Karla Brady
2022 Cohort
Karla is championing the self-determination of Queensland’s Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector in exercising sovereignty, supporting communities and negotiating with state agencies.
Karla is a Torres Strait Islander from Moa Island, Saint Paul’s Village, and is based in Brisbane, Queensland where she is Chief Executive Officer at Inala Wangarra.
She is a descendant of the Moa Island people from the Torres Strait, and a Fijian woman, who has worked in the social service sector for over 25 years, in early childhood, housing and Indigenous community development. Inala Wangarra, where she is CEO, is an Indigenous community controlled organisation owned, staffed and managed by local Indigenous people. Walking alongside the Indigenous community, Inala Wangarra provides opportunities for people to be the change-makers in their own lives.
Karla is also the Chairperson of Hymba Yumba Indigenous Independent School, which seeks to educate and inspire young Indigenous children to learn and lead in both worlds. She is passionate about learning, whether in a classroom or around the kitchen table, believing that it’s through learning, opportunity and perseverance that change is possible. As a strong advocate for community led services that start from peoples’ strengths, instead of deficits, it’s this approach that she thinks will bring real changes in the lives of all Australians. In all that she does and is, she hopes to honour her Ancestors and leave a strong footpath for others to follow.
“I want all my actions to reflect the kind of Ancestor our children deserve.”
Social change work
Karla’s social change project, Against All Odds: The Self-determination of Queensland’s Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector, will explore the role of the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector (ACCS) in exercising sovereignty, supporting communities, and negotiating with state agencies. This project will work with the ACCS to reflect on their own struggles and identify pathways to improve problematic policy processes.