Ms Burt started her working life as a teacher, a job she had always wanted to do. The profession took her across eastern Australia and to New Zealand.
She found her way to Melbourne, where she felt warmly welcomed by the Wurundjeri community and began developing connections with Yorta Yorta people.
Ms Burt pivoted into working for AFL clubs in 2019, joining Hawthorn as part of its Indigenous strategy professional staff and moving to Richmond in early 2020 as its first Indigenous player development manager.
She said that although it seemed like an unusual career path, she had met many former teachers working as coaches and professional staff at football clubs.
Ms Burt’s work with the clubs was an opportunity to combine two major family connections.
Her extended family are known for their work in education, and her father, Neil Maynard, was a decorated footballer recognised by the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
Ms Burt first went to Munarra while working on a placement developing an anti-racism micro-credential (a short course) centring on ‘Yorta Yorta voices and how they use their invincible spirit to tackle uncomfortable conversations’.
During this time, Munarra began searching for a chief executive, and Ms Burt offered her assistance in the recruitment process.
“Then we all had this moment,” she said.
“This feels like I was put here at the exact right time.
“With the people around me here, I think I’m ready for this.”
Ms Burt was appointed chief executive in January. She said the role was a privilege and that she hoped her work would be a blueprint for those who came after her.
The new, award-winning Munarra building stands in the Shepparton Sports Precinct. Ms Burt said it was an interesting place of learning, knowledge and connection.
She said she really connected with the garden in the central courtyard, which contains a water feature and is visited frequently by magpies.
Ms Burt said the garden reflected the centre’s desire for growth and change.
“Munarra is ready to speak and establish its identity,” she said.
The centre is developing school programs and has a professional arm that will deliver programs into the many non-Indigenous organisations that seek to work with Indigenous communities.
Ms Burt said her priorities were to support major events and to finish the knowledge centre, which will host information from archives to make it accessible to the community and the next generation.
The centre is open to all, and Ms Burt said she was “looking forward to welcoming people into Munarra”.
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