When Kelly joined the Dr John Yu Fellowship in December 2023, she was Head of Indigenous Diversity and Inclusion at the ABC. Her team was developing a new diversity, inclusion and belonging plan, and she wanted to better understand the experiences and perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse colleagues.
There was also a personal reason the opportunity mattered.
“I never had the opportunity to go to university, and I was just so excited to have that opportunity to participate in a program that was linked to the University of Sydney,” Kelly says.
Learning alongside leaders with different professional and cultural experiences proved particularly valuable. For Kelly, leadership development emerged naturally through conversations, shared experiences and relationships.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re being put through a process,” she says. “It feels like you’re having genuine connections and learning about each other. But it’s actually shaping your leadership on your way through.”
I never had the opportunity to go to university, and I was just so excited to have that opportunity to participate in a program that was linked to the University of Sydney.
Kelly Williams
Dr John Yu Fellowship alumna and Director First Nations Strategy at ABC
Applying the Fellowship at the ABC
That influence has followed Kelly into her current position as the ABC’s first Director First Nations Strategy.
Her team was tasked with implementing recommendations from the ABC’s Listen Loudly, Act Strongly report, following an Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who Experience Racism. The majority of contributors to the review were of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Thus, Kelly made a deliberate decision to ensure culturally and linguistically diverse employees also formed a majority when establishing the standing committee overseeing that work.
The Fellowship also gave Kelly a professional network she continues to draw on. She remains connected with her cohort and works with past participants at the ABC, seeking their perspectives when developing relevant policies and documents.
“Getting their perspectives on it is really important to me,” she says.
Building confidence as a leader
For Kelly, another lasting influence has been greater confidence in contributing her perspective in professional settings.
“It does give you the confidence to come back into where you work. So for me at the ABC, to be able to be confident in speaking and feel like you’re actually informing a discussion and not interrupting it.”
That confidence is one reason Kelly sees particular value in the Fellowship for emerging leaders who are ready for greater responsibility but may need support to take the next step.
“They’re on the cusp of moving their career up, but they just need that little push, or they just need that confidence to believe in what they’re doing.”
Her advice reflects what she has continued to practise since completing the Fellowship.
“It builds that capacity in you, right? It builds that muscle. And it’s important that you keep using it when you come out.”