David Ross is Director of the Central Land Council, a representative body of 90 Aboriginal people elected from communities in the southern half of Australia’s Northern Territory. David was born in Alice Springs and is of Arrernte/Kayteye descent. He joined the Central Land Council in 1979 and progressed to the position of Deputy Director in 1988 and Director in 1989. He left the CLC for a period when, in 1994, he was appointed to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATIC) and was appointed the following year as inaugural Executive Chair of the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC). He returned to the position of CLC Director in 2000.
David has played a significant role in national Indigenous issues, particularly on land rights, native title, and economic development. Among the CLC’s achievements under his leadership has been the creation of the innovative Community Development Unit.
