Our Team

Associate Professor Sheelagh Daniels-Mayes is a Gomeroi woman who has low vision. Located at the University of Melbourne she lectures in Indigenous Studies, and is Deputy Associate Dean, Diversity and Inclusion – Disability at the Faculty of Arts. Sheelagh is the Lead Chief Investigator and initiator of this project. She leads our multidisciplinary team investigating the lived experiences of Indigenous staff and students with disability at Australian universities. Through this research, she is developing a framework referred to as BlakAbility, a culturally-safe and disability-confident approach to policy and practice. Her research expertise includes sociology of racism, Critical Indigenous Studies, Critical Disability Studies, climate justice and intersectionality. Sheelagh’s scholarship draws on previous studies of education, psychology, sociology and criminology. She has spent more than four decades as an activist regarding issues of disability, inequity, Aboriginality, and access to education.

Prior to entering academia, Sheelagh worked for and with government and community agencies tackling a diversity of human rights issues. She has over two decade’s experience developing, implementing, and evaluating Indigenous Strategies, Reconciliation Action Plans and Disability Inclusion Access Plans including for the universities of Melbourne and Sydney, the South Australian government, and Vision Australia.

Professor Aaron Corn – Aaron was the Inaugural Director of the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne. He has three decades experience of close collaborations with Indigenous communities across Australia. As a Chief Investigator on this project, he will be providing support and guidance to the whole research team to ensure that we observe all protocols to protect the interests of participants.  

Dr Anthea Skinner – Anthea is also a Chief Investigator and will collaborate on the development of the research design, conduct fieldwork, evaluate gathered data and co-design professional training resources. Anthea is an ethnomusicologist who specializes in disability music culture, and traditional trade routes between Australia and Indonesia. She is a Senior Lecturer in Disability Creative Performance in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne and currently holds an Australian Research Council Industry Fellowship. She is the founder and co-ordinator of the Melbourne Youth Orchestras’ Adaptive Music Bridging Program, provided instrumental music education for children with disability and a former member of all-disabled band Bearbrass Asylum Orchestra.

 Dr Sharon Kerr – Sharon is a researcher and educator focussed on and dedicated to equity of access to education and life opportunities for all. She is the Senior Research Fellow for our project and will undertake research design, conduct fieldwork, evaluate gathered data and co-design professional training resources. She is also a research affiliate with the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability and Research Policy. Through her research she developed a framework for use by Universities, TAFE’s and RTO’s across Australia to support Indigenous students who have a disability. Sharon’s work is strongly founded on a human right’s approach to education, mitigating barriers for all students, to engage with their learning and thereby thrive as individuals. Further to this research she continues to publish and present on topics pertaining to emerging technologies in teaching and learning. Her background both professionally and personally has been in supporting people living with a disability.  She has a Masters of Indigenous Education and her PhD focused on meeting the needs of Indigenous students living with disability.   

Ms Imogen Howe – Imogen is a built environment scholar, urbanist and licensed architect, employed as research assistant and digital support for the project. Imogen is passionate about creating equitable built environments that challenge the status quo, going beyond the minimum statutory requirements to advance diversity and inclusion, especially for those with disability. She is currently undertaking doctoral research in inclusive workplace design at the Melbourne School of Design. Her research is focused on understanding physical and psycho-emotional barriers to workplace access and participation for people with disabilities. This topic emerged after two decades of co-design, engaging with and resolving the many frustrations that people experience in design and the built environment.

Governance – Learning Partnership Team