), and is currently living on Darkinjung country (Central Coast, NSW). Fiona joined Red Dust in 2011 as volunteer and hip-hop dancer.

Since then, Fiona has become one of our team leaders, and supports in delivering well-being, yoga and mindfulness programs. With a passion for community, mental-health and wellbeing, Fiona is a trauma-informed yoga and meditation teacher and is currently completing her bachelor’s in counselling.

Mat grew up in South Australia on Ngarrindjeri country and developed a passion of all things outdoors and sport. Having a particular love of triathlon and qualifying for the Ironman World Championships. Matt is currently studying Clinical Exercise Physiology. Matt joined Red Dust in 2018 as a role model and soon fell in love with spending time on country and In community.

Matthew joined Red Dust in 2022 as Reconciliation Programs Manager. Born on Kaurna country (Adelaide) and growing up on Bungarla country (Whyalla) like many South Australians, he has Irish, German and Scottish heritage. He began working in education in 1990 and has had experience as classroom teacher (R-10), Multimedia teacher (music & filmmaking), Learning Technologies Consultant, Online Learning Community Manager, School Leader and Aboriginal Education Advisor. He has worked in Adelaide, London, Hong Kong and Yalata Anangu Community. He has a strong interest in culture, identity and history and by working in partnership with Aboriginal people has developed an understanding of the importance of authentic relationship and cultural humility in enacting Reconciliation.

Teli joined the Red Dust family in 2021 bringing her enthusiasm for walking alongside Aboriginal communities through holistic and sustainable health promotion programs. She grew up on the beautiful beaches of Gubbi Gubbi country in Queensland and celebrates her melting-pot heritage of Euroasian. But little did she know that after undertaking student placement in Alice Springs in 2016, the ‘Dust' definitely got under her skin and soon traded the ocean for desert to work with various Central and Barkly communities on school-based health projects. Teli has a background in Health Promotion and Human Services but has a passion for bringing the arts, especially theatre, to community as a way to promote two-way learning around both western and Aboriginal health.