Antoinette Braybrook AM is an Aboriginal woman born on Wurundjeri Country, with family ties to the Kuku Yalanji people of Far North Queensland. She brings to the international stage a powerful combination of lived experience, local advocacy and systems change leadership. Over more than two decades as the founding CEO of Djirra, Antoinette has driven transformative change in addressing and preventing violence against Aboriginal women through Aboriginal led, self determined solutions. Antoinette has led Djirra’s growth from a small service to a statewide organisation employing around 130 staff. Djirra demonstrates what scale, sustainability and impact look like when Aboriginal women lead their own change.
Antoinette’s leadership and influence has received significant state, national and international recognition. This includes her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia, receiving an Honorary Doctorate and Alumni Award for Excellence from Deakin University, and being named Melburnian of the Year, becoming the first Aboriginal person to receive this award in its 20-year history. Antoinette has also been inducted onto the Gender Justice Legacy Wall, launched at the United Nations in New York, recognising leaders whose work has shaped struggles for gender justice. Her voice has influenced human rights and gender justice discourse at the highest levels, including the United Nations and Women Deliver, where she has firmly positioned Aboriginal women’s experiences within conversations on violence, racism and structural inequality.
With a long term vision grounded in justice and self determination, Antoinette continues to lead structural change, including advancing Djirra’s Aboriginal Women’s Centre, a bold and enduring vision she has carried for more than two decades. Guided by a strong Board of Directors bringing unique experiences and expertise across governance, law, community leadership and systems change, Antoinette’s authority is defined by what she has built, the change she has led, and by her ongoing commitment to Aboriginal women’s safety, strength, resilience and self determination.
