Our Team
3,000 generations of culture and history
20 years combined experience in the public and private sectors
Katja Gvozdenovic
Policy, strategy, monitoring & evaluation
LL.B. Bachelor of Laws
Katja is a Ngadju woman raised on Noongar Boodjar. Witnessing the systemic burdens and racism that affect mob motivated her to study law at the University of Western Australia. Since her graduation, she has worked across the public and private sectors including for Wesfarmers and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Her career is focused on the project planning, policy and monitoring and evaluation of projects and processes that produce meaningful benefits for Aboriginal people.
She loves having difficult conversations, improving the lives of Aboriginal people through her work, and picking up new hobbies every few months.
Samantha Shepherd
Stakeholder engagement, caring for country, stewardship
B.S. Environmental Engineering
Sam is a Jaru woman from Wyndham, with family in Halls Creek and Balgo. Sam studied environmental engineering at the University of Western Australia, her thesis focusing on drinking water quality in remote Aboriginal communities.
Her experiences have given her the ability to take a balanced approach to problem-solving. She is passionate about navigating the complexities in regional and remote communities to ensure equity and the delivery of quality programs to assist Aboriginal people to reach their goals.
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She loves spending her time with her kids, being in the bush and playing footy (she is a Muludja Lions premiership player).
Ezra Jacobs
Cultural protocols, stakeholder engagement, strategy & project design
B.S. Environmental Engineering
Ezra is a Noongar man who is passionate about empowering his people and bringing Aboriginal culture to the forefront of land and infrastructure development.
Ezra combines Noongar cultural knowledge, significant experience developing partnership projects between the State Government and Aboriginal people as well as environmental systems engineering knowledge to inform his approach to project management and stakeholder engagement, ensuring cultural protocols and cultural safety is adhered to, while effectively delivering agreed outcomes.
While we aren't actively hiring, we are always open to hearing from those who believe in our mission and could contribute their talents to our team.
Expressions of interest can be sent to katja@kaalabarna.com.au
