Lynette Riley (born 1956) is an academic at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, currently employed within the Sydney School of Education & Social Work within the university as an associate professor. Riley is a

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

and

Gamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

woman from Dubbo and Moree. She is known for her promotion of

Aboriginal culture Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. Over 300 languages and other groupings ...

, in particular her kinship presentations and the associated online module.

Personal life

Riley was born in 1956 in

Dubbo, New South Wales Dubbo () is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Ne ...

. She completed her schooling at Dubbo High School before completing teacher training at Armidale College of Advanced Education in 1977. Her first posting as a teacher was at

Moree, New South Wales Moree is a town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River, in the centre of the rich black-soil plains. The town is located at the junction of the Newell Highway and Gwydir Highwa ...

. In 1983 Riley shared a house with politician

Linda Burney Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...

and contemporary Indigenous visual artist

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in '' Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Aw ...

. Riley wed Aboriginal leader and politician

Warren Mundine Nyunggai Warren Stephen Mundine is an Australian Aboriginal leader and politician. He was the National President of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), but quit the party in 2012. Mundine was appointed chairman of the Coalition government's Indig ...

in 1984 at St Andrew's Congregational Church in Balmain, Sydney, and raised seven children with him (two from his previous marriage and one a foster child). The couple renewed their vows in 2003 at St Brigid's Catholic Church, Dubbo. They separated in 2006, and then again in 2008, at which time she changed her surname back to Riley.

Career

Riley has education experience in a range of organisations including primary schools, high schools, TAFE and universities. In addition to teaching and research, Riley has also been actively involved in state government policy, for example as Acting Director of Aboriginal Education and Training NSW DET in 2002-2005. From 1986 Riley became a Research Fellow at the University of New England. She founded the Aboriginal Student Support Centre, "Oorala Centre" at the University and went on to establish the

Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture The University of New England (UNE) is a public university in Australia with approximately 22,500 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern central New South Wales. UNE was the fir ...

series focusing on Aboriginal issues. By 2013 she was a Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Studies at the University of Sydney. Riley completed her PhD entitled, ''Conditions of academic success for Aboriginal students in school,'' in 2015. As part of this research, she conducted comprehensive qualitative research into high achieving students in NSW, finding that the high achieving Aboriginal students in NSW surveyed have a strong and positive sense of their cultural identity. She was a finalist in the 2021 New South Wales Aboriginal Woman of the Year.

Kinship Module

In July 2014, the University of Sydney launched the online learning tool 'Kinship Module' which aims to increase understanding of indigenous culture. The content of this online module was largely based on research conducted by Riley and her colleagues Janet Mooney and Deirdre Howard-Wagner. Riley has been conducting Kinship presentations for a variety of audiences for many years with great success.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Lynette 1956 births People from Dubbo Indigenous Australian academics Indigenous Australian artists Living people Indigenous Australian women academics Academic staff of the University of Sydney Australian women academics