Dr Jessica Weir (coordinator and founder, ACLWR) is a human geographer whose research focus is on the governance of native title lands and waters, as well as the cultural dimensions of environmental issues. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters on water, native title, governance, and eco-philosophy, and is the author of Murray River Country: An Ecological Dialogue with Traditional Owners, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2009. Jessica is a Visiting Fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society at The Australian National University.

Toni Bauman is a mediator, facilitator and anthropologist. For many years she carried out cultural mapping exercises on country in the Northern Territory for land claims, the registration of sites of significance for the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, and for a book published by Aboriginal studies Press at AIATSIS (2006), Aboriginal Darwin: A guide to exploring important sites of the past and present, in partnership with the Larrakia association, on important places in the past and present in Darwin. She has a particular interest in joint management and the various arrangements that have been negotiated across Australia. She has completed a case study on Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park and has facilitated numerous workshops concerning the governance of joint management, processes for brokering effective partnerships between traditional owners and governments, building relationships of respect and improving communications.

Nick Duff has a background in law, governance, and international relations. He has worked in Australia’s court system, and has recently completed a Masters degree in International Relations with a dissertation focusing on the political theory of self-determination. He is interested in water management both as a practical issue relevant to the lives of Indigenous peoples, and as a potential site for conflict or cooperation, bringing in ideas of legitimacy, political identity and different knowledge systems. Drawing on his work in self-determination and political identity, Nick has been researching ways in which water planning and management can not only better incorporate Indigenous knowledge and cultural priorities, but also meet the political needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in terms of their relationship with government. Nick currently supports, on a consultancy basis, the work of the First Peoples’ Water Engagement Council.

Claire Stacey has a background in community development and she is currently completing a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development. Her research is focused on the role of Indigenous cultural and natural resource management in supporting sustainable livelihoods and the governance of joint management arrangements.

Dr Lisa Strelein’s research focuses on Indigenous peoples engagement with Australian law and policy. Her understanding of the interplay between native title and other legislative frameworks have seen her consulted across a broad spectrum of policy, including various aspects of natural resource and land management regimes. Her work is frequently cited and utilised in course materials. The integration of practice-based research with strong theoretical underpinnings has been a hallmark of Strelein’s work. Strelein maintains strong networks with Indigenous communities, conducting research projects in partnership with and in response to the needs of Indigenous representative bodies and communities as well as private sector and government.

Dr Patrick Sullivanis a Research Fellow in Indigenous Regional Organisation, Governance and Public Policy at AIATSIS and Adjunct Professor at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies (ANU). Patrick’s numerous field studies and placements within indigenous organisations have involved practical research and advice on issues of land use and distribution, community control of community development, and governance institutions at the local and regional levels. He has been the Senior Anthropologist for the Kimberley Land Council formulating anthropological and policy advice on local, national and international projects. He has also worked for periods as an independent consultant, largely on heritage and land needs matters, but also providing commissioned research on Aboriginal policy issues. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles, as well as practical reports. He produced the Kimberley Regional Overview of Lands Needs Study for the Indigenous Land Corporation in 2001. His book Belonging Together: Dealing with the Politics of Disenchantment in Australian Aboriginal Policy was published by Aboriginal Studies Press (Canberra) in October 2011.

Tran Tran has a legal and social research background. Her research is focused on Indigenous experiences of legal and institutional environments including native title, land rights and environmental law. She is interested in relationships between society and nature and how this is reflected in legal and institutional arrangements designed to respond to environmental pressures.

Dr Graeme Ward (PhD ANU), Research Fellow, Human Relationships with Landscapes through Time. Dr Ward’s research is focused on the changing relationship of human communities to the Australian landscapes through ancient and historic times. The growing field of cultural heritage tourism involving Indigenous Australian places is the subject of Dr Ward’s current research. A major part of this is developing awareness and assessment of the impact of tourism on heritage places, especially sites with rock-markings, the major loci of much tourism. In the last few years, Dr Ward has conducted fieldwork, including intensive field recording, in conjunction with Traditional Owners of Wadeye-Port Keats areas and staff of Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, of cultural heritage places that are, or are proposed to be, subject to tourism. He has collaborated with Traditional Owners, and Museum staff on presentations on this topic at national and international conferences. Currently, Dr Ward is collaborating with colleagues toward books on cultural landscapes in Northern Territory and Western Australia.