Committee

Dr Rebekah Kurpiel is the Director of La Trobe Archaeology Research Partnerships and a Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University. Her primary research interests include stone tool technology, geochemical sourcing of artefacts, and the theory and practice of cultural heritage management, although current projects being led by and/or co-designed with Aboriginal communities span a broader range of topics. Rebekah is a drone pilot and undertakes remote sensing surveys using a range of techniques and works closely with industry to provide specialist and technical services for heritage management projects. In her spare time, she is usually practicing ballroom dancing or aerial silks.

Joe Dortch has worked with First Nations Peoples across Western Australia and in parts of NSW and Victoria since 1992. As a consultant he has advised Aboriginal Corporations, major companies and government agencies. Joe has also authored or contributed to more than 60 peer-reviewed publications with Indigenous and academic collaborators. He is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, a Research Associate at the Western Australian Museum, and a Full Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. Joe is a former President and current Vice-President of the Australian Archaeological Association.

Bio coming soon.

Annie Ross is a retired archaeologist—which means she continues to work full time! She worked at the University of Queensland teaching cultural heritage management for almost 25 years, having come to UQ from the industry sector. Annie worked for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the (then) Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage as a cultural heritage manager for over ten years prior to joining UQ. She holds a PhD in Archaeology from Macquarie University and has almost 50 years experience working in Aboriginal heritage management. Her most recent projects are: the collaborative mapping of the Gummingurru stone arrangement site and associated cultural landscapes; the development of a cultural heritage management plan for Calga—a significant women’s site on the Central Coast of New South Wales—working with Darkinjung and Guringai women; and working with Dandrubin-Gorenpul Traditional Owners of Terrangerri (North Stradbroke Island) on the significance of both tangible and intangible heritage and cultural landscapes. Annie also works with the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation on issues relating to management of K’gari World Heritage Area. Annie is Editor-in-Chief of the Association’s journal, Australian Archaeology.

Rosalie Neve is a semi-retired Aboriginal cultural heritage practitioner and consultant. She received a bachelor’s degree in archaeology and paleoanthropology from UNE Armidale and a post graduate certificate in cultural heritage management from Flinders University. In her current primary role she is the contact officer/secretary for the Cook Family of Barrington Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 8752). She is passionate about the intergenerational transfer of Aboriginal cultural knowledge and the scientific methods that support that process.

Mark is a Wergaia, Wamba Wamba and Nyeri Nyeri man of the northwest of Victoria. He is very focussed on the Mallee Country and especially on Lake Tyrrell (Direl). He is a qualified archaeologist and studied at the Australian National University, majoring in archaeology and anthropology.  In 2009 Mark set up his own archeology and heritage management company, Grist Archaeology and Heritage Management Pty Ltd. Some of the projects he has worked on include identification of Aboriginal cultural heritage, including identification of human remains, stone tools, Aboriginal sites and Aboriginal landscapes. Mark is a founding member of the Indigenous Archaeologists Association, set up in 2004 and which seeks to assist mainstream archaeologists in properly consulting with Aboriginal communities on whose lands they are working. 

Jenna Walsh is a PhD Candidate at Flinders University. Her PhD research examines connections to landscape on Marra Country, through an extensive lithic collection excavated from a rockshelter in the Northern Territory. Jenna has an BArchaeol(Honours) degree in bioarchaeology and mortuary archaeology, and continues to research and teach in these areas. She tutors both undergraduate and postgraduate archaeology students, and still being a student herself is keenly aware of the expectations of archaeology students in Australia, as well as many of the challenges and issues facing budding professionals.

Bio coming soon.

Caroline is Acting Co-manager, Cultural Heritage Unit, Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. She is also Senior Adjunct Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University. Caroline is also Co-chair of National Archaeology Week in Australia. She enjoys working closely and respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to develop a holistic understanding of their Country and cultural heritage.

Distinguished Professor Sean Ulm is a professional anthropological archaeologist with core expertise in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coastal and island archaeology. Over the last 25 years he has led large collaborative networks of Indigenous communities and researchers (archaeologists, geomorphologists, chemists, geologists, ecologists, palynologists, palaeoclimatologists, oceanographers, and zooarchaeologists) to recast understandings of coastal occupation by integrating environmental data with detailed analyses of archaeological sites.