Our people

Nyssa Murray

Vice President, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement

Nyssa Murray is a Dunghutti woman and experienced First Nations executive who commenced as Vice President, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement at the University of Wollongong in September 2026. She provides senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership across UOW and leads Woolyungah Indigenous Centre, supporting the University’s commitment to Indigenous education, engagement and self-determination.

Ms Murray has expertise in governance, research, policy, organisational transformation and community partnership, with experience across universities, Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, government and corporate Australia.

Prior to joining UOW, Ms Murray was General Manager, Research and Capability at the National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance, Australia’s national peak body for Indigenous employment and training. She established its Research and Capability function and developed Research Governance and Indigenous Data Sovereignty Frameworks. She previously held the inaugural national First Nations leadership role at BlueScope and was Aboriginal Partnership Manager with Regional NSW.

A UOW graduate and PhD candidate, Ms Murray previously worked at the University as a Project Manager, where she led UOW’s first formal partnership agreement with an Aboriginal Elders Group.

Ms Murray also held board and advisory roles across health, education, economic development and Aboriginal affairs, including with the Business Council of Australia’s Indigenous Leadership Group and the Australian Government’s Local Jobs Taskforce.

Support staff contact:
Leann Hartley
Administrative Officer to the Vice President, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement 
Phone: +61 2 4221 3942
Email: leann_hartley@uow.edu.au 

Dr Anthony McKnight

Curriculum Academic Lead - Indigenous Strategy and Engagement

Dr Anthony McKnight is an Awabakal, Gumaroi and Yuin Cultural Man. Anthony is a father, husband, grandfather, uncle, son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew, friend and academic. Anthony is currently the Curriculum Transformation lead within the Indigenous Strategy Unit.

Anthony respects Country and values the knowledge that has been taught to him from Country, Elders and teachers from community(s). 

He continuously and respectfully incorporates Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning, with a particular interest in contributing to placing Country at the centre to validate Aboriginal approaches in curriculum, teaching, learning and research. 

Anthony is currently involved in several research projects including,

• ARC Linkages Project, Sparking Imagination: Transforming inequality in schools;
• Lowitja Institute Grant, Strong Culture, Healthy Lifestyles: an afterschool cultural activity program for Aboriginal children in the Shoalhaven region;
• and a UOW Internal Equity Diversity and Inclusion grant, Who cares about Country. 

He has been a member of the UOW Human Ethics committee for 5 years and has continually provided mentoring for committee members. 

Anthony is also a well-published Author, including his contribution to Research for Educators (3rd Edition) Cengage, 2023. 
In 2017, Anthony completed his PhD, with a thesis titled ‘Singing Up Country in Academia: Teacher education academics and preservice teachers’ experience with Yuin Country, University of Wollongong.  He also holds a Master of Education (HRD), University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Education, Health and Physical Education from the University of Wollongong.

Support staff contact:
Leann Hartley
Administrative Officer to the Vice President, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement 
Ph: +61 2 4221 3942

Catherine Moyle

Conscious Communities Lead

(BAppSci, Grad Dip Ed, MPH, Cert IV Training and Assessment, PhD candidate)

Catherine is a proud Gamilaroi woman. Since coming to UOW in 2016 she has held a range of academic and professional roles, consistently teaching in ASSH and as Research Assistant / Research Fellow with Early Start, LTC and ANCORS, publishing on environmental governance and curriculum reconciliation. She has extensive experience in Australian and New Zealand government agencies and NGOs. Catherine's expertise includes change management, community engagement, program design and evaluation, and development and delivery of nationally accredited curriculum and assessment.

Her current role of Conscious Communities Lead is an extension of strengths in policy, change management and curriculum development. Current focus areas include the development of University Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) frameworks and training for supervisors of Indigenous HDR students.

Catherine is a current PhD candidate exploring Aboriginal experiences of belonging. She is member of several Global Challenges projects aligned with research passions including Indigenous methodologies, codesign, and practice improvement.

Catherine was elected to the UOW Aboriginal Advisory Committee (AAC) in 2022. She is actively involved in community advocacy and governance, winning the 2022 IWD Aunty Mary Davis award for leadership. Her current roles include:

• President, Wollongong Northern District Aboriginal Community (WNDAC),
• Chair, Healthy Cities Illawarra,
• Director, WEA Illawarra.

Previous roles include Deputy Chair Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council (ILALC), Co-Chair Illawarra Shoalhaven Social Investment Trust (ISSIT), founding convener Illawarra Escarpment Alliance (EscA).

