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Contact Us
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Who We Are?

Our Vision

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the content on this website may contain images and voices of deceased persons.


At Wangarra our vision is for our people to be strong, prosperous and proud. To walk tall, united in culture, spirit and identity.


We know our people have the strengths and resources within themselves to bring about real change in their lives, within their families and in their community.


We strive to walk alongside community during significant moments in life ensuring they are never alone, at moments of celebration and culture, and, on a day to day basis to support pride, dignity and self-determination. From babies to Elders, our young people to people living with a disability, to job training, to those needing support in the criminal justice system, from the football field to the stage and in the classroom, Wangarra is there.


Our name, gifted to us by renowned Elder and author, Uncle Albert Holt comes from the Bidjara people from Western Queensland, meaning
One people or All people.

Our Community

Inala has been known as hub for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and community since the beginning of our suburb. Families who camped by the creeks around the Inala and Acacia Ridge area in the 50’s started to move into house in the 60’s. Inala is home to the oldest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Brisbane, some of our community members were born at the birthing tree located in Oxley.


Commonly typified as a ‘bad’ neighbourhood by those who live outside of the region, Inala’s unique history and culturally diverse population from broad and diverse social and economic backgrounds is one of our suburbs’ greatest strengths. The people who live here have a strong sense of community connection, belonging and pride.


Whilst many of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community who identify with Inala, do indeed, experience hardship and struggles our strength is in our community, our pride, our connection to culture and our shared histories.


Our pride in community is shown through our attachments to our street names, our postcode, the songs written about our home, our memories and stories of the struggles, the success of many Inala people and the language and culture that we proudly call our own.


While our community’s problems may seem insurmountable to outsiders, Inala Wangarra knows that by embracing our organisational values, along with our strength-based approach combined with our enormous social and cultural strength and capacity we continue to build positive social change and we re-affirm our local people’s pride in our community.


4077 for ever.

Meet Our Team

Tamara Egert

Playgroup Coordinator and Balgah Binay Coordinator

The choice for me to work in my community was a simple one. I have raised my children here and I have lived here for many years. This community has provided for me and my family, and now I have the opportunity to give back. My dream for this community is for the continuation of the knowledges, strengths and connections which have always been here.

Frances Lomas

Women's Project Officer

I was born and raised in Inala. I love and adore my community and working with people I am already connected to through family and friends. Our community has a strong sense of belonging and I am proud to use that in my work and to deliver programs that are needed and valued by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women of Inala. The programs I deliver give meaning and purpose and allow us to connect and laugh and yarn. These programs make a difference. I love knowing that I am contributing to my community and supporting our community to be successful and happy.

Takeisha Riley

Administration Officer

Wangarra is an absolutely amazing place to work in, I love rising up to the challenge and pushing myself beyond my limits. Growing up in one of Inala’s surrounding suburbs, Acacia Ridge, I would attend programs run by Wangarra as a young person and love everything about it. The people I work with are like family who all are incredibly remarkable in what they do for the community. As a young person, I hope to one day make my mark and make a positive change in this flourishing community.

Kiara Tyson

Naree Wandima Wellbeing Officer

As one of the Naree Wandima Wellbeing Officers, I enjoy supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to overcome the barriers they face and to support and encourage them to achieve their goals and succeed in our community. I love working in Inala as I can relate better to the women I work with. I grew up in this community and my local knowledge and networks help me provide support with greater understanding and compassion. My dream for Inala is to see our people be successful and for many more future leaders come out of this community.

Mitchel Harrison-Currie

Bail Support Youth Worker

As the Bail Support Youth Worker, I have a passion for breaking generational curses and helping our young people achieve their dreams. I firmly believe in providing holistic support to our youth, in order to give them the tools they need to set out on their own self-determined path.My goal is to build positive relationships and support Mob, while encouraging positive life choices.

Inala is my home, and it's where my journey began, just like my mother and family before me.That's why it's imperative that I give back to my community. I find it extremely rewarding to work in a space where I'm able to see the positive impact that my work is making within our younger generation. I choose to work in my community because there's no place I'd rather be than here, helping and supporting our own Mob. It's my dream to co-create programs and initiatives that will continue to inspire the next generation. I believe that by keeping the fires burning for our future generations, we are contributing to the legacy we are leaving behind.

