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Image of Pat Turner scholarship alumnus Cris Castro
SRW Pat Turner Scholarship Graduated 2022

Cris Castro

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

The Australian National University

Master of Leadership

After completing a double degree in economics and commerce, Cris entered the public service in 1999 and was later accepted into the 2000 graduate program. Cris’ public service career has included policy and program roles covering Indigenous employment and economic development, strategic policy roles, corporate governance roles, and in vocational education and training policy and legislation.

Cris is a descendant of the Stolen Generations. With a father removed from his mother in Meanjin (Brisbane) on Turrbal and Yuggera country, Cris was born and raised on Ngunnawal land. Growing up in Canberra with two parents who worked in public sector roles, some might say his pathway into the APS was predictable.

Cris’ Master of Leadership degree included specialisations in business administration, public policy and leadership. Through his studies, Cris explored how emerging organisational performance frameworks and leadership models can best be applied in the public service context, helping to ensure the APS retains its ongoing relevance to both the Government of the day and to the public it serves. Cris was the recipient of the Pat Turner Coursework Prize in 2020 and 2021.

Since returning to service, Cris has been promoted to Assistant Secretary in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, responsible for driving efforts across DEWR to help Close the Gap.

Cris is the alumni representative on the Pat Turner Scholarship Advisory Group.

Sir Roland Wilson alumna Jennifer Chang
Sir Roland Wilson Scholarship -

Jennifer Chang

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Australian National University

PhD title: Labour Supply in China

Since starting as a graduate at the Treasury in 2004, Jennifer’s work experience has involved rigorous analysis of Asian economies, a deep understanding of the Australian economy and an appreciation of the importance of effective international economic engagement. In 2021 Jenny moved to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Jennifer’s study examines the dynamics of the Chinese labour market and links to an analysis of China’s broader economic growth prospects.  A deeper understanding of the Chinese economy is of critical policy relevance, with China’s overall growth trajectory of particular importance to Australia’s prosperity.

Supervisor:
Associate Professor Jane Golley
Joseph Chien
Sir Roland Wilson Scholarship Graduated 2021

Dr

Joseph Chien

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian National University

PhD title: Using administrative data to gain insights into microdrivers of productivity

Joseph has been at the APS for over 20 years and is currently the director of the Data Access and Confidentiality Methodology Unit (DACMU). Joseph's PhD research analysed administrative data to better understand the microdrivers of productivity.

His research interests include productivity analysis, network modelling, semantic web and synthetic data. Joseph is interested in advancing a synthetic data approach at the ABS to make its data more accessible for research while ensuring confidentiality of the providers.

Supervisor:
Professor Alan Welsh
  • Bailie J and Chien C H (2019) ‘ABS perturbation methodology through the lens of Differential Privacy’. Work Session on Statistical Data Confidentiality, UNECE/Eurostat, The Hague, Netherlands, October 29-31. Available at https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/documents/ece/ces/ge.46/2019/mtg1/SDC2019_S2_ABS_Bailie_D.pdf.
  • Chien C H, Welsh A H and Moore J D (2020) ‘Synthetic Business Microdata: an Australian example’. Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality, 10(2) DOI: 10.29012/jpc.733.
  • Chien C H (2021) Using administrative data to gain insights into microdrivers of productivity [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.
  • Chien C H (2022) ‘USING ADMINISTRATIVE DATA TO GAIN INSIGHTS INTO MICRO-DRIVERS OF PRODUCTIVITY’. Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society, 105(1):175–176.
  • Sadeghi P, Chien C H (2024) 'On the Connection Between the ABS Perturbation Methodology and Differential Privacy', Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality, 14(2), https://doi.org/10.29012/jpc.859
Photo of Lisa Conway
SRW Pat Turner Scholarship Graduated 2023

Dr

Lisa Conway

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

The Australian National University

PhD title: Public Administration in Blak and White: Uplifting the Cultural Capability of the Australian Public Service

Lisa is a Yorta Yorta woman who has worked in the Australian Public Service for around 20 years. Her current role is leading the First Nations Employment Policy and Programs Branch at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Lisa undertook her PhD at the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University. This research focused on looking for opportunities to uplift the cultural capability of the APS to improve policy effectiveness and make it more culturally safe and responsive for First Nations peoples.

Her research, using Indigenous research methodologies to interview non-Indigenous decisionmakers in the APS, has been recognised for its ground-breaking contribution to public administration. 

She found that institutional whiteness is so thoroughly embedded in APS systems and processes that it impedes the service’s ability to effectively design and implement policy for First Nations people. To address this, Lisa developed a model for building cultural capability in the APS. 

Conway’s innovative approach saw her win the Australian Political Studies Association’s prestigious PhD Award for her thesis.

Supervisor:
Professor Ariadne Vromen

News and stories related to Dr Lisa Conway

 
The Sir Roland Wilson Foundation is a partnership between The Australian National University, Charles Darwin University and the Australian Public Service.