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Our 2024 Event
Panel Speakers
Braiding First Nations Knowledge in Coastal Science and Engineering
Panel Speakers
Mitchell Gibbs
Dunghutti
Lecturer, Postdoctoral & fulbright Fellow
Mitchell is a proud Dunghutti man through kinship, and Lecturer and, Postdoctoral and Fulbright Fellow at The University of Sydney in the Schools of Geosciences. From Indigenous traditional owners and knowledge holders, he learns about our environments and ways to manage those environments using shellfish-associated practices handed down through oral and lived histories and putting this into practice with Habitat restoration work with the Gamay Rangers and the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Marika Seden
Tolai Customary Landowner (Papua New Guinea)
Engagement and Community Development, Alluvium
Marika is an engagement and community development practitioner, with 28+ years’ experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in the Torres Strait, Far North Queensland and Cape York. Her work has centered on cross-government program and service coordination, Indigenous community advocacy, project management and delivery of initiatives that help communities build capacity and regain effective control over their land and sea country, other community and cultural resources.
Marika’s personal and professional experiences give her a strong affinity with First Nations Peoples’ values, relationship expectations, and the centrality of land and sea country, including natural features, in validating personal histories and identity. These cultural aspects resonate strongly with Marika who is a Tolai customary landowner from Papua New Guinea.
Natalie Friday
Cape York Bama, Bwgcolman woman, and Eastern Kuku Yalanji & Olkola Traditional Owner
Community Engagement and Project Management Consultant
Natalie is driven by a commitment to elevate First Nations perspectives in environmental stewardship and community well-being. She is a Community Engagement and Project Management Consultant with extensive experience in program development, policy formulation, and strategic planning, all rooted in a deep respect for Indigenous knowledge systems.
Natalie’s career has been dedicated to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through initiatives in Natural and Cultural Resource Management, Native Title, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Indigenous Education, Health, and Well-being.
Her areas of expertise include Environmental Awareness, Natural Resource Management, Cultural Heritage Management, Policy Development, and Stakeholder Engagement. Natalie says, “I am excited to share insights on the integration of First Nations perspectives in coastal environment management and advocate for the recognition and application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge”