Jason Ardler

Jason is a Yuin man with cultural and familial ties extending from the NSW South Coast, north to Laperouse.

For over 20 years, Jason held senior executive roles in the NSW public and university sectors, including eight years as the Head of Aboriginal Affairs NSW, leading Government strategy and reform in Aboriginal economic participation, community governance, land rights, culture and heritage, community safety, environmental health and service accountability.

Jason’s other roles have included Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Indigenous Strategy at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health; and Executive Director, Culture and Heritage in the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Jason has been a member of numerous national and state level councils, executive committees and working groups on Aboriginal affairs, state and economic development, public land management, and social policy reform. He is currently Chair of the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s Indigenous Evaluation Committee.

Jason is an accredited executive coach and experienced board member, having served on the Boards of NSW Health Pathology, National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy, the NSW Heritage Council and NAISDA.

Jason received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service. He is a Fellow of the Australian New Zealand School of Government and a recipient of the Sir James Wolfensohn Scholarship for executive education at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge. Jason holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of NSW and is a Global Alumni of the Commonwealth Study Conference.