From 1995 to 2000, Amanda Gordon served as Treasurer on the board of the NSW Reconciliation Council, initially as a representative of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and later in her personal capacity. After 2000 all executive positions were taken up by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the renamed Reconciliation NSW.
As President of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), in 2004, Amanda helped to establish the Society’s first Bendi Lango postgraduate psychology bursary for an Indigenous student. The aim was to increase the number of Indigenous psychologists and facilitate their contribution to the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities, as well as to the wider community and the psychology profession.
The initial bursaries boosted the efforts of the Indigenous psychologists to develop the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, and Amanda was the only non-Indigenous member of its board in the early years. Since its inception, there have been 17 recipients of the Bendi Lango bursary. Read here about some of them.
Here is the testimony of the first recipient, Noongar woman Belle Glaskin (who now works together with Amanda Gordon on the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project):
“My name is Belle, and I am a Noongar woman from the southwest of Western Australia. In 2007, I had the privilege of being the inaugural recipient of the Bendi Lango bursary. Bendi Lango represented The Australian Psychological Society’s commitment to investing in Indigenous students’ success and the need for more Indigenous Psychologists in the community.
Looking back, I now see that Bendi Lango was fundamental to my wellness and quality of life while I completed my Master of Psychology (Clinical). It meant I had time to breathe, rest, reflect, be with family, and study. Bendi Lango helped me achieve balance during my postgraduate studies.
Fast-forward more than a decade. I have worked in the government and private sectors, learned different therapy modalities, learnt from Elders, travelled the world, lived abroad, and became a homeowner, a wife, and a mother. Life has been full and continues to be so. I am a proud Noongar woman and proud to be an Indigenous Psychologist.”
The Bendi Lango bursaries are now funded by direct contributions from APS members and others.