The Solid Kids, Solid Schools project initially was guided by a committed Steering Committee (SC). The SC assists the project with leadership and support. The SC is made up of the following community members who are experts in teaching and working with Yamaji children and young people:

Juli Coffin

Juli is from the Pilbara area of Western Australia and she lives in Geraldton (Yamaji Country). Juli works at the Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health as an Associate Professor in Aboriginal Health. Juli is passionate about helping Yamaji kids be happy and healthy and has been involved with the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project since it started. As a chief investigator and project director, Juli has worked closely with Yamaji community members to represent their stories and experiences of bullying.

Cheryl Kickett-Tucker

Cheryl lives in Swan View (Noongar), a hills suburb of Perth. Cheryl’s family has lived in the Swan region for seven generations and is linked to the Wadjuk people on her mother’s side and the Ballardong people on her father’s side. Cheryl works at Murdoch University and is an Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Arts and Education. Cheryl has been involved in the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project since it started and is one of the chief investigators.

Lydia Hearn

Lydia’s family are from the UK. She was born in Venezuela and lived in Columbia for 10 years. Lydia migrated to Australia in 1995 and lives in Perth. Lydia works at the CHPRC as a Senior Research Fellow and grant writer. Lydia has been involved in the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project since it started and is one of the investigators.

Roz Walker

Associate Professor Walker was a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Curtin Indigenous Research Centre at Curtin University for seven years, and awarded an adjunct Associate Professorship through the Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin University between 2007 and 2010. Dr Walker has been a senior researcher at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (TICHR) since 2005 and was recently awarded an Associate Professorship with the University of Western Australia.

Donna Cross

Donna is a Professor of child and adolescent health and Director of the CHPRC. Donna has been involved in the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project since it started and is the chief investigator. Donna initiated this project because of her concern that Aboriginal children were not adequately represented in mainstream studies investigating bullying. Donna and her family live in Perth.

Project artists

The artwork used in the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project was commissioned in two phases. The logo was developed in the early stages of the project by Allison Bellottie. In the later stages Jilalga Murray-Ranui created the artwork for the website, basing her design on the logo.

Jilalga Murray-Ranui

Jilalga’s family are from the Pilbara region (Nyangumarta) of Western Australia. Jilalga’s family have ties to the Riverina region (Wemba Wemba and Yorta Yorta Country) of New South Wales through her father. Jilalga lives in Perth. Jilalga is an artist and produces artwork for galleries, homes and offices. Jilalga has been involved with the Solid Kids, Solid Schools project for the last three months creating solid graphics and designs that help tell the story of the project on this website.

Allison Bellottie

Allison’s family is from the Shark Bay area and she belongs to the Malgana and Nanda tribal groups. Allison designed the Solid Kids, Solid Schools logo in 2006. The logo represents the ways families and communities are connected to Yamaji school kids. Allison believes that Aboriginal culture and values are a solid foundation for developing good art.