Board of Directors

L

Tri Duc Nguyen - Director

Tri Duc Nguyen arrived in Australia from Vietnam by boat as part of the UNHCR Refugee Program in the early 1980s, at a young age. Having benefitted greatly from growing up in strong supportive communities that encouraged cultural diversity and importantly retention, he is particularly keen to ensure that Indigenous cultures are maintained wherever possible and through empowerment. He is an accomplished corporate lawyer highly experienced in corporate governance, compliance & risk, finance, M&A, corporate restructuring, Government and stakeholder relationship. Tri has spent the last 20years in various General Counsel and Company Secretary roles working at Board and C-Suite levels in a range of industries: ASX (Telecommunication, Agricultural, Forestry, Manufacturing, Construction, Regulated Investment and Hospitality), Federal Government, Funds Management, and Community Health. He is an Independent Director at First Super, Board Member of the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, a founding Board member of the Vietnamese Australian Benevolent Foundation (SA) a Director of Clean Swell Dreaming Pty Ltd.
L

Emmanuela Shinta - Director

Emmanuela Shinta is a Dayak leader, activist, environmentalist, filmmaker and writer with a reputation for leading and empowering indigenous youth. Her work has been recognized widely in the Asia Pacific through her YOUTH ACT CAMPAIGN, an indigenous youth movement for climate action as a response to forest fire and haze in 2015. In 2016, Emmanuela founded an organisation called Ranu Welum Foundation, through which she has trained hundreds of young indigenous people to use audio-visual media to speak about indigenous people’s rights. She has been speaking about Dayak people across international forums and bringing the stories from Kalimantan Island to a global audience through films and her book ME, MODERNISM AND MY INDIGENOUS ROOTS. Emmanuela is also the founder of the International Indigenous Film Festival series across South East Asia. In 2018, Emmanuela began a world storytelling tour themed around Indigenous Stories That Matter, which travelled through the United States, Australia, Europe and many Asian countries.

L

Aurelius Yan - Director

Aurelius Yan is a proud Mentawai elder from Siberut Island. In 1979, Aurelius began working as a teacher in the hinterland communities of Siberut. Within this role, Aurelius offered assistance in finding solutions for day-to-day issues, but as these were general problems relating to traditional culture, he found it difficult because he himself was not yet acquainted with his traditional Mentawai knowledge. In 1983, Aurelius was invited to guide a Dutch anthropologist on Siberut and through this, he himself became drawn to anthropology. Aurelius soon accompanied the anthropologist to the Netherlands and began studying anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit, in Amsterdam. In addition, he undertook studies in medical anthropology. Completing his study, Aurelius pursued multiple jobs in Amsterdam, including assisting Prof. Dr Reimar Schefold in interpreting Mentawaian transcriptions. Whilst relevant, Aurelius realised his purpose was, in fact, to do meaningful work for the people of the Mentawai Islands. In 2003, Aurelius was invited to coordinate healthcare projects for NGOs Kirekat and a Reimar Schefold Foundation funded by Cordaid, so Aurelius decided to move back to his homeland – Mentawai. For 7 years Aurelius coordinated expeditions through the rainforests of Siberut Island. The main objective was to combine modern healthcare with traditional Mentawai medical systems in remote areas. He coordinated doctors to visit several of these remote communities on a regular basis to provide medical examinations and essential medicine. Additionally, he provided consultation whilst coordinating various projects subsequent to tsunamis in Aceh and Sikakap; and made an unsuccessful attempt to be elected as Regent of the Mentawai Islands. Hence, in 2012 Aurelius took a step back and pursued a role managing a tourism resort in Bunaken island, North of Sulawesi. Missing Mentawai, Aurelius moved back home again after a year and built a traditional Mentawaian longhouse called a Uma on a beautiful bounty island, called: Karangmajat. After a few years, his daughter Sitta joined him and Umata Village was born. When Aurelius is not providing his support to Mentawai’s grassroot cultural-based education initiatives, he is sharing his expansive knowledge of the history, culture, traditions and ecology on Siberut with guests.

