Mona Roberts
Indigenous Evaluation Officer
North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
Mona Roberts is a descendant of the WA Stolen Generation; of Papuan and Torres Strait Islander heritage. She respects the Central Traditional land of the Wurumungu on whose land she has lived most of her life. She is a mother of five and grandmother to seven, committed to weaving collective voices for change.
Mona brings a unique perspective to her work, shaped by lived experience and professional expertise in addressing complex trauma related to Domestic and Family Violence, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), Aboriginal suicide, childhood trauma, and family dispute resolution.
Mona has coordinated and co-facilitated strong Aboriginal-led programs Suicide Story and Healing Our Children across remote communities in the Northern Territory. In her current role as Indigenous Evaluation Officer at the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service, she draws on deep cultural knowledge and years of community engagement to foster a “two-world” evaluative process which draws on Indigenous ways of knowing and being and non-Indigenous practices. Her work ensures findings are accurate, relevant, and grounded in truth, while promoting healing and empowerment and can be presented in ways that are persuasive to governments.
4.20
Measuring what matters: Indigenous voices shaping evaluation
Centering voice and choice as a way to empower communities to define success and influence program accountability
Embedding Indigenous data sovereignty and governance into the evaluation of programs such as the Leaving Violence Program
Exploring a “two-worlds” approach to create victim centered evaluation
Francesca Lai, Data and Evaluation Manager, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
Mona Roberts, Indigenous Evaluation Officer, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)