The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Nerida Blair, daughter of Harold Blair, was born in Victoria. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Master of Arts (Honours) in Education.

Blair has held a number of positions lecturing in Aboriginal Studies, and counselling and tutoring in various educational institutions. From 1984 to 1989 she was Head of the Aboriginal Education Support Unit at the Catholic Education Centre in Sydney. In 1989 she moved to Canberra to become a Policy Officer for the Department of Employment, Education and Training. She then joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra for one year, and was actively involved in indigenous people’s issues nationally and internationally.

1990 saw Blair move to Sydney to become a Policy Adviser with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In 1998, she was appointed Associate Professor to the Umulliko Indigenous Higher Education Research Centre at the University of Newcastle.