IEF Director - Fransiskus Yan Mendrofa
L

Fransiskus Yan Mendrofa - Director

Fransiskus Yan Mendrofa is a young Mentawai leader and currently the Chairman of Mentawai cultural education foundation, Yayasan Pendidikan Budaya Mentawai (YPBM). Chairing the YPBM team since 2018, Yan has successfully lead the growth of nine cultural education hubs, expanding the YPBM team to employ a total of 36 First-Nations staff, teachers and hub coordinators. Yan has also lead the publication of numerous Mentawai resources, including the first Rereiket dialect dictionary and a Mentawai plant field guide. Yan has represented YPBM and Mentawai culture in speaking roles at national and international events and is delighted to take on a Directing role on the IEF Board.

L

Jade Preston - Director

Jade Preston has dedicated twenty years of her career to supporting disadvantaged individuals in align with her strong sense of social justice. Within her current role in the Department of Health and Human Services she is tasked with supporting vulnerable individuals with complex needs who are experiencing significant challenges navigating disability and mainstream systems. Jade works with people at risk of homelessness, justice involvement, children in the protection system and those unable to leave mental health facilities due to a lack of support in the community. An integral element of Jade’s work is to empower each mainstream interface by building capacity, and ensuring each intersect is held accountable to their responsibilities. Jade brings a wealth of hands-on experience and knowledge to the IEF Board.

Martison Siritoitet
L

Martison Siritoitet - Director

Martison Siritoitet, an emerging leader from the Mentawai Islands, is currently pursuing a degree in tourism at Jakarta’s Tisakti Institute of Tourism. Beyond his academic commitments, Martison has held the Media and Communication Manager role at the Mentawai Cultural Education Foundation (YPBM) since 2018 – during which time Martison has played a pivotal role in elevating the YPBM foundation’s profile. With valuable experience in both governmental and private sectors of the tourism industry, Martison has also nurtured a keen interest in photography and cinematography. Martison’s accomplishments include production of documentary film, Mentawai Souls of The Forest, which has garnered prestigious awards such as the Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Bali International Film Festival, the Mt. Everest Award at the 2023 Nepal International Film Festival, as well as official selection in the Beautiful Planet Indigenous Voice category at the 2023 Cambodia International Film Festival. Through his unwavering dedication, Martison recently secured government grant funding for a Mentawai cultural documentary film slated for release in late 2023. Martison is eager to contribute to the development of IEF and support for Indigenous-led cultural education.
L

Rob Henry -
Founder and President

Rob Henry has worked with marginalised groups at a grass-root level for over a decade. Since 2008, Rob has lived and worked with the Mentawai community in western Sumatra, conducting anthropological research focused on Indigenous cultural knowledge, oral literature and the cause and impacts of loss of connection with their culture, land and its resources. In 2014, Rob founded the Indigenous Education Foundation (IEF) to empower the Mentawai community and other Indigenous peoples across the globe to reconnect with and further strengthen their culture as a means to prevent poverty. In 2017, Rob produced and directed award-winning documentary film, As Worlds Divide, which, filmed over the course of 8 years living with the Mentawai, explores the impacts of displacement and provides a compelling insight into the value of Indigenous knowledge in relation to some of today’s greatest global challenges. Rob has held the position of Chairman of the IEF board of Directors from 2014 – 2018. He continues volunteering his time as IEF President and working closely with our Indigenous partners.

IEF Company Secretary - Meg Ryan
L

Meg Ryan -
Company Secretary

Meg Ryan In 2020 Meg graduated from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Laws with Distinction and a Bachelor of International Studies with Distinction (majoring in International Relations). Once admitted to practice, Meg worked as a solicitor in corporate and commercial law at Meridian Lawyers, before joining the national disability and aged care not-for-profit organisation, genU, as Legal Counsel – General Commercial in 2023. Meg has volunteered her time to IEF as company secretary, managing all things to do with the Board of Directors and IEF’s various obligations to regulators.

James Lawson - Chair
L

Jim Lawson -
Chair of Directors

Jim Lawson Jim’s life-long commitment as an artist, educator, and organisational director has been to the empowerment of those whose voices are often unheard. Jim’s advocacy and consultancy work over three decades provided him with global opportunities to teach creativity and creative problem solving to the arts, community, education, and corporate sectors. Most recently, he partnered in delivering a Regenerative Leadership workshop at ADAPT NSW – the State Government body responding to Climate Change. Jim has served on a range of boards for Universities, National Service Organisations and Arts bodies as member and chair. Jim’s personal journey with the Mentawai people began in 2006.

