Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat (Lee)

Adjunct Associate Professor Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat is a cultural broker. She operates her ASIC-registered hybrid consultancy, Black Lorikeet Cultural Broker, from Cairns, QLD. Vanessa’s qualifications include a cert. iv in life coaching, a PhD in Public Health - Medicine (GU), a Master of Public Health degree (UQ), and a b/teaching degree (QUT). Dr. Lee-Ah Mat is recognised for integrating First Nations Australian culture into transformative processes. With over two decades of extensive experience in Indigenous public health research, community engagement, higher education curriculum development, Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, and social policy. A robust integration of First Nations cultural governance principles characterises her work. Her notable contributions include the development of the "Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data" aimed at Australian public servants and her indirect involvement in initiatives such as the discussion paper titled "First Nations Culture in the Metaverse." Vanessa co-founded Walking Between Worlds, a platform showcasing First Nations NFTs. She is a founder of the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective Maiam Nayri Wingara. Recently, the Gendered Violence Research Network at UNSW, funded by DSS, engaged Vanessa’s expertise to lead the First Nations component of a groundbreaking project focusing on LGBTIQA+SB people's experiences and attitudes of sexual violence. Vanessa traversed regional Australia to recruit participants, effectively communicating the project's relevance to First Nations cultural practices. She recommended the need to increase phone and internet access across regional and rural Australia and the need to reshape strategies addressing sexual violence, in service delivery, and homophobia in urban, regional, and remote communities. Additionally, a group of Tiwi Islanders enlisted Vanessa's consultancy services to formulate their business plan. This involved providing professional coaching to ensure compliance with First Nations cultural governance and ASIC obligations.