Our Board & Executive Team

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wunan is governed by a board of directors, made up of a mix of Aboriginal people who reside in the East Kimberley, and non-Aboriginal people who can offer expertise in the areas of commerce, investment and corporate governance.

Wunan’s board members are appointed primarily on the basis of experience and skill, rather than on representative or political grounds. The standard period of office for Board members is three years.

Ian Trust

Chairman since 2008, Executive Director since 2004

Ian has been involved with Wunan since its inception in 1997 and has been the Executive Director since 2004. Ian is one of the driving forces behind Wunan’s key strategy to establish a strong economic base, which allows it to deliver sustainable programs to assist Aboriginal people of the East Kimberley to create better lives and a positive future for themselves. In addition to Wunan, Ian is engaged with a number of national and regional organisations that contribute to the broader objective of creating Aboriginal independence. These include the Indigenous Land Corporation, Kimberley Development Commission and Kimberley Land Council – Kimberley Futures. Ian is also involved in the support and development of emerging Aboriginal leaders in the East Kimberley because he believes developing strong leaders from within the Aboriginal community is crucial to drive and maintain development strategies and ensure Aboriginal people achieve their full potential.

He is also one of the Leaders of the East Kimberley Empowered Communities Group.

Contact: Email –Ian.Trust@wunan.org.au | Phone – (08)9168 3881

Chairman and Executive Director
Chairman since 2008, Executive Director since 2004

Director, Indigenous Business Australia (IBA)
Director, Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)
Director, Aarnja Board, West Kimberley
Board Member, North Regional TAFE
Formerly Founding Chairman, Wunan Foundation (1997-2003)
Formerly ATSIC Commissioner (Kimberley)
Formerly Chairman, Wunan ATSIC Regional Council

A local Gija man from Wuggubun Community, Ian speaks English and Kriol (of the English Creole Language family).

Ian has a strong and coherent vision of a better future for Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley — a future beyond welfare and government dependency.

Ian has worked tirelessly to progress this vision through such initiatives as the ATSIC Regional Council’s “future building” strategy (1996), the East Kimberley Aboriginal Achievement Awards, reforms in the Aboriginal Housing and Infrastructure sector, and as Executive Director of Wunan Foundation.

Tom Birch

Director since 2002

Formerly Wunan Chairman 2002-2007
Deputy Chairman, Kimberley Land Council (KLC)
Director, Kimberley Language Resource Centre (KLRC)
Director, Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC)
Formerly Director, Wunan ATSIC Regional Council

A traditional owner of Balangara Native Title (Wyndham area), Tom speaks English and Kriol (of the English Creole Language family).

Tom sees poor educational and employment outcomes are the key issues impacting Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley. These are underpinned by a lack of parental responsibility for children and a breakdown of family structures. Tom works through the Wunan Board to encourage personal responsibility, educational solutions and reward for effort.

Tom worked for many years in the Kimberley pastoral industry before taking up various community Leadership roles. He focused particularly on restoring Native Title and improving the economic future of Kimberley Aboriginal people.

James Elliott

Director since 2014

Jamie Elliot works to address a wide variety of challenges in the Aboriginal health, housing, education, sporting and community liaison areas. He is experienced in taking a hands-on role, as well as viewing things from a big-picture perspective and over the years he has gained a broad range of knowledge and professional experiences, especially in relation to Aboriginal communities in Western Australia.

Jamie is highly respected within his community and he now seeks to further his involvement, combining his business acumen with his desire to contribute to his community. He sees his role as a Director on the Wunan Board as an ideal way to work with a group of like-minded individuals to achieve something special. He is passionate about providing meaningful advice and leadership on behalf of his people.

Jamie and his wife Tracey were the founding house parents of Wunan’s Dural Education Excellence Program.

Michael Ashforth

Director since 2018

With nearly thirty years in law, investment banking and corporate advisory, Michael has played a leading role in some of Australia’s largest and most complex mergers and acquisitions acting for local and offshore clients. Over the course of his career, he has been a partner of Freehills (one of Australia’s largest law firms) a Managing Director with Gresham Partners (one of Australia’s leading independent corporate advisory firms) an Executive Director with Macquarie Capital and the Executive Chairman of AMB Holdings, the holding company for Angela Bennett’s corporate interests. He has also been a director of a number of private and publicly listed companies and was a Member of the Australian Takeovers Panel for nine years.

Troy Zafer

Director since 2019

Troy is the Managing Partner of ZAC Creative, an award winning advertising production company which produces TV ads and online videos for clients across the globe.

Over the past 23 years Troy has been building businesses and managing teams in the Advertising and Technology industries in Australia and the UK which have worked with many of the world’s leading brands.

Troy, who worked alongside Ian Trust to produce the ‘Swimming The River’ and the ‘Pathway To Empowerment’ videos, is passionate about helping to bring equality to all Australians.

Jean O’Reeri

Director since 2019

Jean is a Wilinggin woman from Karunjie Station on the Gibb River Road. She has lived and worked in Wyndham in the East Kimberley region since the 1960s. Jean worked as an Aboriginal teaching assistant for over 20 years, most recently with pre-primary aged children at St. Joseph’s School in Wyndham.

Jean has held directorships with Ngnowar Aerwah Aboriginal Corporation in Wyndham, which provides alcohol and other drug treatment and rehabilitation programs to community members and is a current member of the Wyndham advisory group.

Our Executive Team

Prue Jenkins

Chief Executive Officer

Originally from country Victoria, Prue has lived and worked in regional Western Australia for over 30 years and has a real connection to, and understanding of the priorities and needs of regional communities. Her career has focused on providing transformative leadership, people empowerment and steering organisational culture.

She has experience working as General Manager, Chief Executive Officer, Director and consultant level in the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields and Wheatbelt. She is well connected to government, industry and community sectors and has a passion for overcoming the challenges of delivering strategic initiatives and relishes the opportunity to work in partnership to develop innovative solutions.