Rhys’ Career History

Season 1

I began my career in 2009. It’s April, and I’m one year out of tafe. I studied a cert IV in Aboriginal theatre and I want to be an actor. Turns out the principal at my old school had just opened up a position of AIEO: Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer, and he wants me to apply. 

The job (if I were to summarise it):

  • Support Aboriginal kids at the school.

Easy job for me. Half these kids I was already related to, and the other half I knew well considering I had graduated from there only 2 years prior.

***This was my entry into Aboriginal Education. ***

I learned and achieved a lot during this time. Some highlights include:

  • Improved Aboriginal attendance by 40%

  • Got me diploma in education support

  • Teach kids about Aboriginal stuff (I would share my artefacts & stories)

  • Organised and ran multiple NAIDOC week events 

  • Do acknowledgements of country at every single assembly lol

I enjoyed my time at Ballajura Community College, but all good things must come to an end, and after 4.5 years I dipped.

Season 2

It’s 2014, there’s a fresh and hip new NFP that’s really beginning to kick off.

They focus on mentorship, specifically connecting Indigenous high school students with university student volunteers across Australia.

The organization facilitates "program days" on university campuses, where Aboriginal presenters curate and lead activities between the mentors (university students) and their mentees (Indigenous high school students).

They heard about how great I was, so they sent an envoy to deliver this message - turns out they needed my help as a presenter who happens to be Aboriginal to become a program manager.

My job was to:

  • Recruit and train student volunteers on campus to become mentors

  • Recruit Indigenous high school students to become mentees

  • Facilitate ‘program days’, where I delivered aspirational and confidence building workshops

  • Have fun (seriously this was in my contract)

Some successes included:

  • Ran and maintained the largest cohort of mentors in Australia (300+ mentors)

  • Had the longest mentee retention rate in Australia

  • Made multiple friends for life

After 3.5 years of living through what I call, “the golden era” of that particular organisation, we decided it was not meant to be, so “fly” they said, and thus I flew.

Season 3

Here was the ‘orienting’ phase of my career. At this stage, I am 7 years into the workforce and have had only 2 jobs. Turns out my mum is friends with Munya Andrews. 

I bring this up because mum gets on the phone to her, and asks her if she had any work for me, knowing that both aunty Munya and I work in Aboriginal education.

This was the first time I had considered that I could actually be self-sufficient. I didn’t need an employer, I could just get me ABN and bobs your uncle.

During this time I did a lot:

  • Contracted my services as a presenter to bigger fish, delivering their content

  • Got an iPad, rediscovered drawing, then added that to my services as a digital artist 

  • Worked for an Aboriginal owned consultancy organisation as a presenter (part time)

  • Worked for a local Government (part time) as their Aboriginal Youth Development Officer 

  • Worked on country part time, walking young fullas through the bush, teaching them how to hunt with little plastic kangaroo targets and broom sticks for spears

Then, the Americans invaded. Not really. Well, one did. This is where I met my diversity hire, Emma Gibbens. Emma is a ‘change strategist’. She is also a ranga. She came to our superior country in 2018. We met up, realised we worked in similar spaces (culture change) and decided to merge forces. Then we created…

Season 4: Acknowledge this!

~it started as a conversation between friends~

There’s this phenomena that has permeated the Australian consciousness for the past 15 years. We hear them all the time, at every team meeting. We see them at the bottom of emails, on plaques as you enter buildings, and sometimes, if you’re super lucky, you’ll get them as a pop up on a website.

I’m talking about Acknowledgements of Country. 

“Let’s talk about that” says the strange chategist

So we did, indeed, talk about that.

Every fortnight on Zoom we talked about it to the public. Anyone who wanted to join was (and still is) welcome.

Emma created a structured conversation. I created the slides. We delivered Acknowledge This!, together. It’s perfect really - one black, one white. One man, one ranga. Let’s see if more people want to talk about acknowledgements of country!

During this time, we built our business. We hired staff, rented office space, trialled new content, traveled to new places. During this time I:

  • Built and maintain a successful business

  • Trained over 30,000 Aussies in my flagship workshop alone

  • Built a yarning circle at Government house

  • Planted hundreds of trees

  • Wrote and illustrated a book*

  • Sponsored my best mate Abbie’s play

  • Sponsored a kennel at RSPCA

  • Had and am having loads of fun doing so