Karel Williams is the Alison Bush Memorial Orator and is a First Nations midwife based on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra, ACT). Her family connections are to the palawa and Western Arrernte Nations. Karel is a strong advocate for Birthing on Country Models of Care, culturally safe and anti-racist care, and for growing the First Nations midwifery workforce. Prior to becoming a midwife, Karel had a long career in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy and program areas of the Australian Public Service. During this time, she participated in a 12-month Executive Exchange program with the then Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in Canada. Karel completed her Bachelor of Midwifery through the University of Canberra (UC) in 2014, having studied part-time while working full-time. At her graduation ceremony Karel was the inaugural recipient of the university’s Tom Calma Medal. Karel is a previous Board member of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Midwives (CATSINaM) and represented it on the working group that revised the Code of Conduct for Midwives, successfully advocating for the inclusion of cultural safety. She was also CATSINaM’s representative on the National Birthing on Country Strategic Committee convened by the Australian College of Midwives. Karel is a is a Director of the Rhodanthe Lipsett Indigenous Midwifery Trust and was recently appointed by the ACT Department of Health to its Midwifery in Focus Advisory Group and Birthing on Country Reference Group. Karel is a sessional academic at UC in the fields of First Nations health, First Nations perinatal mental health, First Nations Knowledges, and Birthing on Country, and she has published on racism as a determinant of health in the maternity care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. In 2019 Karel received a Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Health from UC. She is currently a PhD Candidate researching restorative practice in First Nations maternity care.
