Colleen Hayward Joins CSI National Board
Updated: Feb 17, 2021
Danjoo Koorliny co-leader Professor Emeritus Colleen Hayward AM has now joined the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) national board.
Professor Hayward is a senior Noongar woman with extensive family links throughout the south-west of Western Australia.
For more than 35 years, Professor Hayward has provided significant input to policies and programs on a wide range of issues, reflecting the needs of minority groups at community, state and national levels.
She has an extensive background in a range of areas including health, education, training, employment, housing, child protection, law and justice, as well as significant experience in policy and management.
Among her many achievements, she has been recognised for her long-standing work for and on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia by winning the 2008 National NAIDOC Aboriginal Person of the Year Award.
Professor Hayward is also a recipient (2006) of the Premier of WA’s prestigious Multicultural Ambassador’s Award for advancing human rights and anti-racism in the community and is the 2009 inductee into the WA Department of Education’s Hall of Fame for Achievement in Aboriginal Education.
In 2012, Professor Hayward was inducted into the Western Australian Women’s Hall of Fame and was recognised as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia. 2015 saw Colleen awarded one of Murdoch University’s Distinguished Alumni for her work in the areas of Equity and Social Justice.
CSI Board Chair, Professor Peter Shergold said that he was thrilled that Professor Hayward was joining the Board, citing her appointment as “pivotal” to the future of CSI.
“Colleen has a long affiliation with CSI as she’s been a central voice to the UWA Social Impact Festival, and more recently, with her important work on Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together. We are delighted that she’s joining with us, so that she can share her vision, knowledge, and deep understanding of what CSI needs to do, to further its work for social justice, particularly for Indigenous Australians,” said Professor Shergold.
Professor Hayward reflected on her reasons for joining the CSI Board: ”We all have a view about what we’d like Australia to look like and how we’d like our citizens treated, within this country and globally. Sometimes we’re fortunate in terms of having the opportunity to put that vision into practice. For me, joining the CSI Board provides that opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to working with people with a strategic vision for real change, learning from them and helping them develop a more expanded vision, inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In my experience, there are many people of goodwill seeking to improve and refine our standards of practice towards one another. My goal is to share Aboriginal ways of doing and being in order to assist in that process.”
Professor Kristy Muir, CEO, said that Professor Hayward will add enormous value to CSI and she recognised Indigenous representation on its Board was long overdue.
“We know we need to do better, we MUST do better, in ensuring that we honour and respect the Indigenous voice in all we do at CSI and we need Indigenous leadership at the highest levels. The addition of Colleen to the Board is, for me, really exciting. She is an impressive leader, has an incredible breadth of experience and expertise and she’s a highly respected senior Noongar woman. I can’t wait to learn from and work with her.”
Emeritus Professor Colleen Hayward AM assumes her Board role with CSI effective immediately.
Article originally appeared on CSI National website.