The Board's primary role is to determine AHO policies that the Minister for Housing ultimately approves.
The AHO implement and deliver accessible, affordable and quality housing strategies that meet the social and cultural requirements of Aboriginal people in NSW. They do this as part of the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).
Damien has served on the AHO Board since 2015.
He is the founder and Managing Director of YIMBA Legal & Consulting. He provides extensive pro bono assistance to Indigenous communities and organisations. He holds an Executive MBA, a Law Degree, a Civil Engineering Degree and a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Leadership.
Damien brings over 30 years’ experience in law, commercial management and engineering to the Board. He has provided advice on infrastructure, construction, transport, energy and resources, renewables, environment and planning, Indigenous Business, land access, native title, cultural heritage, RAPs, ESG and dispute resolution.
Damien is a Bidjara man from the Carnarvon Ranges in central Queensland with family connections to Woorabinda, QLD.
He is on the boards of:
Damien is also an Australian Indigenous Representative on the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA) and a member of Westpac’s Stakeholder Advisory Council.
Steven is a proud Kamilaroi man and Hunter-based business owner. He has used his roles on boards, committees and taskforces in the last 20 years to ensure that Aboriginal perspectives are included.
Steven has a background in engineering, construction, defence, vocational education, health and community enterprises.
He is on the boards of:
He is also President of Itji-Marru Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.
Steven is proudly a founding director of the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce.
Josh is a Worimi man with extensive experience across Indigenous affairs, the environmental sector and sustainable agriculture. One of his strengths is his ability to combine a social focus with a commercial focus.
Josh works across government, corporate and social organisations to develop and lead change. He is passionate about sharing the narration of Indigenous identity through agricultural and environmental truth-telling. Josh is a deep, strategic thinker and manages business change through empathy. He is passionate about creating change through effective investment and societal understanding.
He has been named Australian Geographic’s Young Conservationist of the Year, shot a documentary with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, was a Young Australian of the Year Finalist and shares his Aboriginal wisdom with audiences, such as at his TEDxCanberra presentation.
Josh is on the board for Indigenous Business Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Reconciliation NSW (co-Chair).
Craig Kerslake is a Wiradjuri design architect known for translating Indigenous knowledge and cultural narratives into built form. His work in urban design, architecture, landscapes and interiors are grounded in a deep respect for Country and its living systems.
He draws upon his cultural heritage, community and knowledge of Country in all of his work.
"It is our collective human fascination with our continual relationship with the natural world. Ultimately landscapes ground us and bring us back to who we really are."
A proud Wiradjuri man, Craig resides on his ancestral land in Albury-Wodonga. Craig has a deep commitment to community engagement. He cultivates sustainable relationships that are built on authenticity, empathy and active listening.
Craig has worked in education, justice, health and construction for the NSW and Victorian governments.
In his time with the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, Craig has been instrumental in shaping a multi-jurisdictional health service that provides comprehensive, culturally-appropriate care. He has worked passionately to ensure that Aboriginal communities have access to services that promote sustainable generational health outcomes.
As a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors since 2016, Craig brings a wealth of knowledge in risk management, strategic governance and compliance. His adept communication and leadership skills foster collaboration and inclusivity.
Beyond his professional endeavours, Craig is deeply engaged with his local community, boasting over 450 games officiated as a qualified senior Australian rules umpire. This grassroots involvement further enriches his community connections and underscores his commitment to holistic community well-being.
Yvonne is a proud Wiradjuri woman. She was born and raised in inner-city of Sydney, but maintains strong ties to her homelands of Cowra and the NSW Riverina.
Yvonne is an independent Councillor for the City of Sydney and the first Aboriginal Councillor in the City's 180-year history.
She has a strong commitment to housing and ensuring that stable, suitable and sustainable housing options are planned for, delivered and available.
From a young age Yvonne developed a strong passion and commitment to bringing about positive change for Aboriginal people and communities. A life-long activist, Yvonne has over 30 years' experience working in key government and Aboriginal organisations driving positive reform in land rights, justice, health, education, and child protection.