Maiquilla Brown

Manager Projects, Indigenous Advancement

Maiquilla Brown is a proud Yuin-Walbunja woman from the South Coast on NSW, with kinship connections stretching from La Pa in the north to Eden in the south, she is a Brown / Stewart, and an umbarra – member of the Black Duck totem.

As Manager Projects, Indigenous Advancement, Maiquilla leads strategic initiatives that embed healing, recognition, and reconciliation across the University of Wollongong. She works collaboratively with faculties, divisions, and campuses to implement the HART Plan, implementing culturally safe practices and meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Maiquilla brings over a decade of experience in Indigenous strategy, community engagement, cultural affairs, and project leadership. Her previous roles include Aboriginal community development and engagement within in local government, and regional manager for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) at UOW. She has expertise in co-designing Reconciliation Action Plans, delivering NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week programs, and strengthening partnerships with Aboriginal communities.

Maiquilla holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Wollongong, majoring in Sociology and Indigenous Studies, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Trauma and Recovery Practice. She is passionate about working with Aboriginal communities through co-design and meaningful engagement, creating inclusive spaces and driving systemic change through truth-telling and cultural recognition.

Stephanie Beaupark

Associate Lecturer with the Faculty of Arts, Society and Business

Stephanie Beaupark is a Ngugi woman from Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) on Quandamooka Country. She is an Associate Lecturer with the Faculty of Arts, Society and Business and PhD candidate with the Faculty of Sciences Medicine and Health. Her current research investigates Indigenous science of natural dyemaking and weaving practices. The aim is to define how creative practice can build connections between the world of westernised science, specifically chemistry, with Indigenist ways of being, creating and sharing knowledge. In 2023, her research is being supported by the Australian Academy of Science Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award. Stephanie has previously worked as a curator at the Wollongong Art Gallery and at the Firstdraft Gallery. She graduated from UOW with Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) and Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual arts) in 2019 and completed her Bachelor of Science Honours in 2020.

Elizabeth Dale

Senior Lecturer

Liz Dale is a Worimi woman from the Northern Coasts of New South Wales. She is a Senior Lecturer, Course Co-ordinator for UOW’s Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Trauma Recovery Practice and a Clinical Psychology Registrar. Liz’s current research focuses on evaluating the cultural utility of mainstream psychological assessment; treatment interventions for Indigenous peoples and how clinical approaches can be enhanced by integrating Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing; and Investigating the cultural utility of existing approaches to assessing and treating Indigenous peoples living with eating disorders. She has over 16 years of clinical experience working with a range of mental health conditions and specialises in Indigenous health and wellbeing, Intergenerational trauma, and treating anxiety, stress, depression and substance use disorders. Liz provides cultural training, supervision and consultation to a range of health and wellbeing services and is an experienced and credentialed eating disorders clinician.

Crystal Arnold

Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts, Society and Business.

Crystal is a Gundungurra woman from South-Eastern New South Wales. She is an Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts, Society and Business. Crystal is currently undertaking research for her Doctor of Philosophy that examines Aboriginal people’s developing and ongoing relationship with weeds along the Shoalhaven River, aiming to examine these relationships with respect to Yuin ontologies of oneness, whereby weeds and Country are acknowledged and respected as knowledge holders. Crystal is passionate about bringing a voice for nonhumans on Country, such as plants, into academia and Western systems.

Ashleigh Markstone (nee Johnstone)

Interdisciplinary Academic

Ash is a Dunghutti woman from Northern New South Wales. She is an interdisciplinary academic, based in the Faculty of Arts, Society and Business. Ash is currently working on a range of research projects and articles while also finalising her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) that explores the relationship between First Nations Peoples, sovereignty, caring for Country, and environment sustainability. Her research areas extend across Indigenous Studies, environmental sustainability, sovereignty, domestic violence, neurodivergence, futurisms, history, education, advocacy, and justice. Ash is a well-known advocate in the domestic, family, and sexual violence space, and has worked collaboratively with local and national organisations to campaign for policy and law reform. She has extensive experience in providing strategic feedback and guidance to researchers, businesses, and organisations seeking to improve their processes in a way that aligns with Indigenous perspectives and practices.

Nadia Neal

Lecturer in Public Health

Nadia Neal is a Wodi Wodi woman from here in the Illawarra born and was raised on Yuin Country. She is a Lecturer in Public health and is currently researching Cultural Safety and appropriate delivery of Aboriginal knowledges within University content. Nadia previously worked at the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW and Australian Health Services Research Institute and is dedicated to conducting research and programs within Aboriginal communities to achieve better health outcomes and educational opportunities. She has background in Public Health and Education, completing two degrees at the University of Wollongong.