Indigenous Evaluation Committee members
Mr Jason Ardler PSM is an Aboriginal man of the Yuin nation, with cultural ties to the NSW South Coast.
For 20 years, Jason held senior executive roles in the NSW public sector, including seven years as the Head of Aboriginal Affairs NSW, where he led government strategy and reform in Aboriginal economic participation, community governance, land rights, culture and heritage, community safety, environmental health and service accountability. Prior to joining Aboriginal Affairs NSW, Jason was Executive Director Culture and Heritage in the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Jason has been a member of numerous national and state level councils, executive committees and working groups on Aboriginal affairs, state and economic development, public land management, and social policy reform. He is also an experienced board member, currently appointed to the NSW Health Pathology Board.
In 2018, Jason received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service. He is a Fellow of the Australian New Zealand School of Government and in 2019, was awarded the Sir James Wolfensohn Scholarship to undertake an executive leadership program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge. Jason holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of NSW and is a Global Alumni of the Commonwealth Study Conference.
In May 2020, Jason co-founded Thirriwirri, a 100% Aboriginal-owned consultancy with the purpose of supporting Aboriginal communities and others to work differently, confidently and effectively together to achieve the social, cultural and economic aspirations of Aboriginal peoples. In November 2020, he was appointed to the role of Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Indigenous Strategy and Services at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Dr Fiona Cram is an Ngāti Pahauwera woman from Aotearoa New Zealand. Dr Cram is a prominent Maori evaluator with expertise in Indigenous led research and evaluation.
Dr Cram has a PhD in social and developmental psychology from the University of Otago. She has lectured in Social Psychology and has also been a Senior Research Fellow within the International Research Institute of Māori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland. In the middle of 2003, Fiona established Katoa Ltd, which is a Māori Indigenous research organisations as well as offering a range of research and evaluation training.
Dr Cram’s research interests are wide-ranging including Māori health, justice, and education. The over-riding theme of Fiona's work is Kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori). Fiona is Editor-in-Chief of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA) new evaluation journal, Evaluation Matters - He Take Tō Te Aromatawai, published by the NZCER.
Professor Michelle Dickson, Darkinjung/Ngarigo woman, an Aboriginal academic and Director of The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, a research flagship centre in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She lives and works on Gadigal land (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia).
Professor Dickson has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing service delivery and health professions education for over 30 years. She was formerly Deputy Head of School of the Sydney School of Public Health and previous Academic Program Director of the Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion. In 2021 the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) awarded her for contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health.
Professor Dickson focuses on privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing in education, research, evaluation, health and wellness. Her research partnerships include First Nations researchers and communities nationally and internationally.
Tony Kiessler is a proud Central Arrernte man and inaugural CEO of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA). His expertise includes social policy research, program design, evaluation and partnerships with a focus on health, human development and social inclusion. He has worked extensively in Australia, Asia and the Pacific over his 20 year career.
Tony is a current Board Member and Treasurer of the Australian Evaluation Society (AES) and member of the AES First Nations Committee. Tony also holds a range of representative and advisory roles aimed at increasing Indigenous leadership, developing Indigenous professionals and supporting emerging talent, particularly in evaluation.
He is affiliated with the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) and his research focus is Indigenous participation, engagement and accountability. He is a passionate advocate for empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to lead on Indigenous policy creation, implementation and evaluation.
Deborah leads the Policy and Programs portfolio that supports positive outcomes for First Nations peoples. She has recently been the Group Manager of Country, Culture and Connection Group, that has a focus in the areas of empowerment and culture, land and native title, environment, and the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme. Prior to joining NIAA in 2019, Deborah had a career spanning 25 years in international development, living and working in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and Europe with the Australian Government and United Nations. Deborah has Masters degrees in public policy; anthropology and participatory development. In her spare time, Deborah enjoys art, reading, spending time walking in nature and gardening.
Eleanor Williams is the Managing Director of the Australian Centre for Evaluation in the Commonwealth Department of Treasury. With over 20 years’ experience working with the Australian and Victorian public service, Eleanor has held senior executive roles in evaluation, research and strategic policy. She holds Masters level qualifications in Evaluation, Public Policy and management. Eleanor is the current Chair of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Evaluation Experts Group and founded the Australian Public Sector Evaluation Network in 2019.
Eleanor is also currently undertaking PhD research on evidence use in fast-paced policy contexts with supervisors at the University of Queensland and University College London. She has recently published articles on public sector capacity building and rapid evaluation methods.