Kate Bond

Community Justice Coordinator

I am a passionate advocate for the rights of local Inala Mob in contact with the criminal justice system. With firsthand experience of the justice system, I am committed to bringing about much-needed change - change that can only be achieved through the inclusion and leadership of grassroots local Inala Mob. Raised in Inala, I have a deep-rooted connection to my community, both through my cultural ties and my work in the area. As a strong advocate for grassroots solutions, I work hard to empower members of my community. I aim to amplify local voices and help to address important community issues, like the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s within the criminal justice system. Supporting the community is a cultural obligation for me and one I believe in. I strongly believe in co-designing strong prevention, intervention, and postvention programs that help to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who come into contact with the justice system. My dream is to create a community where Mob can thrive and succeed - a community where families can make informed choices and break the cycle of incarceration. I am a passionate advocate and have a commitment to supporting and empowering the community I love and respect.

Jared Payne

Suicide Prevention Program Director

I enjoy working alongside Mob in the community in a way that positions them as experts of the strengths and needs across the community. Through living and working in Inala I have witnessed that it is a strong and proud community, with a rich and diverse history. It is a privilege for me to work closely with people and families that have contributed to making Inala what it is over multiple generations, it is an honour being able to listen to the strong and multilayered stories from the community members of Inala. I would love to see Inala supported in such a way that amplifies all of the knowledge and experience held here to determine decision making around service provision and community planning.

Jane Jennison

Creative Arts Director

Inala is not my home community, nor is it where I grew up. I am not Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander. I am a settler. Each day I have the immense pleasure and privilege to work with a community who have welcomed and included me, to make, and present beautiful art. The generosity of the Elders, knowledge keepers, parents, young people and children I have worked with during my time in Inala has been phenomenal. I love the strength, the resilience and the humour of this community and my team mates and have even learned to love sport just that little bit more.

Matt Bond

Sparkle Mob Project Officer

I’m Matt Bond, a proud Queer Munanjahli and Bidjara Person. I’ve only been working at Inala Wangarra for a few weeks, but I absolutely love it. It’s been a dream of mine to create a space where Queer Indigenous Youth can express themselves freely and as creatively as they want and now, as the Project Officer of Sparkle Mob, I’m able to do just that. I can create a program that welcomes in people like me and build a community that’s long been around. Sparkle Mob is a program that aims to celebrate the life of the Indigenous community that identify as being part of the rainbow family. It’s exciting work and I’m so thankful to be a part of it.

Bob Smith

CEO

As a proud Kamilaroi man raised on Mununjali Country, family is at the centre of my life.

I am thrilled to be working in the Inala community as CEO of Inala Wangarra, where my passion lies in community work and self-determination practices.

I believe in responding to the local context, co-developing practices that honour the stories and experiences of the community, and empowering individuals and communities toward self-determination.

Judy Robson

Office Manager

I have lived in this area for the last 24 years and it feels like home. I love my job. I work quietly behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly so our staff can go out and deliver their programs. Apart from no commute, my other favourite part of my job is meeting and working with local community – they are always so appreciative. My dream for this community is for us to keep delivering more and more programs so that we can connect with the entirety of our community.

Sonya Egert

Chief Operating Officer

Serving my community as the Chief Operating Officer at Inala Wangarra I feel inspired each and every single day by our staff and community. Raised in in Inala, I am a community-oriented person and love working with my people. I feel genuinely lucky to have grown up in Inala and to be raising my son here as well with such a staunch and strong community. I have worked and volunteered in various community projects for quite some time, and recently, I came to Inala Wangarra.

As the COO, my responsibility revolves around providing support to our Deadly staff here, overseeing the programs being delivered in the community, and ensuring that they are aligned with our community's expectations, values and preferences.

I aspire to see everyone in our community strong, happy and healthy. Through my role at Inala Wangarra, I am striving to make this dream a reality. We are working hard to create a community where everyone feels valued and supported. I believe that the key to building a strong and healthy community is by working together towards a common goal. I am honoured to be a part of Inala Wangarra, and I look forward to continuing to work with my community for many years to come.

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