Our People

Cara Peek is a Yawuru/Bunuba woman and founder of Saltwater Country Inc. A lawyer by profession, having worked primarily in Native Title Law, Cara now focuses her skills as a community relations practitioner as co-founder and executive director of Yum Yum & Delicious Pty Ltd. She has worked in regional communities in Australia, Canada and the USA, specializing in stakeholder liaison and engagement, relationship management, corporate social responsibility, program development & project management. Cara is an active member of her community, currently Deputy Chairperson of Nyamba Buru Yawuru Ltd and a director for Nagula Jarndu Yawuru.

Cara’s project vision and direct management experience place her well to lead this groundbreaking organization from the red dirt into a sustainable future. Her creativity coupled with her corporate and community relations experience will ensure that Saltwater Country Inc. and its associated events are managed in line with its key objectives focusing on positive social outcomes.

Cara understands the significance of providing the opportunity for community involvement in order to foster sustainable outcomes. In doing so she is experienced in developing on-ground strategies and approaches utilized by frontline team members, thereby creating a safe and mutually respectful working culture. She possesses a unique perspective from both a community and corporate standpoint on the importance of working with the community and leveraging competing agendas to achieve mutually beneficial goals. It is with these skills in mind that she hopes to lead Saltwater Country Inc. in delivering long-lasting self-determined positive change in Broome & the wider Kimberley region through the sport of Rodeo & Campdrafting.

Adele Peek, is a Yawuru/Bunuba woman and founding member of Saltwater Country Inc. She is a community relations practitioner, experienced in developing sustainable pathways, event and venue management, program development, advocating for indigenous issues, community liaison and stakeholder engagement. Adele has broad industry experience across the public and private sectors and has a desire to use her extensive skills and knowledge to benefit the community of Broome with a particular focus on Youth.

Rodeo is in Adele’s blood with her extended family and in laws having had a long term connection to the land and the Rodeo way of life. Her interest has grown during her time in the Kimberley having also travelled to experience the world Pro Bull Riding finals in Las Vegas, USA. Adele’s passion and true commitment lies in working with youth, in particular at risk youth. With over 8 years’ experience working in the Youth industry in a myriad of ways, she has developed a broad skill set that greatly assists Saltwater Country Inc., in it’s social enterprise initiatives.

Adele is an active member of her community and is currently a Director for Nagula Jarndu Yawuru. She has agreed to come on board with SWC as she sees great potential for the association to affect positive change with the youth of Broome and wider Kimberley. With Adele’s not for profit and corporate experience in developing youth diversionary, engagement and support programs, her knowledge will be invaluable in leading SWCs youth initiatives.

Cherry Lawton is a born & bred Broome local who brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to the Saltwater Country Team. Cherry has long been committed to creating positive social change in the community in which she was raised. This is evidenced by her work as the Volunteer Resource Service Coordinator and member of the Financial Management Team at Broome CIRCLE.

Building on her passions for sustainable tourism, community development projects, community events and project management, Cherry has completed a double degree in Tourism and Events, and Community Development from Murdoch University. She has put her skills and knowledge to good use as an event coordinator for Shinju Matsuri Festival of the Pearl and a Light the Night Fundraising event in Broome, raising money for people with blood cancer.

With a high sense of civic duty, Cherry is a regular volunteer in Broome with a continued commitment to her community and an unyielding ambition to create positive social change. It is this such ambition that attracted Cherry to Saltwater Country with its innovation and boundless potential, the two are a great match.

Divina D’Anna is a Bard, Nimanburru and Yawuru woman with Kija connections born and raised in the Kimberley.  Divina brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and community connections to the Saltwater Country Inc. team.

Divina is passionate about her people feeling empowered to enrich their own lives in their own ways whether it be wanting to be the Prime Minister or just to have a happy and healthy life for themselves and their children.

One of the highlights of her career has been leading the community consultations on the ‘Hear our Voices. Community Consultations for the Development of an Empowerment, Healing and Leadership Program for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley, Western Australia’ the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and University of Western Australia alongside Pat Dudgeon, Roz Walker, Clair Scrine, Katherine Hams, Kerrie Kelly, Kathleen Cox and Cheryl Dunkley.

Divina, along with Katherine Hams and Cheryl Dunkley then used the report to develop the Kimberley Empowerment, Healing and Leadership Program through Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services and ran a successful pilot program which lead to the National Empowerment Project to run on a national scale.

Her other experiences include over 20 years working with Aboriginal people across the Kimberley specialising in community consultations in the areas of native title, social impacts, self-empowerment and suicide prevention.  She is currently employed at Aarnja Limited who are the backbone organisation for Empowered Communities West Kimberley.  Prior to this Divina has worked with KRED Enterprises, Kimberley Land Council and KAMS advocating and empowering our mob to deal with all social and economic issues in our communities.

Ronald Wade Snr is a Yawuru man who has worked in the Pastoral and Rodeo Industries across the country. Over the years he has been a rider, a clown and now stock contractor as part of a family businesshttp://www.saltwatercountry.com.au/team/ronald-wade-snr/. He has also mentored and trained many young riders and volunteered for numerous rodeo events across the country.

Over the years Ronald has used the sport of Rodeo to connect with young Indigenous men in particular. He has used it as a way to teach and mentor young Indigenous men about how to be a part of a team, a family and live the cowboy way of life. In doing so he has been able to engage a number of at risk young men and guide them on a new path. In 2015 Ronald was one of the Saltwater Country Inc. committee members who developed and ran Rodeo Express, the first all Indigenous run rodeo in Broome, WA.

