Wendy Watego is an Educator, Motivator, Leadership Coach and Author. Her mother's mob are Goenpil, Nughie, Noonuccal people from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). Her Dad's family are Aboriginal and South Sea Islanders from New Caledonia.
Wendy's academic background is in education, working in Queensland including as an acting principal of Bwgcolman Community School on Palm Island, and holding a variety of educational leadership positions throughout Queensland, the Northern Territory and Malaysia.
As co-founder and National Program Director of the STARS Institute of Learning and Leadership, Wendy designs and delivers health and wellbeing programs, and healing and leadership programs, in Queensland, Torres Strait, New South Wales and Victoria. She says ‘’What makes my heart sing and my spirit dance is empowering people to complete their unfinished business and heal from the constraints of the past, to unlock their cultural codes from within their DNA, tap into their true leadership genius and achieve the kinds of results that make a real difference to their lives, the lives of their families and to the lives of their communities’’.
Wendy will talk about how to identify and heal from the silent national lie that ‘blackfellas aren't as good as whitefellas’, and steps to alleviate the impacts of inter-generational trauma and lateral violence on leadership. This is done in an interactive style so that participants don't just get more information and knowledge, but get it in their bones so that they are left with some simple and fun ways to use their unique strengths, gifts and talents to build their leadership capacity.
Wendy will be supported by Vicki Scott, her co-author of Out of the Box Thinking on Indigenous Leadership: simple strategies to create an empowering future and co-founder of the STARS Institute. Vicki worked for Lowitja O'Donoghue as her Executive Officer when she was Chairperson of ATSIC, was project manager for Corroboree 2000 (when 250,000 walked over Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Reconciliation), and Director of CHOGM Coordination for Queensland Government.