Proud Walbanga woman Sheryl Hedges will be among the guest speakers at the First Nations UNLIMITED Summit 2025 in Sydney, on Gadigal Country on October 29-30.

The Assistant Secretary of the Commonwealth's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Ms Hedges was always interested in working in environmental protection but took a different path because of the barriers in place in her youth.

"When I was at school… all I ever really wanted to be was a ranger / naturalist, but at that time women couldn't actually enter into that field," she told National Indigenous Times.

"I was at a loss as to what I was going to do with my life, and a friend of mine at school said 'I am going to apply for the federal police' and I thought 'that's interesting, I might do that too' and I got in… So, my first foray into the public service arena was in the policing world, which helped me to be on the inside to try to influence better outcomes for our people.

"That was around the time of the deaths in custody (Royal Commission). I always wanted to work on supporting better outcomes for our mob."

Ms Hedges also spent time in the army reserve, which both suited and encouraged her interest in leadership.

"I thought this is also somewhere where I can influence better outcomes for our mob," she said.

She joined the public service after starting a family because of the work-life balance the roles offered.

"I was immediately drawn to the Environment Department and basically, apart from the short stint I had on the COVID taskforce, I have been working on improving environmental and water outcomes for First Nations" Ms Hedges said.

"I am a great believer in our people and helping them be what they can be. Sometimes our youth don't know what they want to be or what they can achieve, they doubt themselves.

"This is what inspires me to try to be around to make a difference for our young people. I like working in government because I think if we don't have a place at the table, we can't really influence outcomes, so being that advocate on the inside is really important.

"You know where you can push for greater outcomes depending on the policy of the day, that is what I am passionate about, getting better outcomes for our people."

Ms Hedges said it is vital for Indigenous people to be working at the highest levels of government to both influence policy and inspire others.

"It is very important because, for young people - you can't be what you can't see; to show that there are people that have a voice, that are trail blazing or making a difference, and again - if you're not at the table you can't have those conversations. I think it is really important for our young people and it is important for our Elders as well to know that there is someone there fighting the fight," she said.

Ms Hedges said while broad public meetings have a role to play, one on one conversations are vital in engaging Indigenous communities and leaders to talk about climate change.

"You have got to talk. You've got to be out there talking to people," she said.

"A lot of the work I do within government, I know there's a willingness to engage but it's the question of the type of engagement. Mob want to come together and are happy to come together where there is information sharing, but if you really want to have a discussion of how that impact is going to affect me, my nation, my footprint, my Country, my songline, you've got to get out and talk one on one."

Ms Hedges told National Indigenous Times she is looking forward to continuing her important work.

"We have a big agenda. My responsibility is with the First Nations water branch. All my work is undertaken through the four priority reform lenses under the National Agreement for Closing the Gap. The biggest one for government, is priority reform number three – changing the way government does business. If we don't change the way government does business, then those other priority reforms don't come through," she said.

"I am continuing to influence where I can how we do this… so that we can reflect better change. It's the 'nothing about us without us' mentality that is really important.

"We are making big bounds. We try to do everything we can in partnership with First Nations.

"For me I will continue to support better outcomes for First Nations in the water space, and that has implications for climate change as well."

Ms Hedges will be a guest speaker at the session "From justice to Country: Leading with integrity across Australia's institutions" and other perspectives on First Nations leadership at the UNLIMITED Summit.