Laurel Sellers

Laurel is a proud Noongar woman from Katanning in her grandmother’s country of Wagyl Kaip. She also has extensive family connections in the Pilbara and other regions of Western Australia (WA).

She has been Chief Executive Officer of Yorgum Healing Services Aboriginal Corporation since 2014, guiding the organisation to become a well-respected and acknowledged leader in cultural approaches to trauma-specific care. Yorgum provides all Aboriginal people and their families of all ages from across WA with a wide range of culturally secure, community-based healing services that utilise a trauma-informed approach to positively impact their social and emotional wellbeing and help them with their healing journeys.

Prior to this, Laurel worked in the government sector for over 20 years at both State and Commonwealth levels. For the first 11 years, she managed many major Aboriginal Housing programs and projects across WA. She then worked for a year in the Department of Indigenous Affairs as an Assistant Regional Manager. For the 8 years prior to joining Yorgum, Laurel played an important role in the WA Department of Corrective Services, managing the Aboriginal Visitor’s Scheme which resulted from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Laurel is a well-respected Aboriginal advocate and advisor to the WA and Commonwealth Government, advising on a wide variety of topics such as community engagement, housing, corrective services, child protection, and responses to child sexual abuse. She is a founding member of the Noongar Child Protection Council that was established in 2017.