Dr Stacey Kim Coates
Dr Stacey Kim Coates, a proud Wiradjuri woman and recognised Aunty in her community, is an accomplished Indigenous academic, executive leader and education sector specialist passionate about driving improved educational and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Consequently, Dr Coates is recognised for her achievements in education and her determined efforts to improve the educational outcomes First Nations Australians.
Dr Coates completed her PhD, researching senior Indigenous leadership in higher education. Dr Coates has published extensively, building a strong catalogue of research that promote the importance of senior Indigenous leadership within the education system. Significantly, her research also resulted in a newly developed Indigenous methodological framework entitled Indigenous Institutional Theory. Dr Coates’ framework presents a global vision for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together to decolonise academia, improving the freedom and cultural safety of staff, students and their community in the field of Indigenous research. In addition to her own academic work, Dr Coates has worked closely with numerous Indigenous students, assisting them in their studies through high school and beyond.
Dr Coates is a committed advocate for the recognition of First Nations peoples and cultures. Dr Coates personally campaigned for the NSW Department of Education to introduce mandatory 'Indigenous cultures and histories' training for all public school teachers. Dr Coates presented the concept at many conferences across the Nation, doing so at her own expense. As a result of the campaign, the ‘Aboriginal Cultural Education – Let’s take the first step together’ mandatory online training module was rolled out across the NSW Department of Education in October 2021.
Dr Coates has also influenced several government and international institutions to improve their representation of Indigenous Australian peoples and cultures, including the British Museum and every Australian Foreign Embassy.
Dr Coates has long been a force for positive change, impacting Australian society at large as well as changing the lives of the individuals she has mentored.