John Maynard

John is a Worimi Aboriginal man from the Port Stephens region of NSW and Professor of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Newcastle

He has held several major positions and served on numerous prominent organisations and committees including Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Executive Committee of the Australian Historical Association, New South Wales History Council, Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council, Australian Research Council College of Experts, National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network and the NSW Fulbright Selection Committee.

He gained his PhD in 2003, examining the rise of early Aboriginal political activism. He has worked with and within many Aboriginal communities, urban, rural and remote. Professor Maynard’s publications have concentrated on the intersections of Aboriginal political and social history, and the history of Australian race relations.

John is a passionate football fan and the author of several books on Aboriginal people and sport, including The Aboriginal Soccer Tribe, of which the second edition was published by Fair Play Publishing in 2019.

John represents the A-League clubs on the Football Federation Australia Standing Committee on Indigenous Football.