About Us

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Melinda is an independent writer, social researcher, and farmer with wide ranging interests in people-place relationships. As an anthropologist she has worked extensively with Warlpiri people of the Central Desert and since 2022 with farmers and fruit growers of the Millewa-Mallee region, north-western Victoria. 

She is author of See How We Roll: Enduring Exile Between Desert and Urban Australia (Duke University Press, 2021) and Remembering the Future: Warlpiri Life Through the Prism of Drawing (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2025). She has edited books on the life work of anthropologist WEH Stanner, the Northern Territory Intervention, and visual culture and identity in the digital age. She has published essays and reviews in The Guardian, Art Monthly Australia and Arena. For more than two decades Melinda taught and researched anthropology and visual culture major Australian universities. From 2014 to 2020 she was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Between 2019 and 2023 she directed the Institute of Postcolonial Studies. Melinda is currently an adjunct associate professor with the Climate Change Adaptation Lab, La Trobe University, and lives and works on a farm in the Millewa. 

Joe is an academic, business leader and arts advocate with a passion for regional development, creativity and community leadership. A proud Mildura local, he returned to the region after more than 40 years, bringing extensive experience across higher education, biotechnology, business, social enterprise and international leadership in Australia, Brazil and New Zealand.

Joe is a Lecturer at Monash University's Mildura Rural Health Campus and has held senior leadership roles in academia and the biotechnology sector. He is also the founder and curator of the N & M Simonetta Collection, an evolving contemporary art collection that reflects his commitment to cultural exchange, creative excellence and strengthening community through the visual arts.

As a founding Director of Creative Sunraysia, Joe champions the belief that creativity is a powerful driver of regional innovation, cultural vitality and economic development, fostering collaboration between artists, researchers, businesses, First Nations communities and the wider community to help shape a vibrant and resilient future for Sunraysia.

Helen is a curator, writer and cultural leader whose career has spanned contemporary art, publishing, environmental design and cultural development. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including the Mildura Palimpsest Biennale, and has championed innovative artistic practice that connects people, place and community.

Helen is the co-founder and curator of the Mallee Sky Garden, a unique landscape that brings together art, ecology and conservation through the preservation of rare and endangered Australian native plants. The garden reflects her longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship and the creative interpretation of landscape as a place of learning, reflection and cultural exchange.

As a Director of Creative Sunraysia, Helen brings extensive experience in curatorial practice, strategic cultural leadership and creative collaboration. She is passionate about strengthening the region's cultural identity by fostering connections between creativity, nature and community, and helping position Sunraysia as a nationally recognised centre for creative regional development.

Stefano de Pieri was born in Treviso, near Venice. He migrated to Australia in 1974. Stefano attended Sydney Road Community School in Brunswick and went on to Melbourne University. He graduated in Politics and Italian Studies.

Stefano became actively involved in many community causes from the moment he came to Australia. He edited an Italian fortnightly newspaper called Nuovo Paese through which he came into contact with many political and cultural identities. He dabbled with food – always his passion – in the early eighties, training for a little while in a professional environment, but finally chose a job in the Victorian Public Service. He became a private secretary to Minister Peter Spyker and then an adviser to a number of Ethnic Affairs Ministers. He married Donata Carrazza in 1991 and settled in Mildura at the same time. Together they had two children, Domenico and Claudia.

He was impressed with local produce and wine – but was frustrated by the lack of recognition of the district. He began imagining a book that would include his food memories from his native Veneto and the produce of Mildura. The book took the title of A Gondola on the Murray after it was accepted by the ABC. It was then turned into the television series of the same name.

Stefano’s Restaurant became the recipient of many prestigious awards and continues to attract the support of many patrons. Stefano continues a family tradition in hospitality with the hope of providing variety and interest for residents and the many visitors who come to Mildura.

Mark is an Australian Aboriginal man. He belongs to the peoples of the Nyeri Nyer, Wergaia and Wamba Wamba of far northwest Victoria. Mark is a qualified archaeologist/anthropologist/biological anthropologist who studied at the Australian National University. Mark has spent many years recording and protecting Aboriginal heritage sites throughout Australia and has been at the forefront of recording biological information from Australian Aboriginal Ancestral remains, contributing significantly to the return of Ancestral remains to various Aboriginal communities throughout Australia. 

Mark was for a period of six years the Curator for South-eastern Australia at the Victorian State Museum and continues this relationship with the state museum as an Honorary Associate. He worked as a cultural heritage consultant for several years before returning to the Victorian government as the Manager of the Statewide Heritage Programs. Mark’s most recent role with the Victorian government was the State Heritage Adviser for the Victorian Department for Planning and Community Development a position he held since 2003. In 2009 Mark returned to the private sector as the Director of Grist Archaeology-Heritage Management Pty. Ltd. Now Grist Enterprises Pty. Ltd. Projects include key infrastructure, mining and natural resources projects/developments. 

Project management – Aboriginal cultural heritage identification, including human remains, stone tools, material culture, Aboriginal sites and Aboriginal landscapes – Archaeological field survey and excavation – Presentation of results to interested parties – Interpretation and presentation of Aboriginal lifeways and cultural heritage. 

Rohan Morris is the Executive Director of Creative Sunraysia and a passionate advocate for the role of arts and culture in building vibrant, connected and resilient regional communities. With experience spanning the not for profit, community, arts, education, events, corporate and health sectors, he brings a collaborative and strategic approach to cultural development.

As Managing Director of rdot consultants, Rohan has worked with charities, community organisations and arts organisations across strategic planning, fundraising, governance, events, branding and project delivery. He is also the founder and Director of Workspace 3496 + Gallery in Red Cliffs, an independent creative space dedicated to supporting artists, makers and creative practitioners through exhibitions, workshops and community programming.

Rohan is a practising artist and serves as a Director of Regional Arts Victoria, Chair of Mildura Rural City Council's Arts & Culture Advisory Committee, and President of the Red Cliffs Focus Group. Through these roles, he is committed to strengthening creative networks, championing regional voices and creating opportunities for artists, communities and organisations to thrive.

At Creative Sunraysia, Rohan is helping to shape a bold and collaborative vision for the region's creative future. His focus is on celebrating the region's unique identity, supporting local talent, fostering new partnerships and ensuring arts and culture play a central role in community wellbeing, economic development and the future of Sunraysia.