On behalf of the directors and staff of Reconciliation Australia we congratulate our Chief Executive Officer, Ms Karen Mundine, for her national award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership.

This acknowledgement of Karen’s exceptional leadership is well deserved

She has steered this organisation through challenging times, while retaining her enthusiasm and passion for reconciliation.

She has always remained a strong advocate for women and for First Nations peoples. In her professional life she has always worked to advance gender equity and amplified the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls.

As she said in accepting her award, “I carry in me my family history and the history of the Bundjalung Nation. My grandmother, mother, and aunties – role models to me and many others – set standards and expectations through their resilience and their own achievements.”

As Co-Chairs of the Reconciliation Australia board we endorse Karen’s call for women not to “underestimate what you might bring to the table – own it, everything you know you are, and all the things that you’re not – your perspective is unique.”

We would like to congratulate all the other State and Territory winners. It is fitting that Karen is part of this group of extraordinary women.

As the voices of First Nations women in leadership are heard with more frequency, the results can only be a better future for Australia.