The Faces Behind ReefCast
Malachi Johnson
I am Malachi Johnson, a proud Gooreng Gooreng man from the Port Curtis Coral Coast (PCCC) region. My journey began at the grassroots as a Land and Sea Ranger, where I spent over seven years protecting Country. That experience grounded my lifelong commitment to Sea Country and Traditional Owner led management.
I'm the Co-Founder and Director of ReefCast, a Traditional Owner–led media company sharing stories of the Great Barrier Reef and its People through a cultural lens. I also serve as Executive Director of the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander International Engagement Organisation (ATSIIEO), where we're creating pathways for Indigenous people into export, enterprise, and opportunity. On the global stage, I currently co-chair the UN’s Global Indigenous Youth Caucus.
Before ReefCast, I was the Darumbal TUMRA Coordinator, working closely with Elders and Traditional Owners to help design and implement the largest Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement on the Reef—spanning over 36,000 km² of Sea Country. I later joined the Federal Government as Director of the Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owner Project at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
I’ve also spent the past 4+ years representing Indigenous voices at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), advocating for food sovereignty, marine stewardship, and cultural knowledge in global food systems.
With more than a decade of experience in conservation, governance, and Indigenous development, my mission stays the same: to empower our Mob to lead on Sea Country. Because self-determination doesn’t start with permissiom...it starts with us.
About ReefCast
Dr Lokes Brooksbank
I’m a Longai/Titan man from the Manus Islands in Papua New Guinea, and I’ve spent the last few years working across the Traditional Owner space along the Great Barrier Reef. My background started in research and innovation, contributing to the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program before moving into the Traditional Owner Partnerships team at the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
At the Foundation, I was part of the team behind Our Reef Stories, helping shape the direction of its social media and digital storytelling. My focus has always been on how we tell and share stories. Not just beautifully, but truthfully and powerfully from the perspective of Mob.
Outside of ReefCast, I stay busy across a few different spaces. I’m part of the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander International Engagement Organisation (ATSIIEO) and co-lead South Pacific Futures an AI and automation agency designed to support First Nations communities with tech-driven solutions. I also work with a range of Traditional Owner partners and stakeholders across the region to strengthen cultural governance, communication, and impact.
At the heart of it, my focus looks to build bridges, between tech and culture, between knowledge systems, and between the way things have always been done and the way they could be.