Leanne Miller

Her work centres on community development, eco-tourism and promoting Aboriginal women in business.

Born in Mooroopna in 1963, Leanne Miller is a Yorta Yorta woman of the Dhulanyagen Ulupna clan.

Leanne's family has a strong and long-standing commitment to indigenous affairs. Her grandmother, Geraldine Briggs, and her mother, Frances Mathyssen, are both highly respected Aboriginal leaders.

Leanne began her career at SBS Radio as its first Koori trainee in 1982, followed by roles at Radio Australia and Radio National in 1985. She then worked in the public sector with the Public Service Board and the Department of Employment, Education and Training.

In 1995 Leanne became involved with Koorie Women Mean Business Incorporated (KWMB), which works to foster independence, capability and entrepreneurial spirit in Aboriginal women. She developed a video and training packaging for Aboriginal women starting their own business and has been Chairperson of KWMB since 1997. In 1996 she was Chairperson of the Equal Opportunity Committee Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Advisory Group.

From 1996 to 2003, Leanne was the National Project Manager for Aboriginal Tourism Australia Limited (ATA), the country's peak body for indigenous tourism. In 2000, she was a member of the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria's Better Business Tourism Accreditation Program. She was on the steering committee and patron of the Eco-tourism Association of Australia's International Year of Eco-Tourism in 2002. Also in 2002, Leanne became a member of the Cooperative Research Centre for Regional Tourism, Indigenous Tourism Research.

She is President of Worawa Aboriginal College, the only independent Aboriginal secondary school in Victoria. She is also a board member of the Victorian Women's Trust, Victorian Women's Legal Service, the National Network of Indigenous Women's Legal Service Incorporated and the State Government's Indigenous Women Going Places Ministerial Advisory Committee.

Leanne's work has contributed to Aboriginal women having a voice about many issues that affect their families and themselves.

"I have been privileged to be a part of a strong matriarchal clan whose values and social responsibility was instilled from an early age," says Leanne. "To describe the areas I have worked in: employment, training, tourism and women's issues, it is best summed up by Nelson Mandela who said "there is no greater service than to liberate a community itself."