Kylie Captain

Profile

Kylie Captain is a proud Gamilaroi woman, born and raised in the inner-city Sydney suburbs of Redfern and Waterloo. Kylie is an educational leader and is a highly engaging and experienced public speaker.

She is the author of her recently published book Dream Big and Imagine the What If. Kylie’s book and accompanying journal is making a difference to the lives of many across the Australia and abroad.

Current Work:

Kylie is the President of the Aboriginal Studies Association and, over the past 23 years, has had an impressive career working in Aboriginal affairs, education, finance and community service.

In 2024 she was a finalist in the Aboriginal Woman of the Year category in the NSW Woman of the Year Awards.

In her book, Kylie shares her heart-wrenching story of loss and circumstance. In her honest and powerful voice, she explains how she found the strength and inspiration to overcome the challenges she encountered to now enjoy a full and abundant life.

Kylie has experienced grief, injustice and tragedy; however, her resilience and inner strength allowed her to transform her life and become the strong, proud Aboriginal woman she is today. In her deeply personal story, she shares a raw and open account of her struggles and demonstrates how a small act of belief can be the catalyst for change and empowerment.

Kylie’s story is a testament to the strength of culture, kin and connection to Country. She shares her experience and knowledge as an educational leader. Through her narrative, Kylie takes you on an eye-opening journey of truth-telling, identity and hope. From breaking the cycle and facing fear to using the power of education and visualisation, Kylie inspires the audience to take on life’s challenges with strength and courage.

Expertise

Talking Points

Inspiring Young People to Dream Big

Using her background of coming from a socially disadvantaged community, a difficult home life along with her experience of being both a foster carer and a child protection caseworker, Kylie leads participants through deep and meaningful yarns to understand their position to empower young people to overcome challenges, develop resilience and find the right supports in order to achieve their full potential. This presentation covers: - Leading with passion and purpose - The power of relationships - Having aspirational conversations - Knowing where to find appropriate supports Key Takeaways: - Understand how to have meaningful and authentic conversations with young people who have experienced trauma and come from disadvantaged home life. - Lead young people through a journey of goal-setting and dreaming big - Develop and maintain relationships with young people and families to lead to positive change for the entire family Who this is for: Students, organisations that work with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds

The Power of Education

- Education changes lives - it offers freedom and choice - The differences a teacher can have on students through positive relationships - Focussing on student strengths - Teaching pedagogy that works for all students - Engaging Aboriginal learners Key Takeaways: - Improved student/teacher relationships - Teachers having greater engagement in the profession and understanding their ‘why’ - Understanding the power of relationships and how they can lead to improved student outcomes. - Improved teacher pedagogy and quality teaching Who this is for: Teachers, Principals, Directors, Educational Leaders

Understanding Aboriginal History and Developing Authentic Relationships with Community

- Unpack Aboriginal history and culture and empower all organisations to develop empathy and understand how they can do their park to support reconciliation and improved outcomes for Aboriginal students, families and communities. - Reconciliation Action Plan Support - Tips to connect with Aboriginal Students, Families and Communities - Practical strategies to support improved relationships and connections with Aboriginal students, families and communities Key Takeaways: - Understanding protocols - Understanding appropriate language and terminology - Tips to engage Aboriginal people (where and how to start) - Creating culturally safe workplaces - Moving from tokenistic actions to authentic relationships and improved outcomes Who this is for: Corporate companies, Government organisations, any workplace wanting to engage in Aboriginal cultural awareness training or the Development of Reconciliation Action Plans.

Resilience, goal-setting, wellbeing

Kylie provides an inspirational narrative that showcases incredible insights into the transformative power of dreams to help anyone work towards the life they have always imagined. Key Takeaways - You’ll be taken on a journey through Kylie's personal story to guide you to truly understand the power of dreaming big and imagining the ‘what if’. - Understand the power of journaling and goal setting - Create a sustainable work/life balance - Find your resilience - Wellbeing tips and tricks to ensure you are taking care of you Who this is for: Any level of management, corporate or government organisations

Riding The Waves of Grief

Grief is something that comes into your life and turns your world upside down in an instant. We never see it coming, and it often can be the experience that stops us in our tracks and destroys any hopes and dreams for the future. Many people never recover from grief; however, with understanding and the right support, Kylie believes there is hope for everyone who may encounter such sadness. This presentation covers: - Understanding grief and how to navigate the various stages - Tips to support - Finding appropriate supports - Sharing of stories and practical strategies to help anyone Key Takeaways - Better support clients who experience grief - Understand how to build trusting relationships to support those grieving - Understand that grief is not always caused by a death of a loved one - Community and wellbeing support to support both the person grieving and the support worker. Who this is for: Any level of management, corporate or government organisations

Building Leadership and Management Capability

- Building an inclusive, high-performance culture - Providing effective feedback - Coaching for improved performance and improved relationships. - Building and maintaining strong client relationships Key Take Aways - Create a culturally safe and positive workplace - Get the best out of your employees - Creating a great place to work - Improved team relationships where everyone feels valued and supported Who this is for: Any level of management, corporate or government organisations

Dreaming Big, Visualisation and manifesting the life you desire

- The law of attraction - The power of the mind and how it can lead to transformational change - Understand the power of manifesting Key Takeaways: - Using this knowledge to create change in any workplace - Improved relationships - Improved workplace - Creating a healthy work/life balance

Topics

Education

Grief & Loss

Inspiring Stories

Resilience

Work-Life Balance

Feedback

Kylie’s story should be heard by every educator, every student, indeed every Australian. It’s a story of determination, grit and commitment, of an awakening to the emancipatory power of education to mobilise new ideas, opportunities and possibilities.

- University of Sydney

I really enjoyed the talk that Kylie gave today. She went through some really tough times; however, she never gave up. She inspired me to know that I’m capable of achieving anything in life. Whenever I feel down or sad, I will always think back to this day and remember her story. She is one of the most inspirational people who I’ ll remember for the rest of my life. She really touched my heart. Thank you for coming to our school, Kylie. Thank you for teaching me to think positively. I dream that I too will achieve my goals, and I will be able to tell my story and reflect back on this day and talk about how you inspired me to dream big and never give up.

- Student

Kylie was an absolute pleasure to work with, she has such a warmth about her and was so engaging and inclusive in the way she delivered her speech. She was so well prepared and she packed so much into the short time we had her. We were very impressed and would love to have her back for a longer session in the future.

- Social Futures

Topic

Profile

Expertise

Feedback

Let’s talk