Dr Bhiamie Williamson is a Euahlayi man from NW NSW and SW Qld with family ties to north-west Qld. He has extensive experience working with Indigenous Ranger groups in Australia and First Nations groups in British Columbia Canada, assisting in the design of a First Nations Guardianship program. He is currently a senior lecturer at Monash University and has many academic qualifications including a Master’s of Arts in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria in Canada and a PhD on the changing nature of Indigenous men and masculinities from the ANU. Bhiamie was an architect of the ACT's cultural burning program and currently leads the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience research program.

The Founding Director of Country Needs People, Patrick O’Leary has worked at the intersection of Indigenous land and sea management, policy and conservation for 25 years, with 12 years in the Northern Territory.  With an Honours degree in Ecology from Monash University Patrick has worked with the Northern Land Council, developed policy for government, and worked on advocacy and communications for non-profit environment organisations. At Pew Charitable Trusts he developed a national approach to supporting community-based Indigenous land and sea management which led him to establish Country Needs People.

Gunditjmara Traditional Owner Dr Denis Rose has had a long involvement in Aboriginal land and cultural heritage management. Denis championed the first ever Australian Indigenous-led World Heritage nomination for the Budj Bim cultural landscape in Western Victoria, was the CEO of Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation in Heywood from 2002-2010 and was involved in the development of Australia’s Indigenous Protected Areas Program from 1995-2002. Denis was awarded an honorary doctorate from Monash University in 2022 for his work in Indigenous land and sea management and continues to contribute in his own community and beyond through Gunditjmirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Rarrtijiwuy Melanie Herdman is a Yolŋu woman and leader from NE Arnhem Land who has a passion for the environment and biodiversity. As the first female chair of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation (a Country Needs People partner organisation), and as Manapanami (CEO) and founder at Djalkiri Foundation, Rarrtijiwuy has travelled the country and overseas to meet with politicians and stakeholders. Bilingual and with a Qantas Indigenous Corporate Leadership secondment and various leadership positions including at Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation under her belt, Rarrtijiwuy is an active leader and participant in community affairs.

Andrew Dowding is a Ngarluma man whose family is from the West Pilbara, his traditional homelands lie 80km south of Whim Creek at Thalayindi. Andrew holds a BA (Anthropology and History) from the University of Sydney. He specialises in digital cultural heritage and has over 15 years of experience in the Indigenous cultural sector, including a broad range of on-the-ground experience in Pilbara, Kimberley, and South West Aboriginal Communities. He's worked as an anthropologist and ethnographer and held executive positions on several Boards (Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation, Ngarluma Tharndu Karrungu Maya Trust, Aboriginal Lands Trust WA, and Wangka Maya Aboriginal Language Centre). Andrew's passion is community-facilitated mapping projects that digitally capture Aboriginal knowledge for future generations.

Bridgid Cowling is a Special Counsel in Arnold Bloch Leibler’s public interest law and native title groups, advising a broad range of clients with a focus on charities and not-for-profit organisations, Aboriginal Land Councils and Native Title Representative Bodies. Bridgid started her career working at the Northern Land Council and Cape York Land Council, and has many years of experience working in native title and land rights law, co-management and governance of protected areas, and has contributed to numerous law reform submissions. Bridgid is recognised by Chambers Asia Pacific in the area of ‘charities’ for her experience acting for the not-for-profit sector. 

Dr Jayne Weepers has had a highly successful career working in environmental policy, advocacy and with Aboriginal Land Councils, and has recently completed a PhD in Aboriginal tenure reform at UNSW. She is currently working with the National Indigenous Australians Agency. Prior to this Jayne worked for the Central Land Council for 18 years, and as the Manager of Policy and Research was responsible for coordinating all aspects of the CLC’s research and policy development work. Jayne's prior environmental policy and advocacy work includes roles at the Environment Centre Northern Territory, Environment Victoria and was a Council Member and Executive of the Australian Conservation Foundation.