Cissy Gore-Birch, Co-Chair, ICIN, Owner/Director of Kimberley Cultural Connections Pty Ltd. Cissy Gore-Birch is a Jaru/Kija woman with connections to Balanggarra, Bunuba and Nyikina. Cissy has over 29 years of experience in community development, governance & decision making, leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution, native title, economic development, tourism and conservation and land management. Cissy is the inaugural Director and Co-Chair of ICIN Ltd, Previous Chair of Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation for nearly 10 years, on the Advisory Committee of the International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI) and the inaugural Co-Chair of the Wildfire-Resilient Landscapes Network.

Dr Dean Munuggullumurr Yibarbuk is a traditional owner of Djinkarr, near Maningrida and of Yanjkobarnem in the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area. Dean’s language is Gurrgoni. Dean has been prominent in development and conservation issues for the past three decades, travelling widely in Australia and overseas to speak on fire management and other conservation issues. He was the driving force behind the development of the Djelk rangers, one of Australia’s first Indigenous ranger groups, in 1991. He was also a leader in the formation of Warddeken Land Management in West Arnhem Land, which registered Australia’s first Indigenous savanna fire management carbon project in 2006 using traditional knowledge of savanna burning practices. Dean was also a founding director of the Aboriginal Research Practitioners’ Network (ARPnet) hosted by Charles Darwin University (CDU). He is the inaugural Director and Co-Chair of ICIN Ltd, Chair of Warddeken Land Management Limited and Co-Chair of Karrkad Kanjdji Trust.  

Suzanne Thompson, Director ICIN and Founder/Managing Director, Yambangku Aboriginal Cultural Heritage & Tourism Development Aboriginal Corporation (YACHATDAC). Suzanne is proud of her ancestral bloodlines as an Iningai Aboriginal woman and is brimming with knowledge of her culture, Australian history, and innovative ways to share her passions with others in a respectful and contemporary way. On her property Turraburra in Central Qld, YACHATDAC leads a pilot Land Restoration Fund HIR carbon project ‘Murra Yambangku’. The project incorporates sustainable management practices including: responsible grazing, cultural/ & ecotourism, native seed & plant sales and using Turraburra for sustainable research and monetisation of ecosystem services. Suzanne Thompson was appointed as the First Nations member of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) in November 2023. The ERAC is the statutory body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon crediting scheme. Suzanne’s other roles include Member of Landcare Australia’s Indigenous Landcare Working Group, Chair of Australian Native Foods and Botanicals and Indigenous Engagement Director, Nature Positive Cooperative Research Centre.

Sarah Parriman is a proud Aboriginal woman of Yawuru and Jabirr Jabirr descent. She is an ICIN Director and Deputy CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, a peak Aboriginal representative body in the region, playing an integral role supporting the strong corporate governance and operations of the organisation. She is passionate advocate for Aboriginal advancement, self-determination and decision making, Sarah believes that Aboriginal people can achieve self-determination by leveraging their native title rights and interests through both economic and social mechanisms.  Aboriginal people and communities need to have the ability to choose how best to govern and enrich their own lives. Great things can be achieved when our people and communities are involved in driving change.  With more than 97 per cent of the Kimberley native title determined, Sarah is humbled to know she has played a part in achieving this outcome and creating meaningful opportunities for future generations. With her own career and experience benefitting from the support and mentoring of strong Kimberley Aboriginal leaders, Sarah is committed to empowering others, particularly young Aboriginal women, to step outside their comfort zone, step in to new spaces and to lean in to the challenges. She looks forward to continuing her leadership journey with such important organisations like ICIN and the KLC, working to advance the rights of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley through getting back country, looking after country and getting control of the future.