Meet the team
Ngarrngga's core Project Team is guided by an Expert Advisory Panel comprising Indigenous Knowledge Experts from across the country.
Meet our Expert Advisory Panel
Ngarrngga is led by Project Director Professor Melitta Hogarth and is based at the Faculty of Education in the University of Melbourne. It is a collaboration between the Faculty of Education, Indigenous Studies Unit and Indigenous Knowledge Institute. It is supported by the University of Melbourne and is also proudly supported by BHP.
Ngarrngga is made up of a core project team that includes a diverse mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, educators, managers and project officers. We are also guided by an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) comprising Indigenous Knowledge Experts from across the country. Their expertise spans everything from architecture to anthropology, and astronomy to visual art.
Marcia Langton
Professor Marcia Langton AO is one of Australia's most respected Indigenous academics.
She has held the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne since 2008. As an anthropologist and geographer, Professor Langton has produced a large body of knowledge across political and legal anthropology, Indigenous agreements and engagement with the minerals industry, and Indigenous culture and art.
Melitta Hogarth
Professor Melitta Hogarth is a Kamilaroi woman and the Director of Ngarrngga.
She is Professor of Indigenous Education, Associate Dean, Indigenous, and Principal Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Prior to entering academia, Professor Hogarth taught for almost 20 years in Queensland, particularly in secondary schools. Her PhD on the rights of Indigenous peoples in education won multiple awards, including the Ray Debus Award for Doctoral Research in Education.
Joe Sambono
Joe Sambono is a Jingili man and curriculum specialist working to embed Australian First Nations histories and cultures throughout the Australian education sectors.
Associate Professor Sambono has previously led national curriculum initiatives at the CSIRO and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. He is currently the Program Lead for Embedding Indigenous Australian Perspectives at Queensland University of Technology.
Jim Watterston
As the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, Professor Jim Watterston has more than four decades’ experience across a diverse range of educational roles and sectors.
His past leadership roles include Regional Director in Western Australia and Victoria before he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Victorian Education Department, and Director General of both the ACT and Queensland Departments of Education and Training.
Aaron Corn
Professor Aaron Corn is the Inaugural Director of the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne.
Previously, he was the Director of the National Centre for Aboriginal Language and Music Studies, and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at the University of Adelaide. Professor Corn’s research explores cultural diversity and the durability of Indigenous knowledge in the digital age.
Ben Wilson
Professor Ben Wilson is a Wagan and Dhinawan man and belongs to Jagera country in Queensland.
Professor Wilson is the Head of College of First Nations at the University of Southern Queensland. He is committed to refocusing education on Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. Prior to academia, Professor Wilson was a teacher and education consultant, working in diverse remote, rural, and urban Indigenous communities.
Bradley Moggridge
Associate Professor Bradley Moggridge is a proud Murri from the Kamilaroi Nation.
He is a researcher in Indigenous water science, finalising his PhD at the University of Canberra. Until 2021, he was the Indigenous Liaison Officer for the Threatened Species Recovery Hub under the National Environmental Science Program. Bradley is a Board member at the New South Wales EPA and Biodiversity Council. He is also a Governor of WWF Australia and President of the Australian Freshwater Science Society.
Christine Evans
Dr Christine Evans is a Wiradjuri woman and Associate Professor of Practice in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney.
Previously, as Chief Education Officer of Aboriginal Education at the NSW Education Standards Authority, Dr Evans reformed the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in the state's curriculum in new syllabuses developed between 2016 to 2019. Her current research focuses on Aboriginal representation in educational processes.
Paul Memmott
Professor Paul Memmott is an anthropologist, architect and the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at the University of Queensland.
His research interests include Aboriginal sustainable housing and social planning for communities. Professor Memmott has won a number of prestigious teaching awards for his work in Indigenous education. As an anthropologist, he has over three decades' experience on Aboriginal land rights claims, Native Title claims and associated court work.
Professor Brian Djangirrawuy Gumbula-Garawirrtja (1962-2023) was a Yolŋu leader, ceremonial director, traditional singer, artist and Knowledge Holder from North-East Arnhem Land. He was a valued member of Ngarrngga's Expert Advisory Panel from 2022-2023. He held the most senior rank of ceremonial leaders in the Gupapuyŋu alliance of Yirritja-moiety Yolŋu clans, and he was the most senior living ceremonial leader of the Birrkili clan. Professor Gumbula-Garawirrtja was a 2022-24 Fellow for the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.