Yvonne served 13 years on the Board of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, is Deputy Chair of the NSW Australia Day Council, a Board member of Domestic Violence NSW and the Aboriginal Women & Children’s Crisis Service.
She was awarded the 2022 NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year and in 2019 NSW Volunteer of the Year Adult Volunteer for the South Sydney Region. Yvonne was awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for significant service to the Indigenous community of New South Wales in the 2022 Queens Birthday Honours List. Yvonne is a published author and proud mother and grandmother.
Kim Whiteley is a distinguished Indigenous leader known for her strategic vision. Kim was born in Wellington on Wiradjuri country and is a descendent of the Warramunga clan group families from the Bogan River in Central West NSW. Kim has dedicated her career to advancing the well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
She brings a wealth of experience from grass-roots service delivery to strategic executive leadership in corporate policy and organisational strategy. Her portfolio spans healthcare, education, justice and Aboriginal Land Rights.
As a leader, Kim exemplifies a results-oriented approach, collaboration, strategic planning, engagement, and empowering others with self-determination.
In addition to her strategic acumen, Kim's visionary approach and culturally-informed leadership extend to directorships and governance at local, state, and national levels. She was elected as the inaugural Co-Chair for the Department of Health, Agency of Clinical Innovation Aboriginal Chronic Conditions Network. Kim served as a former Commonwealth NSW/ACT PHN Aboriginal Network Chair and on various local and regional hospital boards and has represented NSW Department of Communities and Justice Aboriginal staff throughout her esteemed career.
A proud Dharug man, Glenn was born, raised and still lives on Dharug Country. He can trace 6 generations of his Aboriginal ancestors to Dharug Country, maintaining a long unbroken connection to Country.
Glenn has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience across private and public sectors and is a prominent international advocate and sought after public speaker in the development of Aboriginal businesses and building a prosperous Aboriginal business economy.
He has many years of Board and high impact committee experience. He is a current director of; Supply Nation (deputy Chair), Yilabara (Chair) and Playgroup NSW (Chair). He is an appointed AICD NSW Division Councillor and sits on the AICD NFP Chair’s Forum and AICD First Nations Forum. He is a past director of AIATSIS Foundation and NSW Branch Chair of global peak professional body Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).
Glenn is a Professor of leadership at University of NSW School of Business AGSM, designing and delivering MBA and executive programs with a distinct Aboriginal content on culture and leadership.
A proud Murri woman from Bindal, far north Queensland, Jaymee has family ties to the Torres Strait Island. She celebrates the many cultures that are part of her story – she also has Scottish heritage from her maternal grandmother and was raised in a Greek family environment.
Jaymee brings 18+ years of public service experience (both federal and state government) and not-for-profit experience. She seeks out work that work that impacts vulnerable, high needs and complex individuals and communities, having worked in housing, child protection, education and training, mental health, drug and alcohol, domestic violence and homelessness.
Jaymee has extensive corporate governance and risk management knowledge. She serves on multiple boards and advisory groups, including various NSW Government departments and the local Aboriginal Medical Service.
She currently holds the position of University of Wollongong’s Vice President, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, is an IMB Community Foundation Committee member, is a foster/kinship carer and co-founder of an Illawarra volunteer service called ‘Keeping Kids on Country’.
Jaymee recently became Harvard Kennedy School alumni after winning the Roberta Sykes Education Scholarship.
Katie is passionate about creating meaningful change for the equitable justice of people and communities to address minimal representation in current policies and economic structures. She believes that our communities hold a unique role in determining social, economic and environmental justice. She is also completing research in how Indigenous governance is defined and practiced in local, place-based settings.
Katie was a recipient of the UN Women National Committee Australia MBA Scholarship where she graduated as University of Sydney’s first Indigenous MBA graduate and recipient of the Graduate Medal for Postgraduate Leadership.
Katie is General Manager – Policy, Research and Strategic Programs at Reconciliation Australia. Her director and advisory roles include Non-Executive Director at Relationships Australia (NSW) and a member of KU Children’s Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee.
She proudly identifies with her Aboriginal heritage of the Wiradyuri people in Central NSW and lives on Darug land in Western Sydney.
As the current Chief Executive, Famey is an ex-officio member of the AHO board.
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