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Executive Co-Chair – Cape York Partnership
Fiona Jose is Executive Co-Chair of Cape York Partnership, helping guide the organisation’s strategic direction, governance and long-term reform agenda to empower Indigenous families across Cape York. Before moving into this role, Fiona served as CEO of Cape York Partnership, leading the delivery of initiatives spanning education, employment, health and economic development.
Fiona belongs to the Kuku Yalanji and Zenadth Kes peoples and has deep connections to Wujal Wujal and Badu Island. She brings lived experience, systems thinking and a collaborative leadership approach to her work, with a focus on enabling families to take responsibility, seize opportunity and drive lasting change in their own lives.
During her tenure as CEO, Cape York Partnership expanded to encompass ten entities and enterprises, including the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, Djarragun College, Cape York Girl Academy, Bama Services, Ngak Min Health Clinic and Cape York Employment. The group also developed the award-winning Pama Platform, a digital solution supporting financial capability and wellbeing programs. Across the group, Cape York Partnership employs more than 350 people, 65% of whom identify as First Nations.
Fiona has been instrumental in establishing several nationally recognised innovations. She led the development of Cape York Girl Academy, Australia’s first boarding school for young mothers and girls who had disengaged from education. She also launched Mayi Market, a social enterprise improving access to affordable fresh food in remote communities. Under Fiona’s stewardship, Cape York Partnership developed a targeted jobs plan that created 300 jobs over three years in some of Australia’s most disadvantaged communities, where established employment markets are limited.
Nationally, Fiona is Chair of Empowered Communities, a reform movement seeking to transform the relationship between governments and Indigenous communities by placing greater decision-making and accountability in local hands. In this role, she helps connect community-led practice with national policy design, ensuring reform is grounded in local context and capable of achieving impact at scale.
Fiona holds executive directorships across Cape York Partnership entities and serves on the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Board and the National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance Board. She also contributes to a range of philanthropic and government advisory groups.
At the heart of Fiona’s vision is a deep commitment to the next generation:
“Children have no time to wait for adults or governments to get their act together. We must change their circumstances today, or we’ll continue to pay the price tomorrow and long into the future. Education is the powerhouse to a better life. Without it, our children are locked out of the economy, out of society, out of a future they have reason to value.”
