We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Gemma is a Wiradyuri, Ngemba and Paakantji woman who grew up in a small coastal town on Worimi Country. Her mob are the Beetsons and the Higgins. She is the CEO of Common Ground and a non-executive director at Firesticks – working across storytelling and systems change to build movements that protect people and Country.
With a background in communications, Gemma specialises in strategic storytelling for social impact and systemic change. She sees storytelling as a powerful tool to shift structures, build collective understanding and strengthen cultures – now and for future generations.
At Common Ground, she works with a team committed to creating space for First Nations storytellers to share their stories, their ways. Through digital storytelling, learning resources, capacity building programs and place-based story recording projects, Common Ground works to ensure First Nations knowledges are protected, cultures are celebrated, and truth-telling is centred in national conversations.
Gemma has also supported communications for award-winning films including Audrey Napanangka and Motherhood in the Colony, and is committed to creating long-term, intergenerational impact through story and connection.
Rona is a proud Kaytetye woman from Central Australia who works with high impact organisations to create systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and solutions.
Rona is the founder of Common Ground and brings 7 years
of professional experience working across First Nations organisations and not for profits. Rona was previously the Director of First Nations at YLab, a social enterprise that puts young people with diverse lived experiences at the centre of designing and developing innovative and impactful solutions
to complex social issues. Over her career, Rona has worked in policy at the Central Land Council, the Research Unit for Indigenous Languages at the University of Melbourne, Reconciliation Victoria, and the Foundation for Young Australians.In 2020, Rona was a finalist for the Victorian Young Achiever awards, was awarded a Westpac Social Change Fellowship. In 2019 Rona won a Diana Award and was named a 'Woman of the Future' by Women's Weekly.Through her work with First Nations communities across Australia, Rona aims to create future systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and cultures.Rona currently resides in Mpartnwe on Arrernte Country.
We are a First Nations not-for-profit that exists to centre First Nations people, Country and truth-telling. We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
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