Jessa Rogers

Jessa Rogers (née Smith born 7 April 1985) is an Aboriginal education leader currently based in Queensland, Australia.

Early life and education

Rogers is a member of the Wiradjuri people and was born in Canberra, Australia.[1] Her family moved to Sunshine Coast, Queensland, where Rogers attended local schools before going on to complete degrees at Queensland University of Technology and University of Southern Queensland.[2][3][4]

Career

Rogers is an Indigenous scholar and teacher who is recognised as an advocate for education reform in Australia.[5][6] Rogers argues the need for schools to be more inclusive of Indigenous cultures in their curriculum, and the need for more Indigenous teachers in Australian schools.[7]

In 2015, Rogers was appointed the inaugural Principal of the Cape York Girl Academy, Australia's first boarding school for young mothers and their babies.[8][9] Rogers' passion for supporting the education of teenage mothers is based on her own experience as a Year 12 student who fell pregnant and gave birth to a son ten days before graduating from secondary school.[10] Rogers is also a member of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) and is an ANU Reconciliation PhD Scholar.[11][12]

Rogers is an Adjunct Principal Research Fellow at James Cook University and has held positions at Macquarie University, the University of Canberra, the University of the Sunshine Coast, and the Australian National University.[13][14] She is a member of the Australian College of Educators, the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI), and the Forum for Indigenous Research Excellence.[15][16]

Awards

Rogers was the NAIDOC Young Person of the Year in 2010, and won the Reconciliation Award at the Australian National University in 2014, and the Minoru Hokari Scholarship in 2015.[17][18] She is a nominee for ACT Young Woman of the Year in 2016.

References

  1. "Podmore Foundation Announces Guest Speaker Jessa Rogers for Spring Lunch 2015". podmorefoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  2. "NAIDOC Profile: Jessa Rogers". www.naidoc.org.au. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  3. "Jessa’s journey - Deadly Vibe". Deadly Vibe. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  4. "News". QUT. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  5. "EducationHQ Australia - Smith committed to her kids". au.educationhq.com. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  6. "USQ links youths with local heritage - University of Southern Queensland". www.usq.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  7. Price, Kaye (2015-06-29). Knowledge of Life: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316381472.
  8. Bateman, Daniel (21 January 2016). "Australia's first Boarding School for Young Mums and Bubs". The Cairns Post.
  9. "Executive Leadership". capeyorkpartnership.org.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  10. Corporation, Australian Broadcasting. "Why Jessica Smith became 2010 Naidoc Youth of the Year". Conversations with Richard Fidler. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  11. "NAIDOC Profile: Jessa Rogers". www.naidoc.org.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  12. Biddle, Dr Nicholas (2015). "Stuck in the Middle: The effect of boarding schools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students". Federal Parliament of Australia.
  13. "ANU Spaces - Jessa Rogers". ANU. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  14. "Why Australia needs more Indigenous educators". www.mq.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  15. "Jessa appointed first principal of the Girl Academy « More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative". matsiti.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  16. "Members - Forum for Indigenous Research Excellence". lha.uow.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  17. "Jessa’s journey - Deadly Vibe". Deadly Vibe. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  18. "The Minoru Hokari Scholarship - School of History". history.cass.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.