Our Leadership

Maburra Collective’s strength lies in the wisdom, guidance, and accountability of our Elders Advisory Council, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer. Together, they form our Executive Leadership Team, a governance model that honours culture, centres community voice, and drives systemic change.

Our collective understanding of community needs sits at the heart of our leadership. Guided by cultural integrity and lived experience, our governance ensures that every program, service, and support we deliver responds to the real priorities of our women, families, and communities.

The Strategic Plan (2024–2026) provides the road map for our growth and development, while our governance structures embed accountability, transparency, and cultural authority at every level. As a First Nations-led organisation, we ensure that our women and our communities are not only at the forefront of decision-making but are the true drivers of change in all that we do.

Founded in Townsville, Maburra Collective’s reach extends statewide and nationally, guided by our commitment to advocacy, education, policy reform, and systemic transformation. 

Our Executive Leadership Team reflects this vision - leading with courage, connection, and accountability to create lasting impact for Our Women – Our Way.

At the heart of Maburra Collective’s leadership is our Elders Advisory Council. Our Elders bring cultural authority, wisdom, and lived experience that guide our work and ensure everything we do is grounded in culture, respect, and accountability. Their role is to act as stewards of a circle of safety for our women, nurturing pathways for healing and transformation through the principles of Wise and Reflective Practice.

Wise Practice combines cultural knowledge, professional expertise, and collaboration to ensure decisions are not only effective but culturally respectful. 

Our Elders lead with:

• Cultural Alignment – ensuring our work honours the traditions, histories, and identities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
   
• Empowered Decision-Making – strengthening the authority of women, families, and communities to lead their own solutions.
   
• Holistic Approaches – recognising the deep interconnectedness of physical, emotional, spiritual, and cultural wellbeing.
   
• Partnerships – working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, bringing both cultural and professional perspectives to the table.
   

Reflective Practice sits alongside this wisdom, ensuring continuous learning and accountability in all that we do. Our Elders remind us to practise:

• Cultural Humility – reflecting on our biases and assumptions to better serve community needs.
   
• Feedback Loops – listening to families and communities, ensuring their voices shape and strengthen our programs.
   
• Learning from Experience – acknowledging past decisions and their impacts to improve future practice.
   
• Trauma-Informed Lenses – recognising the weight of historical and intergenerational trauma in every decision, and responding with care.
   

Together, our Elders Advisory Council forms a cultural backbone for Maburra Collective, ensuring that healing, truth-telling, and respect remain at the centre of our governance. Their guidance creates a circle of safety and empowerment for our women, embedding community-led wisdom into every decision, service, and program we deliver.

Maburra Collective is proud to be led by a strong and diverse Board of Directors, comprising eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who bring a collective wealth of knowledge, lived experience, and professional expertise across critical areas of community need.

Our Board’s expertise spans domestic and family violence (including lived experience), primary health, education, justice reform, child and family preservation, and healing practice. Together, they guide our organisation with cultural integrity, community accountability, and a shared vision for transformational change.

With these unique strengths and experiences, our Board provides strong governance and leadership, committed to creating change for Our Women – Our Way. Their guidance ensures Maburra Collective remains firmly grounded in culture, responsive to community needs, and forward-looking in driving reform through advocacy, education, and healing.

Yasmin Johnson is a proud Wulgurukaba, Ngaro, and Gooreng Gooreng woman from Yunbenun (Magnetic Island, North Queensland), 

With more than 20 years of leadership in the social services sector, Yasmin has built deep expertise in domestic and family violence (DFV) reform, justice interfaces, early family intervention, and community-led healing programs. Her career spans front line practice, executive leadership, national advocacy, and research translation, underpinned by a commitment to trauma-informed, culturally safe, and healing-centred approaches.

Yasmin has held significant executive leadership roles, driving national advocacy, policy reform, and sector capacity building.  She is currently a member of the Closing the Gap Data Policy Partnership, serving as an Independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member, where she provides expert leadership on Indigenous data sovereignty, governance, and reform priorities. 

Yasmin has contributed to landmark academic research at the intersection of domestic and family violence (DFV), disability, and Aboriginal women’s health. 

Her published works include:

• Health Sociology Review (2023). Regional disability service delivery in First Nations communities.
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023). DFV and TBI among Aboriginal women.
• Journal of Family Violence (2024). Acute care response to Indigenous women with TBI from DFV.
• Health Sociology Review (2025). Using research feedback loops to implement a disability case study with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and service providers in regional and remote Australia.

Her contributions bridge community-led knowledge and academic research, shaping evidence that informs both policy and practice in health and justice systems.  

Associate Editor – Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet - 

Independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member – Data Policy Partnership (Coalition of Peaks)

2025 Boundless Indigenous Writers Mentorship Recipient – Writing NSW

Yasmin is a specialist domestic and family violence practitioner, an academic researcher, and a policy leader. In her role as CEO, her work will be guided by Maburra’s Elders Advisory Council (Circle), Board of Directors, and the voices of our women to drive change.

Across Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women continue to face disproportionate rates of homelessness, incarceration, and violence. Too many of our women who experience homelessness are escaping domestic and family violence, seeking safety for themselves and their children, while navigating systems never designed to meet their cultural or practical needs. 

The absence of culturally safe housing and supports leaves women vulnerable, fuels cycles of trauma, and leads to unnecessary contact with the justice system.

The statistics are confronting: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are one of the fastest-growing groups experiencing homelessness and are imprisoned at rates more than 20 times higher than non-Indigenous women. But behind every number are mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunties whose lives, wellbeing, and potential are compromised by systemic disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.

Maburra Collective was created in direct response to these realities. We understand the struggles because they are lived and shared within our communities. We are committed to changing the landscape and realities for our women by delivering programs and supports that are healing-focused, culturally grounded, and community-led.

For us, healing is fundamental. It is the foundation for women to live lives free from violence, to rebuild safety and connection, and to thrive in strong families and communities. 

Through initiatives in domestic and family violence advocacy, restorative justice, housing and homelessness support, and healing-centred education, 

Maburra is driving long-term, sustainable, and transformational change — creating safe, strong, and connected futures for Our Women – Our Way.

Maburra acknowledges the deep and lasting impacts of trans-generational trauma on our women, men, children, families, and communities. We recognise how these unresolved wounds have contributed to the disproportionately high rates of domestic and family violence within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

We are committed to advocacy, education, and culturally responsive actions that drive transformational change and embed healing into programs, services, and practice. Healing must be holistic, it includes not only our women and children, but also our men. Without men’s healing, leadership, and accountability, we cannot create the systemic change our communities need.

Maburra stands alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men who are taking ownership of their roles in addressing DFV, leading with accountability, reform, and collective healing. While our primary focus remains on advocacy and healing for women, we recognise and support the vital contributions of men who are working to change the narrative.

Together, we are building safer, stronger, and supported communities — communities where women, men, and families can heal, thrive, and create lasting change.