Donisha Duff

Donisha Duff has dedicated her life to improving the lives of others, with a strong background in health, education and youth support.

Donisha is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman from Thursday Island and her family descend from the Moa and Badu Islands, and the Yadhaigana and Wuthathi people. She has significantly contributed to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Donisha has over 20 years of experience in health policy, planning and management and currently works as Chief Operations Officer at the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH). In this role, she works closely with communities in the health sector and is passionate about community advocacy and engagement. Donisha is a respected community leader, serving as a board member of the Metro South Hospital & Health Service, the Medical Radiation Practice Board of AHPRA and is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University. Donisha has a Bachelor of Arts from Griffith University.

In 2013 Donisha became the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person to graduate with a Masters of Business Administration from the Australian National University. During her studies, Donisha won a bursary from the Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation to attend summer school at Harvard University. In 2014 she received the Scholar of the Year award. In her time at Harvard, Donisha completed two courses of study in Systems Thinking and Cross Border Innovation, which were credited towards the completion of her Masters of Business Administration at ANU. In 2012, Donisha became a member of the Harvard Club of Australian.

In addition to her academic success, Donisha has worked with the Australian Government, not-for-profits and community organisations in a number of roles including being former Adviser to Warren Snowdon MP, the first Federal Minister to have an Indigenous Health portfolio. She is a Member of the College of Experts of the Australian Research Council and holds a number of Ministerial Board appointments. Donisha is a founding member and Chair of the not-for-profit organisation Stars Ltd – a school-based engagement program for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls.