Australia

Alison Edwards joined The Fred Hollows Foundation in February 2006 with the Indigenous Program in the Northern Territory. 

Alison has over ten years experience in the community sector, much of this spent working with Indigenous communities. She has strong management skills and extensive hands-on experience in program development.

Prior to joining The Foundation, Alison worked as a Coordinator with Community Harmony Projects as part of the Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation, an Indigenous organisation based in the Darwin region. In this role, Alison initiated and managed a range of programs to support Indigenous people who were "living in the long grass" (the homeless). 

One such program was a remote community education project funded by the National Community Crime Prevention Program. Alison also secured funding from the Northern Territory Government to provide case work and transport services to homeless people, as well as funding from Telstra for a project to encourage homeless children to go to school.

Alison's dedication to homeless Indigenous people spans many years of her career.  As Executive Officer of Northern Territory Shelter, a peak body working on housing and homelessness issues, Alison worked with community members to establish an Indigenous Reference Group attached to the organisation's Board of Management.  She also promoted the founding of Indigenous Tenant Groups throughout regional areas to inform the Northern Territory Government on Indigenous issues related to public housing policy.

Alison has also worked tirelessly for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and children.  Her interest in this area began with a course in women's studies, which led to her employment as a community worker and counsellor and active participation in women's organisations. 

From 1996 to 2003, Alison was the Coordinator for Dawn House, a community based women's service providing crisis accommodation, support and counselling for women and children escaping violence. 

While at Dawn House, Alison was instrumental in developing Indigenous specific programs, particularly for Indigenous children.  She was co-researcher on a project to investigate crisis accommodation access and pathways for Indigenous children and was an occasional guest lecturer at the Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies at the Northern Territory University.

Over the last ten years, Alison has held several member and board positions in community organisations and government programs.  She was a member of the Women's Services Group of the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), a joint Commonwealth and Territory program which provided transitional accommodation to people who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. 

Alison has also been actively involved in the Women's Services Network, a national peak body for women's services and was the Executive Member, Northern Territory Representative from 1997 to 1999. Alison has also represented women's issues as a Board Member of the Northern Territory Council of Social Services, and as a member of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee of the Northern Territory Office of Women's Policy.