Aunty Betty McGrady identifies as a Gunggari woman from southwest Queensland and was raised on an Aboriginal Reserve in a small town called Mitchell. She is the mother of 7 children and also has 12 grandchildren.

Over the past 40 years, Aunty Betty has represented her people at Federal, State and Local government levels and has been a strong advocate for the rights of her people.

She began her career in 1983 as a Legal Stenographer with the Aboriginal Legal Service and later joined the Public Service as a staff member of the Department of Defence where she worked for 17 years.

During this time, she was fortunate to win a Study Award and graduated from Macquarie University in New South Wales with a Degree in Community Management. She was the first of 8 siblings to achieve a university degree (at the age of 57) and throughout her life has followed this up with numerous other awards.

Among her personal achievements are:

• Aboriginal Elder

• Universal Peace Ambassador

• Ethics Committee Member – CSIRO

• Ethics Committee Member - Metro South Health & Hospitals

• President – Woodridge State High School

• Treasurer – Queensland Multicultural Council

• President – Logan District Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Elders

• Life Member of Aboriginal Legal Service Brisbane

Aunty Betty is a strong advocate for connecting young people to their cultural identity and travels to her homelands when possible, to conduct ceremonies and maintain her cultural connections to her land, customs and culture and invites others to share this unique experience.