Amanda Maitland-Smith
Director Campus Establishment Projects & First Nations Co-Chair, Reconciliation Action Plan Committee
Bendigo Kangan Institute
Amanda is a proud Yamatji woman; her Elders are part of the Thiin Mah and Warrianga language groups of the upper Gascoyne region.Amanda has worked in the Education sector for almost two decades in secondary school environments and currently as Project Director, Campus Establishment at Bendigo Kangan Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, as well as post-graduate qualifications in Education from Monash and Harvard Universities, and the International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem.
Amanda is currently completing the Master of Business Administration at Monash University with her studies taking her to ESCP Business School in Berlin and Esade Business School in Barcelona.Amanda is passionate about helping organisations progress their work towards and commitment to Reconciliation and volunteers her time to assist NFP groups draft and implement their Reconciliation Action Plans. In 2024 she was appointed, First Nations Co-Chair for Bendigo Kangan Institute’s Reconciliation Action Plan Committee.
She lives with her two teenage sons in the Macedon Ranges on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung lands.
SESSIONS
Day 2
9:50
Panel: Unpacking What it Means to be a Culturally Responsive and Safe Workplace
Explore how to embed cultural safety into policies, behaviours and systems where First Nations women’s voices are heard and respected
Unpacking what will make the biggest differences for First Nations women to feel culturally safe and empowered to thrive in workplaces
Lessons learned from implementing RAPs: How to develop these as strategic imperatives, and how accountability is embedded across leadership and operations
Moderator: Belinda Cashman PSM, Director Aboriginal Health Strategy, Western Sydney Local Health District
Amanda Maitland-Smith, Director Campus Establishment Projects & First Nations Co-Chair, Reconciliation Action Plan Committee, Bendigo Kangan Institute
Belinda Murdoch, Group Manager First Nations Engagement, Qantas
Tanja Hirvonen, Chief Executive Officer, Thirrili; Board Member, Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association