Enterprise Development Project Officer
Personal
Melissa Bentivoglio was born in Brisbane and
grew up in a number of places including Italy and India. She then
settled in Sydney to finish her schooling and start tertiary
studies. Melissa discovered the tropics about 10 years ago, and has
been living there ever since, including the Kimberley, Katherine,
Pine Creek, Wadeye, Indonesia and now Darwin. She has always been
interested in diverse places and peoples.
Professional
Melissa completed a Bachelor of Science at the
University of New South Wales in Sydney, where she also began to
take an interest in Aboriginal involvement in land management. She
then moved to the University of Western Australia to undertake
research about Aboriginal involvement in conservation management
and tourism development in the Kimberley Region.
After completing this research, Melissa worked
on an Aboriginal tourism project in the East Kimberley, then moved
to the Northern Territory. She worked in Katherine and a number of
surrounding Aboriginal communities in support of families looking
after aged and disabled people. Melissa then moved to her dream
job, working with the Wagiman people on land management in the
Upper Daly Region. Since then she has worked on the Ranger Program
at Wadeye and a Livelihoods Project in Sumatera, Indonesia.
Project
Melissa Bentivoglio joined NAILSMA’s
Enterprise Development Project in October 2007. The Project is
working with a number of Aboriginal groups on the development of
small-scale natural resourced-based enterprises. In addition, a
feedback process has begun to help understand the processes
Aboriginal people are undertaking to develop their enterprises and
some of the issues they are confronting. It is hoped that this will
lead to more effective long-term support for Aboriginal people
seeking avenues for socio-economic development that are compatible
with their land and culture.
