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Jacob is a proud Gamilaraay man from QLD and a PhD candidate within QAAFI. Jacob's work focuses on Indigenous food sovereignty as nation-building, looking at the Gamilaraay peoples' governance of thier native grains industry as a case study.

Jacob is taking a systems approach in developing the nascent native grains industry. His priority is setting strong, strategic, sustainable, Indignoeus-led governace to ensure opportunity and benefit remains with Indigenous people. Jacob also has active interests spanning the ecology and conservaion of native grassland species; agronomic knowledge to help support reintroduction of native grains; supply chain and processing of native grains; nutrition and food safety; product development and marketing; and education and engagement.

Jacob's passion also extends to the broader Indigenous food sovereignty movement. Through his work, Jacob collaborates across disparate spaces and advocates for the transformative potential of integrated, circular, sustainable, Indigenous-designed food systems that prioritise human and ecosystem health over profit and production.

As a music-maker and language revivalist from the south coast Noongar region of Western Australia, I am interested in the connections between song, language, and landscapes. My work intersects with applied linguistics, ecomusicology, Australian studies, and Indigenous studies.

I am lead Chief Investigator for ARC DI project 'Restoring on-Country Performance' and a Chief Investigator for ARC LIEF project 'Nyingarn: A platform for primary sources in Australian Indigenous languages', ARC DI project 'The role of First Nations’ music as a determinant of health', and ARC Linkage project 'Life After Digitisation: Future-Proofing WA's Vulnerable Cultural Heritage'.

After working as an ESL and music teacher, I helped establish the major in Indigenous Knowledge at the University of Western Australia, where I completed a PhD in Noongar song. At the University of Sydney I co-developed the major in contemporary music for Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before returning to Western Australia at Edith Cowan University to bolster humanities research in my home state. Recent arts-language projects I have collaborated on include a mainstage production of Shakespeare's Macbeth in Noongar (Hecate 2020), a Bruce Lee film dubbed in Noongar (Fist of Fury Noongar Daa 2021), and the multi-sensory ‘Noongar Wonderland’ performance installation in Perth Festival 2022.

I serve as Deputy Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and received the 2020 Barrett Award for Australian Studies.