Duane Hamacher is Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy in the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne. His work examines humanity’s connection to the stars, our future in space, the importance of dark skies, and the longevity of orality. Professor Hamacher has 15 years’ experience working for Elders and communities across Australia, particularly in the Torres Strait. In 2022 he published the book ‘The First Astronomers’ with six elders.
Professor Clint Bracknell is a Noongar composer from the south of Western Australia and is Professor of Indigenous Languages at the the University of Western Australia. With an interest in song, language and landscapes, his work intersects with applied linguistics, ecomusicology, Australian Studies and Indigenous Studies. Professor Bracknell is Deputy Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Council.
Selwyn Button is a Gungarri man from South West Queensland. He has extensive experience working towards the achievement of an empowered and sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector. He is currently the Chairperson of the Lowitja Institute and is a Managing Director of PwC’s Indigenous Consulting. Prior to this, he was the Registrar for Indigenous Corporations and the Assistant Director-General for Indigenous Education with the Queensland Department of Education.
Rachel Nordlinger is Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Research Unit for Indigenous Language at the University of Melbourne. She has worked with many communities across Australia to record and preserve their traditional languages, most notably the Bilinarra, Wambaya, Gudanji, Murrinhpatha and Marri Ngarr communities of the Northern Territory. In 2017 Professor Nordlinger was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy for Humanities.
Associate Professor Sandra Philips is a Wakka Wakka and Gooreng Gooreng woman and teaches Indigenous Australian Studies at Western Sydney University. Sandra worked at Magabala Books, University of Queensland Press and Aboriginal Studies Press, before completing a PhD in Literary Studies. Professor Philips is a Chief Investigator on Community Publishing in Regional Australia and is Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Queensland in the School of Communication and Arts.
Chris Evers is the Director of the Queensland Department of Education, having previously held the positions of Deputy Director-General and Senior Project Officer with the Department. With a Masters Degree in Education from Queensland University of Technology, Mr Evers is also an experienced classroom teacher, having taught on Palm Island for eight years.
Professor Peter Anderson is a Warlpiri and Murinpatha man from the Northern Territory. He is Professor and Director at the Indigenous Research Unit at Griffith University. Professor Anderson’s research spans the area of Australian Indigenous education, and the intersecting relationships with Indigenous peoples, both globally and domestically. He is a Lifelong Fellow of the Atlantic Institute at Oxford University and holds additional research advisory positions.
Maree Clarke is a Mutti Mutti/Yorta Yorta and Boon Wurrung/Wemba Wemba artist. She is the Senior Curator and Exhibition Manager at the Koorie Heritage Trust in Melbourne - the culmination of many years as an artist and advocate for the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal artists. One of Clarke's many career highlights was her collaboration with fellow Koorie artists on the Possum Skin Cloak Project for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Steve Wanta Jampijinpa Patrick is a Warlpiri Elder and educator from Lajamanu in the Northern Territory. He is a Creative Director of the biennale Milpirri Festival which supports Warlpiri language and culture through the sharing of song, dance and ceremonial knowledge. Steve previously worked as a Community Liaison Officer and Teacher's Assistant at the Lajamanu Community Education Centre.
Project team
Professor Melitta Hogarth Project Director
Dr Jessica Gannaway Lead Fellow [Professional Development]
Ms Nadine Crane Lead Fellow [Schools]
Dr John Doolah Post Doctoral Fellow and Lead [Initial Teacher Education]
Associate Professor Joe Sambono Curriculum Lead [Consultant]
Ms Callie Martin Curriculum Project Manager/Writer
Mr Steven Kolber Curriculum Writer
Mr Glen Hayres Curriculum Writer
Dr Jane Kirkby Senior Research Fellow
Dr Michele Herrington Lead Research Fellow
Ms Sara Tajima Research Fellow
Mr Justin Wilkey Research Assistant
Ms Suowa Zhang Research Assistant
Dr Lucy Buzacott Project Manager
Ms Suzanne Taylor Communications Manager
Ms Emily Gittins Designer
Ms India Murphy Digital Engagement
Dr Michael Tynan Engagement and Partnerships Manager
Mr Rhys Smith Program Support Officer
Keep exploring
The vision
High-quality curriculum resources made by educators for educators, in collaboration with highly respected Indigenous Knowledge Experts.
Learn more about Ngarrngga as a research project
Ngarrngga's researchers are exploring evidence-based approaches to support educators to showcase Indigenous Knowledge in their classrooms.
Enquire about our research
To participate in Ngarrngga's pilot school research,
register your interest via ngarrngga-team@unimelb.edu.au.