Thelma Schwartz - Panel Chair

Thelma is the Principal Legal Officer of Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault. She was previously a member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce. Thelma has worked extensively with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, providing legal services and legal representation as a criminal defence solicitor with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service for over nine years. Thelma identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage alongside her German/Samoan and Papua New Guinean heritage.

John Cattanach

John is a Marrithiyel man from the northwest region of the Northern Territory. John is a dedicated advocate for First Nations justice and committed to legal empowerment and community strengthening within Indigenous communities.

He is currently a Senior Lawyer for the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health currently practising in the child protection jurisdiction. Previously, He was a criminal and domestic violence lawyer at for Victoria Legal Aid (VLA). During his time at VLA, he embedded the legal service within the Wathaurong Co-operative, improving access to legal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the local area.

He is a Lecturer at Deakin University's [National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research and Innovation (NIKERI)].

Christopher Emzin

Christopher is an academic at the School of Justice, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice at QUT. He is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and holds a Master's degree and a Bachelor of Laws. He has been admitted to practice law as a barrister-at-law. Christopher previously worked for the Queensland Police Service for 37 years, with experience as a criminal investigator, prosecutor, and legal adviser, retiring as an Inspector. Christopher is an Aboriginal and South Sea Islander man, born, raised and living on the land of the Yugambeh speaking group and Kombumerri Saltwater people of the Bundjalung Nation.

Stephen Tillett

Stephen is the First Nations Justice Officer within the First Nations Justice Office at the Department of Justice. He previously held numerous senior positions across various government departments, including Queensland Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing. Stephen also had a distinguished career as a police officer in Far North Queensland. He volunteers his time in rugby league and has served on numerous boards and advisory committees over the past 15 years. A proud Torres Strait Islander, his mother is from St Paul's on Moa Island.

Rhea Bedi Waia

Rhea Bedi Waia is a proud Saibai Islander woman from the Ait Koedal Clan of the Western Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Islands), from her father's side, and proud Punjabi Indian heritage from her mother’s side. She is a grassroots social worker, human services practitioner, and policy and research advocate committed to advancing the rights, well-being, and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Rhea’s work centres on decolonising practice, social justice, and systems reform across child and family wellbeing, mental health, disability advocacy, youth leadership, and human rights. Alongside her professional work, she contributes to various First Nations advisory and reference groups focused on policy reform and community-led change. Rhea holds a Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Human Services from Queensland University of Technology and is currently completing a Master of Human Rights at Curtin University. Her work is guided by cultural integrity, relational accountability, and a deep commitment to community empowerment.

Rhea’s work explores how protection, accountability, and justice can be understood differently through both Western legal frameworks and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural lenses. She is particularly interested in how colonisation, intergenerational trauma, systemic inequality, and social exclusion shape pathways into the justice system for First Nations peoples.

Graham White

Graham is currently the Director of Sector Engagement and Communications at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service in Brisbane, a Skills-based Director with the Kambu Aboriginal Corporation and Director with PCYC Queensland. He has extensive experience in strategic and operational planning, project management, and across several government departments. He has also served on the boards of the Iman Native Title Company in Rockhampton and the Aboriginal and Torres Islander Legal Service in Brisbane. Graham is a descendent of the Iman people and grew up in the Rockhampton region.

Professor Kevin Williams

Kevin, a Wakka Wakka/Gunggari man, acknowledges the importance of his parents in his upbringing, which included culturally significant knowledge alongside a Western education.

Kevin’s father was a stockman who enlisted in the army in September 1940 and served in the 26th battalion in World War II. After the war, he went back to stock work. His mother was a domestic servant who started work at the age of 10. Kevin was raised in a tent with his brother and sister, while his father worked on cattle and sheep stations around Longreach. His parents instilled in him the understanding that education is a powerful tool for overcoming poverty and helping his people – a vision that he is forever grateful for.

Kevin received a scholarship to university and was the first Aboriginal degree graduate from what is now Central Queensland University. He completed his undergraduate law degree at UNSW and his Master of Laws at Southern Cross University. Kevin was awarded the Lionel Murphy scholarship to undertake his LLM.

He was instrumental in setting up the Indigenous pre-law program at UNSW in 1994, assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in gaining admission to law school. He was the first chair of Ngalaya – the umbrella organisation for lawyers/law students in NSW and taught black letter law at universities for many years. He also wrote and lectured extensively on the 2023 Voice referendum for constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians.

Kevin is both a part-time lecturer at University of the Sunshine Coast and an elder/mentor the universities Indigenous students. He also sits on several university ethics committees, is a cultural consultant to Southern Cross Soloists (a chamber music orchestra playing out of QPAC) for their didgeridoo commission project and advises the Qld Ballet on the inclusion of Indigenous components in their repertoire.