Marlene Longbottom

Dr. Marlene Longbottom is a Yuin woman from the Roseby Park mission (Jerrinja) located on the South Coast of NSW. She serves as an Associate Professor at the Indigenous Education & Research Centre at James Cook University. With nearly 30 years of experience, Marlene has worked across New South Wales, the Torres Strait, and Far North Queensland in both human services and academia.

Dr. Longbottom's research spans over 15 years, during which she has collaboratively developed and executed community-based research and evaluation projects that are driven by the needs and priorities of Indigenous communities, including both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups across urban, regional, and remote areas in New South Wales and Queensland. She specializes in researching service systems and the provision of services to Indigenous communities, with a focus in the past decade on trauma and violence within these communities.

Her track record includes publications in both international and national journals and notable international recognition. She has been invited to several universities in the United States as a visiting scholar, and has participated in multiple nationally competitive grants totaling over $7 million. Marlene, is also an Associate Investigator on the ARC Centres of Excellence for Violence Against Women. She also successfully secured a nationally competitive grant, funded by the Australian Research Council Indigenous Discovery grant scheme, titled "Navigating the Carceral Interface," worth over $1.287 million, where she serves as the lead Chief Investigator, and awarded the prestigious Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA).

Currently, Dr. Longbottom is undertaking a project for the New South Wales Ombudsman Office, reviewing 43 suicide cases involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island youth from 2011 to 2020. Additionally, she is finalizing a manuscript for her upcoming book, scheduled for release in 2025, which is based on her decade-long research into violence affecting Indigenous women.

Marlene is often sought for her expert opinion and guidance on Indigenous matters related to violence, trauma, and social justice by government agencies. She has appeared in various news outlets, including print and online media, such as the Conversation, IndigenousX, NITV - The Point, SBS - Insight, and ABC - The Drum.