Volunteers

L

Damian Sutherland - Treasurer

Damian Sutherland is Senior Director at a leading Australian Accounting firm, William Buck, and holds numerous Board positions.

L

Rob Henry -
Founder and President

Rob Henry has worked with marginalised groups at a grass-root level for over a decade. Since 2008, Rob has lived and worked with the Mentawai community in western Sumatra, conducting anthropological research focused on Indigenous cultural knowledge, oral literature and the cause and impacts of loss of connection with their culture, land and its resources. In 2014, Rob founded the Indigenous Education Foundation (IEF) to empower the Mentawai community and other Indigenous peoples across the globe to reconnect with and further strengthen their culture as a means to prevent poverty. In 2017, Rob produced and directed award-winning documentary film, As Worlds Divide, which, filmed over the course of 8 years living with the Mentawai, explores the impacts of displacement and provides a compelling insight into the value of Indigenous knowledge in relation to some of today’s greatest global challenges. Rob has held the position of Chairman of the IEF board of Directors from 2014 – 2018. He continues volunteering his time as IEF President and working closely with our Indigenous partners.

L

Pamela Varela -
Financial advisor

Pamela Varela has over 9 years of actuarial professional experience. She has worked in various fields including consultancy, health insurance, workers compensations, data analysis and so forth. Pamela is passionate about education and helping others to thrive. Aside from this, she enjoys practicing yoga, reading and learning. etc.

L

Samantha Lee -
Operations Manager

Samantha Lee is currently studying a Bachelors in Forest Science and Management and is passionate about humans and their relationship to their forests – both economically, socially and spiritually. With a B of Digital Media also under her belt, she brings to IEF many years of experience leading and inspiring teams. When not busying herself with the operational ins and outs of IEF (volunteer), she spends her time enamoured by biodiversity and eucalypts.

L

Lizzy Medynskyj -
Creative Designer

With over 7 years professional graphic design experience across Sydney and London, Lizzy Medynskyj has a real passion for learning and strives to live a selfless life helping others through her creativity and compassion. Lizzy has voluntarily offered her services as IEF’s Creative Designer to support positive change for Indigenous cultures and the planet at large.

L

Hoang Linh Bui -
IT Systems Administrator - Supervisor

Linh graduated a double degree course in Computer Science and Games & Interactivity at the Swinburne University of Technology and joined the IEF team in 2021. Although he specializes in Game Development, he is looking to explore more of the IT industry and thanks to his fascination toward exploring different cultures, he finds the internship at IEF a great opportunity to develop his career and his knowledge. He is hoping to contribute to IEF’s projects with his unique skill set and cultural values. In his spare time, he likes to read books, listen to music and play games as well as giving them in-depth analyses and sometimes even does volunteer translation works from Japanese to English. He also practices Kenjutsu, a Japanese martial arts to stay healthy and maintain discipline.

L

Isabelle Barlow -
IEF Linguistic Assistant

Isabelle commenced volunteering with the Indigenous Education Foundation in 2021, providing support in the revision of the Mentawai Rereiket-Indonesian dictionary. Isabelle graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2018 after completing the Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics and Indonesian) and Master of Speech Pathology. These degrees developed Isabelle’s interest and passion for indigenous languages, in particular the role of language in preserving culture and knowledge for First Nations communities. Isabelle currently works as a paediatric Speech Pathologist, a role which has highlighted for her the importance of exposing children to ancestral languages, and the benefits of immersing children in language-rich environments. Isabelle strongly believes in the relationship between indigenous language learning and self-identity, and is excited to support the Mentawai community to empower the next generation of Mentawai Sarereiket speakers.

L

Charlotte Lee -
Finance & Bookeeping

TBA

To achieve our mission supporting Indigenous-led cultural and ecological education programs, IEF relies on support from public and private donors.

IEF supports the 2030 UN
Sustainable Development Goals
and Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples
.

ACN: 168 130 096

ABN: 67 168 130 096