Dr Akbar is a senior lecturer at the School of Public Health, specialising in advocacy, First Nations and Public Health within medical education training. Dr Akbar is a Fellow of Higher Education and Associate Fellow for Health Education (Indigenous Knowledges) and brings over 30 years of experience in community development research with a focus on health inequity using community participatory action research and Indigenous methodologies to inform social policy change that translates to equitable health outcomes for First Nations, Māori and Pasifika and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Australia and internationally.

Mr. Tahi Gray-Tuapawa is a Senior Barber with over 10 years of experience, working at the intersection of self-image, identity, and community connection. Of Māori and Australian heritage, Tahi blends traditional barbering with therapeutic, culturally safe spaces for Māori and Pasifika communities across Australia and Aotearoa. As a peer researcher in the Feeding our Mana (Food Security in Māori and Pasifika Families in Australia) study, he contributed valuable insights into Indigenous strength and struggle. Tahi is passionate about cultural wellbeing and is honoured to participate in the Indigenous Wellbeing Conference, supporting conversations that uplift Indigenous voices and promote community healing.

Indigenous Educator | Cultural Strategist | Youth Empowerment Advocate Kyle Ryan is a Yuggera Ugarapul man with ancestral ties to the Ipswich region and surrounding areas. As an Indigenous educator, cultural strategist, and systems thinker, Kyle brings a sharp, culturally grounded lens to youth empowerment, educational design, and institutional accountability. Over the past decade, he has held key roles across health, community, and policy sectors — including Queensland Health, Mission Australia, and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA). He currently serves in a leadership capacity with Inala Wangarra, where he continues to shape culturally safe systems and mentor the next generation of First Nations leaders. Kyle’s practice is guided by the principle of Ngara Wangarra — a Yuggera Ugarapul expression evoking the act of listening deeply to spirit and ancestors. It is this listening that informs his approach to cultural resurgence, youth development, and systemic change. Known for moving between grassroots spaces and institutional arenas, he challenges systems to reckon with deeper truths — without losing cultural humour, embodied clarity, or strategic calm. Between the coffee, the newspaper, and the morning light, Kyle observes the world with quiet intensity — always attuned to the unseen scripts shaping today’s stories. Whether holding a yarn on the front porch or disrupting power in the boardroom, he embodies the belief that our young ones are not merely future leaders — they are reshaping today, right now. “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” — Frantz Fanon