Jacinta Elston is an Aboriginal leader in the Australian cancer community with global experience related to Indigenous affairs in public health, higher education, research and policy development.
Jacinta was the inaugural Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) at Monash University from 2018-2022, and prior to that she held a significant role for more than two decades at James Cook University where when she left in early 2018, she was Professor and Associate Dean of Indigenous Health in the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine. Jacinta is passionate about mentoring emerging Indigenous leaders and strengthening corporate Australia’s capacity to partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to bring change to critical issues facing First Nations communities.
She is grounded in her commitment to life in regional Australia where she has significantly served on boards of health and legal Indigenous community-controlled organisations. Her first role at James Cook University nearly 35 years ago was focused on Aboriginal women’s experience in Cancer. She was the inaugural Aboriginal person appointed to Cancer Australia’s Advisory Council (2012-2015), and from its establishment in 2016 she Chaired Cancer Australia’s Leadership Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control for 6 years. She has now been a survivor of Cancer for more than two decades and is currently serving on the board of the Breast Cancer Network of Australia as the Deputy Chair. Since 2022, Jacinta has been a consultant to Cancer Australia to help strengthen Indigenous cancer control across the country.
