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AbCF acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands where we work and live and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of all Communities. AbCF acknowledges, respects and honours Indigenous peoples vital role in caring for country in the past and stress the importance of this continued practice into the future.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers please be aware that content on this website may contain images, voices and or names of people who have passed away.
I am a Ranger by trade, first coming to Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park – shortly after hand back in 1989. I later returned with my family, to once again live at Mutitjulu, this time as the Park Manager. Working with the Board and park staff we successfully developed the $21m sunrise area, established the Mala (Hare Wallaby) paddock and introduced the summer seasonal closure of the climb.
In between time at the rock, I worked for the Kimberley Land Council in 1995 as their first Land Management Officer where I negotiated the first Indigenous Protected Area at Paruku (Lake Gregory) in WA and with a National Heritage Trust Co-ordinator established their Land and Sea Management Unit. As the CFI was being developed in 2010-11, I worked with a dedicated team of people to ensure Indigenous interests were acknowledged and supported through the establishment of the $22m Indigenous Carbon Farming Fund, a co-benefits report and Indigenous Negotiation Roundtables with the Australian Government.
I come from the Wondunna clan of the Badtjala people, Traditional Owners of Fraser Island (K’gari) in Queensland. I live in Alice Springs.
I am an experienced consultant and international development specialist, with extensive experience in non-government (NGO) health, overseas aid and Australian Indigenous community development initiatives.
My skills-set and experience are in the areas of research, facilitation, program design, monitoring, evaluation and learning (DMEL) and stakeholder and partnership management. I’m passionate about program effectiveness best-practice, that genuinely puts decision-making in the hands of people that it impacts the most.
I first came into contact with Aboriginal Carbon Foundation in 2014, whilst facilitating a meeting of Aboriginal organisations at Ross River, outside Alice Springs. At the time I was in a DMEL role at Caritas Australia. In 2016 we began to work on the Core Benefit Standard, and I came on board with AbCF in early 2018, to dedicate my time to the implementation and continued learning and improvement around this unique and exciting peer to peer verification approach.
I am a proud Goreng Goreng woman with strong connections to both my Aboriginal and Malay heritage – the Appo and Wone families, born and raised on Mamu country in Innisfail.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from James Cook University in 1999 and have enjoyed a long career in media, much of which has been reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and events.
As a media and communications specialist for national Indigenous organisations, I have found professional satisfaction in working on national campaigns that that give First Nations people a voice and work towards empowerment, social justice, and reform in Indigenous affairs.
With over two decades of work within the Indigenous political and communications space, I have been fortunate to be invited into loungerooms and campfires of first nations people around the country, sitting down with community, recording stories of hope, survival and determination.
As the newest member of the AbCF, I continue this journey of uplifting and promoting the voices of First Nations peoples in the Aboriginal Carbon space, empowering Traditional Owners and Elders in Cape York and remote communities across the country to tell their stories of taking care of country using culture and innovation.
Michael is based in Narrm (Melbourne) where his work with Aboriginal Carbon Foundation focuses on building commercial relationships.
With a background in forestry, finance and volunteer management, Michael has spent many years in local government, private enterprise and not-for-profits. These experiences have given him the strengths of focus and resilience. By bringing different groups together, he seeks to leave the place better than he found it – creating space for communities to work on Country and restore some of the damages of colonialisation.
Michael’s work aims to bring opportunities for Indigenous-led ecosystem care, using ecosystem services to unlock funding streams to restore Country.
At the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (AbCF), we’re here to back your hard work on Country—with the highest prices in the voluntary carbon market for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
Our goal is simple: to help maximise income for Traditional Owners and rangers, so your efforts to care for Country are properly recognised and rewarded.
AbCF is a registered not for profit company limited by guarantee in Australia and is a Corporate Authorised Representative of AFSL No. 298851. ABN 131 464 138 09.
© ABORIGINAL CARBON FOUNDATION 2025
