Tjanara is a Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli Traditional Owner from Central Queensland who was born in the outback at Longreach in central western Queensland. Tjanara is an academic teacher and researcher who completed her PhD at ANU in 2018. Tjanara was an Assistant Professor at the University of Canberra (UC) prior to coming to ANU. At UC Tjanara was involved in the establishment of UC CIRI (Collaborative Indigenous Research Initiative) as an Executive Committee Member and Researcher. Tjanara is also an Associate Member of the National Indigenous Research Knowledge's Network based at QUT.

Tjanara has taught at Southern Cross University, University of Queensland, Charles Sturt University, the Australian College of Applied Psychology, University of Sydney, the University of Tasmania as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer.  Tjanara has also been the Director of Aboriginal Education Units at Charles Sturt University 1990-1994 and the University of Melbourne 2005-2006 and was a member of the NSW National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander State Education Policy Committee under the Keating Government (NATSIEP).  Tjanara has been a Ministerial Appointee to the SAAP (Supported Accommodation) and HAAC (Home and Community Care) National Programs Ministerial Committees in the 1980's and sat on the Queensland Disability Council Board and the NSW Housing Appeals Tribunal during the 1990's.  

Tjanara has had a diverse career as both and academic researcher, community development worker and senior policy Director in the Australian Public Service in particular at the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet and in the Australian Foreign Service.  She worked for many years in the Australian Public Service in a range of mainstream departments and rose to a Director in the Office of Indigenous Policy Co-ordination prior to leaving the government for full time academic work in the mid 2000's.  Tjanara has also worked in corporate Australia as a transformational leadership senior consultation at Zaffyre International working with overseas and national Australian companies in the energy, insurance, finance and mining sectors.  Tjanara has been a psychotherapist in private practice, has trained other therapists in Non Shaming Therapy and worked at the Los Angles Rosemead Hospital's John Bradshaw Centre for Addiction and Abuse Recovery in the mid 1990's. 

Research Interests

Phd: 'The Road to Eldership' and the Impact of Visionary leadership on Indigenous Community Transformation.  

Leadership Development:  Sacred Outstanding Visionary Leadership Comparative Western and Indigenous forms

Indigenous leadership development, traditional Law, Tjukurpa and Spirituality in Indigenous communities

Family systems: generational family dysfunction & trauma, Childhood emotional development, arrested development, cultural spiritual development in Indigenous communities

Indigenous mental health: dissociation and mood & anxiety disorders, social, emotional cultural and spiritual wellbeing

Recovery from chemical and process dependencies, physical sexual and emotional violence, childhood sexual abuse

Indigenous traditional healers: ngungkari training, practices, lifestyle and tradition

Indigenous Politics and Contemporary Indigenous Issues:  young Indigenous women in political life, comparative politics, race and politics,

Indigenous Art: writing and drawing