Gladys Elphick Awards

SHIRLEY PEISLEY AWARD

This award recognises a woman who is a role model in her professional life and inspires others to be the best they can be and continually strives for professional excellence, leading organisational change in the workplace. She is motivated to enhance service delivery to the community through her chosen profession and professionally conducts themselves in a manner that affords them community respect. She displays a high standard of ethics and integrity and leads by example and inspires others to do the same.

Kim is a proud Aboriginal woman of Anmatyerre and Eastern Arrernte descent whose family connections are to Central Australia. Kim’s outstanding service to community is evidenced by over 28 years of work across Aboriginal housing, Aboriginal community services, Aboriginal health and Aboriginal research. As well as her voluntary roles sitting on the board of Kura Yerlo, the SA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee, Alberton football club secretary, and the more recently established SA Stolen Generation Aboriginal Committee. Kim has no hesitation in standing up for our community and does it in a way that brings people along on the journey.

Kim has used her extensive relational network, knowledge of community, and cultural advocacy, coupled with a career spanning public sector systems, policy development and more recently in Aboriginal health research to contribute to addressing and responding to important community issues. She was instrumental in raising awareness of the existence of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Aboriginal communities in South Australia and achieving funding from the Public Health Unit (SA Health) for the Aboriginal Cardiac Care Project in SA Health in 2010. The connections, respect and trust she garnered in community has also contributed to the ability of the Wardliparingga Aboriginal Health Equity Research Theme at SAHMRI to successfully and sustainably partner with Aboriginal communities in research to improve health systems and outcomes. Kim has put in place values and protocols to ensure that the research group follows through on its promises in the right way that aligns with the community's needs.

Kim has also sat on numerous boards, committees and collectives - all with the singular goal of improving outcomes for her community. When Kim puts her mind to something she believes in, she consistently becomes a spokesperson, advocating at every opportunity to achieve progress and outcomes, she does not waiver in the face adversity or non-supportive arenas but persist with tangible strength, resilience, courageousness and bravery.