Craig Ritchie

Biography

Craig Ritchie is an Aboriginal man of the Dhunghutti    and Biripi nations, and is the Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). Craig has worked in the Department of Education and Training 2011-2016 in roles heading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander higher education, higher education access and participation for people from low-SES backgrounds, and international student mobility, as well as founding Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in the ACT Government. Craig has extensive experience in the community sector, including as CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal community controlled health services.

He is an Adjunct Professor at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research  at the University of Technology Sydney, where he also serves on the Vice-Chancellor’s Industry Advisory Board. He holds honorary appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government. He studied History, Classics and Education at the University of Newcastle and has a post-graduate qualification  in management. He is currently completing his PhD at the Australian National University. His thesis topic is Culture and Policymaking: Towards Better Aboriginal Policy and explores the cultural basis of contemporary policymaking and researching Aboriginal culture as a vector for the transformation of policymaking systems. His research interests span literature, history, classics, philosophy, and political science. He has a scholarly focus on the interaction between culture and socio-political systems.