Carolyn Barker

2022 Cohort

Carolyn sees her role as doing what she is told by Indigenous people she trusts as they work together to create a new future that aligns with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being.

Carolyn is of Anglo-Celtic heritage, and lives and works on Kabi Kabi Country from where she manages projects for First Languages Australia. First Languages Australia is the national peak body working to ensure the strength of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. In her role at First Languages, Carolyn is led by her Indigenous colleagues in amplifying the voices of language custodians and ensuring that communities can participate in national projects in ways that suit them. She facilitates national community research projects focusing on innovative language-project design, development and implementation. Her role requires a keen ability to sensitively prioritise the needs of a diverse range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, government and external partners while developing and implementing projects that build community capacity to achieve target goals.