Biography

Kaely is an experienced senior executive, company director and researcher with an extensive history of working with Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. Most of Kaely’s senior executive public sector and commercial experience is in relation to Indigenous peoples’ economic development. Working in wide ranging areas including native title, land rights, heritage protection, health, housing, home ownership, governance and economic development has provided Kaely with deep and broad insights into Indigenous policy development. Until 2012, Kaely was the Deputy CEO of Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), an organisation that supports Indigenous Australians create wealth and accumulate assets through business and home ownership. Kaely’s experience as a company director spans 8 years on commercial and not-for-profit companies in the tourism, major infrastructure and health sectors. Each of these boards had Aboriginal people as owners, joint venture partners and/or key stakeholders.

Kaely’s doctoral research set out to identify feasible, reliable and appropriate methods for quantifying cultural values for First Nations people. Kaely used choice modelling to measure the value that the Nyikina and Mangala people of the west Kimberley involved in the research place on aspects of their culture by privileging their viewpoints. These methods address significant challenges such as the assessment of the value of native title to Traditional Owners for compensation, cultural heritage values to custodians, and environmental assessment where the values of Country and culture extend beyond scientific assessment to cultural values. Measuring these intrinsic values is not a matter of commodification, rather it enables them to be recognised and incorporated into integrated decision making that incorporates the viewpoint of First Nations peoples.

Research Interests

Economic development policies, cultural value quantification, land rights and native title including compensation, governance, and health for First Nations peoples. 

Position: Research Fellow

Link to: ANU Researcher page: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/woods-mg