Ms Ashlen Francisco

Biography

Ashlen is a proud Wiradjuri woman whose heritage also stems from Portugal and Ireland. This international heritage established her drive for effective research no matter the location or situation and for over a decade she has focused on gathering industry experience, in both the corporate and public sectors, in Australia and internationally with the goal of advancing Indigenous success and restorative justice.

After completing her Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) at the University of Melbourne in in 2012 after a year-long study exchange in Sweden, Ashlen returned to Lunds University in 2013 to obtain a Masters degree in Applied Cultural Analysis.  Benefiting from developing tertiary skills in a country known as the ‘Welfare State’, Sweden provided the socialist political climate in which to further analyse the situation for Indigenous people and the State in Australia. Ashlen returned to Australia in 2016 to begin a PhD candidature at the University of Newcastle in NSW, detailing the history of the NSW Aborigines Protection Board throughout the 1930s and the Welfare Board throughout the 40s. She has previously worked with the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Kimberley Land Council (WA), the Koori Justice Unit in Victoria and has assisted with research conducted through Deakin University (SA) and James Cook University (QLD). Ashlen currently works with Swinburne’s Moondani Toombadool Centre on a casual basis.