Abadee, Barnes, Mayo join Indigenous Literacy Foundation board

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) has announced the appointment of Nicole Abadee, Amara Barnes and Thomas Mayo to the ILF board.

Abadee was a barrister and then a legal academic for 20 years, and she has worked in the book industry as a senior editor at Penguin Random House. She is currently the books writer for Good Weekend magazine, and she is also a festival moderator. Abadee co-founded Writers for the Voice, an advocacy group with over 700 members.

Barnes is a proud Wiradyuri yinaa (woman) from Wambuul bila (Macquarie River) Country in Central West NSW. For the past decade, she has worked across multiple sectors and industries, including in media, tertiary education, community, non-profit and private organisations. She is an advocate for First Nations self-determination, through Nation re-building, including the preservation and practice of languages and cultures. She is passionate about re-learning Wiradyuri language and passing it on to her gudha-galang (children).

Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal, and Kulkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is a bestselling author and assistant national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia. Mayo has long advocated for social justice issues, including Indigenous and asylum-seeker rights. Mayo is a signatory of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and has been a leading advocate since its inception in May 2017.

Said ILF CEO Ben Bowen of the appointments: ‘We warmly welcome these three outstanding individuals who each bring a wealth of experience and wisdom that will support the ILF in the next phase of our strategic vision. […] Strong governance is critical to the ILF to achieve aspirational Community-led targets to enact Community literacy journeys. I look forward to the opportunity to work closely with Nicole, Amara and Thomas in their capacity as ILF board members.’ 

Abadee, Barnes and Mayo commence with the ILF board this month.

Category: Local news