Through this event and his continued involvement in the sport of Rodeo he has proven his dedication to the industry whilst also showcasing the talent we have here in our community, including local stock, stock contractors, event managers and riders to name a few.

Leith Barnes is a Jabirr Jabirr man, based in Broome with his young family. He possesses a life long connection to the land and the Kimberley Region. For many years Leith has worked the land in various roles within the pastoral industry, in some of the most remote areas of the Country.

In recent years Leith developed Wirra Wirra, a local fencing company with his older brother. A family business to the end, Wirra Wirra employs a number of family members at different levels of the business, many of whom travel throughout the Kimberley and Pilbara to work. The flexibility of being in a family business also enables Leith and his brothers to do what they love, travel the country competing in Rodeo. A man who was born and raised on a horse, Leith has come to learn all aspects of the Rodeo business taking part as a bull rider, pickup man and now stock contractor. Leith and his brothers own Gary Barnes Stock Contracting, which supplies professional bulls to rodeos across Western Australia.

In 2015 Leith was an integral member of the team that managed the highly successful, first all indigenous run rodeo in Broome, Rodeo Express. Along with his uncle Ronald Wade Snr., and brothers he ran the rodeo aspects of the event. It is a dream of Leiths’ to work in the sport of Rodeo full time, with Gary Barnes Stock Contracting and Rodeo Express being just the beginning. His knowledge of the sport and way of life as well as commitment and energy are invaluable to Saltwater Country Inc.

Pia Nock is an innovative change maker with a creative soul and strong ambition to  create positive social change in Broome. She has a strong commitment to serving others as evidenced by her years of experience working in the service industries and her ability to identify and build community driven initiatives. One such initiative is the local Craftschool Program,  a low cost, kid led, weekly craft based program with an emphasis on sustainability, consumption and the creative process.

In her daily life Pia is a Community Development Practitioner with years of experience engaging with the community through her work with the Australian Red Cross. In this role she is responsible for engaging with individuals, families and communities to develop and manage activities and programs that meet community needs and contribute to positive, sustainable outcomes for the community. It is here that she has strengthened her skills in recruiting, managing and supporting Kimberley volunteers and for identifying and supporting opportunities for volunteers to contribute to a wide range of Kimberley activities.

This experience is invaluable as she undertakes her role as Volunteer Specialist at Saltwater Country Inc, where she is the key driver behind matching the right volunteer experience with the right volunteer. Saltwater Country Inc. values our volunteers and believe that Pia is the perfect person to identify and support new and existing volunteers as Saltwater Country Inc. grows.

Linda Butterly [Treasurer 2014-2016] is a founding member of Saltwater Country Inc. and has more than 25 years of experience in regional and remote community and economic development throughout Western Australia. The last 8 years have been spent working throughout the Kimberley and Central Desert regions. During most of her career, Linda has worked as an independent consultant thereby broadening her capabilities and knowledge through a range of fields including but not exclusive to:

• Aboriginal community and business development
• Corporate – Traditional Owner partnerships
• Community & stakeholder engagement
• Community investment
• Enterprise development
• Education & workforce skills training
• Research & development

Linda’s breadth of experience and knowledge is invaluable to the Saltwater Country Inc. team, particularly whilst we are trying to develop our organisation. It is anticipated that her experience in community investment, enterprise development and education and workforce training will be of particular importance when trying to gain support and understanding from the broader community regarding why and how we do what we do.

Melissa Hoy  is a Yawuru/Bardi woman, based in Broome WA. Melissa has worked in a variety of industries across Western Australia and has large family connections across the state including down south on a number of farming properties. A teacher by profession Melissa has extensive experience working with youth in the Kimberley and remote communities, understanding the wide range of issues that young people face on a daily basis.

More recently Melissa has worked in mental health and suicide prevention with Alive & Kicking Goals Suicide Prevention, a grassroots program auspiced by the Men’s Outreach Centre in Broome. Through her suicide prevention work she has worked with high risk youth across the Kimberley the majority of whom are Indigenous. Whilst working and travelling across the Kimberley, Melissa has been told a number of times by young indigenous people that not everyone is good at basketball or football, some are just made to ride a horse. It is with this in mind that Melissa joined Saltwater Country Inc. in the hope of becoming part of a grass roots movement that will give at risk youth an alternative way of being involved in life, learning life skills on country and become reengaged in the world around them.

Tyronne Garstone [Committee Member 2014-2016] is a Bardi man, Broome local and founding member of Saltwater Country Inc. with extensive experience in Indigenous training, employment and economic development. Tyronne led Kullari Regional CDEP as Chief Executive Officer for a number of years, ensuring the delivery of successful programs across the region. In addition, Tyronne worked as a community engagement officer for Pluton Resources and has acquired strong local relationships during his years residing and working in Broome.

He has held a seat on numerous committees within the community, all working to create positive change for Indigenous people and the broader community. He currently holds a seat on the Aboriginal Workforce Development Centre Advisory Group as well as Saltwater Country Inc.

More recently Tyronne has become part of the executive management team at the Kimberley Land Council, an organization that assists Aboriginal people to secure native title recognition, conduct conservation and land management activities, develop cultural business enterprises and improve socioeconomic circumstances. With this experience at hand Tyronne is a valuable asset to Saltwater Country Inc. and committed to delivering long lasting, self determined outcomes that go well beyond Rodeo and Campdrafting.