OUR PEOPLE
Our team brings diverse experiences working with First Nations communities and organisations across many sectors
Director | Human Services, Health and Ageing
Mike Stewart
Principal | Government and Financial Services
Rodney Williams
Principal | Human Services,
Health and Ageing
Monique Jackson
Community Facilitator
Selina Swan
Principal | Human Services,
Safety and Security
Kendra Cockburn
Principal | Human Services , Safety and Security
Kendra Cockburn
Kendra leads Nous’ Darwin office and brings 15 years of experience in public policy at the intersection of the human services, justice and primary health sectors.
She has worked extensively with First Nations leaders on projects that seek to improve First Nations outcomes in the Northern Territory. Some of her most influential project work includes leading a cost benefit analysis of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement, and engaging community members around the design of a youth hub for Darwin’s northern suburbs.
Principal | Government and Financial Services
Rodney is a Guwa man from Queensland and has decades of experience across the private, public and community sectors, where he has held board, senior executive and management roles. At Nous, Rodney holds the position of First Nations Portfolio Champion.
He has worked on many influential projects that impact First Nations people across urban, rural and remote communities. These include the strategic review of the government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy and the mid-term review on Tharamba Bugheen: Victorian Aboriginal Business Strategy.
Rodney has also been CEO of CareerTrackers and worked in Indigenous
Business Australia’s Investments and Enterprises programs.
Rodney Williams
Community Facilitator
As a proud Ngardi-Jaru & Lungka Kija woman raised in Halls Creek, Western Australia, Selina brings over 20 years of experience in management and service delivery roles in the WA and the NT Governments. With a profound dedication to supporting Indigenous communities, Selina ensures their voices are not only heard but also represented in decision-making processes.
Selina designs and leads consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations for a wide range of projects. She has a deep understanding of trauma-informed practice and the nuances of communication and relationships in an Indigenous context.
Selina Swan
Manager | Human Services and Government
Josh McKinnon
Principal | Human Services, Health and Ageing
Monique brings 20 years of experience in health and human services and is committed to working in partnership with community to address inequities and improve outcomes for people experiencing vulnerabilities.
Her expertise spans system redesign, policy reform, strategy, analysis, service design, stakeholder engagement, business cases and evaluations. She has worked on a range of projects involving community-controlled governance and alignment to Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles. These include co-designing the Futures Planning and Support model for young people, reviewing a program to support Aboriginal women exiting the justice system and partnering with an Aboriginal organisation to streamline its support for people with alcohol and other drug needs.
Monique Jackson
Director | Human Services, Health and Ageing
Michael is an experienced strategic advisor and evaluator with more than a decade’s experience in health and sustainable development in Australia and overseas.
Michael lives and works on Larrakia Country in Darwin. He leads Nous’ health work in the Territory, and works closely with government, ACCHOs, peak bodies, and communities to build better systems, enhance service delivery, and improve outcomes. He is lucky that this work provides opportunities for continual learning, reflection and improvement – and he is hopeful that Nous’ work in the Territory makes a meaningful contribution to Closing the Gap.
Mike Stewart
Director | Human Services, Government
Yvette is an Arrernte woman from Mparntwe (Alice Springs) who brings more than two decades of experience working with governments to develop and deliver reforms and strategic priorities that improve outcomes in partnership with First Nations communities.
A specialist in strategy, organisational performance, transformation and implementation, Yvette has worked across housing, homelessness, human services and native title.
Prior to joining Nous, Yvette held roles in the Northern Territory and
New South Wales Governments, the Central Land Council in Alice
Springs and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Yvette Park
Director | Government, Health and Ageing
Born and raised on Gomeroi Country, with close family ties to Gomeroi People and community, Sarah spent her early career working in rural and remote Australia, delivering First Nations focused programs. As a consultant she has led a range of high profile and high impact First Nations projects. These include coordinating the first Indigenous content for the 2021 State of the Environment and facilitating the Traditional Knowledge peer review, developing the Australian Indigenous Employment Index, evaluating the Queensland Government’s Our Way Strategy and consulting on kinship care for Department of Social Services. She also worked with the Office of Township Leasing, developing the framework for community-led social planning within remote Northern Territory townships, and leading implementation across several communities.
Sarah Jones
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Director | Human Services, Government
Yvette Park
Director | Government, Health and Ageing
Sarah Jones
Director | Health and Justice
Holly Norrie
Principal | Human Services, Health and Ageing
Michael van Koesveld
Director | Health and Justice
Holly has 15 years of experience in health, justice, social policy and international development. She combines robust analysis with listening and learning from communities to support better outcomes.
Holly has led projects spanning policy, strategy, service design, evaluations and stakeholder engagement. She has partnered with ACCOs, governments, not-for-profits and others - including on a recent review of an Aboriginal-led program for women transitioning out of prison. Holly previously worked for the Australian Government and UNAIDS Cambodia and volunteered for an Aboriginal youth foundation.
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Holly Norris
Director
Carlos is passionate about working with clients to deliver innovative and practical solutions to complex challenges. His focus is on translating insight into action that delivers improved performance.
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Carlos Blanco
Manager | Human Services, Government
Joshua is a proud Biripi man based in Canberra with policy development, stakeholder engagement and operational leadership experience across private and public sectors. Joshua is the First Nations Portfolio Manager at Nous and additionally works with First Nations organisations and governments across the continent in a variety of sectors. Joshua’s work is primarily focused on the empowerment of First Nations communities by enabling self-sufficiency through strengths-based approaches, understanding the needs of communities and working with stakeholders to support the achievement of their goals.
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Josh McKinnon
Principal | Human Services, Health and Ageing
Michael is social worker and humanitarian professional with over 15 years’ experience working with human services, health, justice, native title and community-led organisations to achieve better outcomes.
Michael takes a strength-based and partnership approach to supporting organisations when defining and achieving ambitious service, policy and commercial objectives. His influential work includes working with government and Aboriginal community leaders to establish the Aboriginal Advisory Council of WA, supporting native title organisations to develop nation-building plans and supporting Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to define strategic goals. Michael is Nous' First Nations Portfolio Director.
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Michael van Koesveld
Community Facilitator
Selina Swan