Marlee Silva

Marlee Silva is a proud Aboriginal woman from the Gamilaroi and Dunghutti tribes of NSW. 

Marlee’s career path within the non-profit sector put her in the spotlight when she was employed as the Co-CEO of Aboriginal education charity AIME Mentoring. By closely following her CEO’s work, Marlee was given the responsibility of representing her organisation through the media and keynote presentations. In this role, Marlee was instrumental in shaping the organisation’s story and direction.

It also gave her the opportunity to study at the Summer Institute of General Management at Stanford University in the U.S., making her the first Aboriginal woman to do so.

With an invigorated passion for public speaking and storytelling, Marlee continues to share stories through her first published book 'My Tidda, My Sister: Stories of Strength and Resilience from Australia's First Women' in 2020. She supplemented this with frequent appearances in the media, such as NITV’s January 26th Sunrise Ceremony,  ABC’s “Q+A” and Today Extra’s “Today’s Take” segment. 

Marlee is passionate about inspiring change through storytelling. Using her platform to advocate for important causes, Marlee has been named a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Commission 'Young People's Human Rights Medal' in 2019.

With a strong focus on First Nations people, women in sport, and other pertinent social issues, Marlee continues to write and create content that inspires her 16 thousand Instagram followers to enact change in society.

Outside of this, Marlee is an active volunteer in a range of charities and sits on the board of both ID. She provides support to Indigenous children living in out-of-home care through the Aboriginal-founded charity Know Yourself. Additionally, she has developed mental health programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students through the youth suicide prevention non-profit, Cultural Choice Association.