Gail Barrow, Councillor 

Gail is a Nyungar woman with family links to the lands of the Koreng and Wudjari people of the south coast of WA.  Both her parents were teachers, with Gail’s father being the first Aboriginal teacher, and Principal, in Western Australia.  Gail began teaching in the 1970s and has taught pre-primary and primary school students in the southwest, the Goldfields, the Kimberley and the metropolitan areas of Western Australia.  Since leaving the classroom, Gail has supported the work of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff of the WA Department of Education and Training (DET), worked as a Personnel Consultant, represented WA on national teachers’ union, and

represented the Aboriginal community on the Curriculum Council of WA.  She has also been the manager for Aboriginal Employment in the state Public Service, a member of the academic staff at UWA, and a Senior Research Officer at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. As Manager, Aboriginal Education in the Fremantle/Peel district Gail’s work focused on assisting schools to develop and implement Aboriginal Studies programs, create inclusive learning environments for Aboriginal students, and address racism in ways which build the abilities of all students to challenge racism and racist practices.

Gail was elected as one of two indigenous representatives on the History Council in 2005 and  re-elected in 2009.