Governance
Led by Community for Community
Purple House (Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation) is an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation run by Pintupi Luritja people from the Western Desert in Central Australia.
We pride ourselves on our strong Indigenous Leadership which has been recognised nationally and internationally, including through an Indigenous Governance Award from Reconciliation Australia.
Purple House exists because Pintupi people were determined to protect their families, culture and communities. Their leadership is exemplary.
Drawing on a rich history of self-determination, we work to improve the lives of people with renal failure, reunite families and reduce the impact of kidney disease in our communities.
Directors
The Purple House board is made up of 12 Indigenous directors who are elected by our members, Pintupi Luritja people from communities across the Western Desert. Our directors ensure the voices of our communities guide everything we do.
Marlene spencer
Chair
Marlene has been a director of Purple House since its formation in 2003. Until she retired, Marlene worked as an Aboriginal Health Worker at the Pintupi Homelands Health Service. Marlene lives in Kintore, NT where she serves on a number of community boards and committees while caring for her children and grandchildren.
Mary Pegg
Director
Mary is from the Kintore community where she has a number of family members on dialysis. She is a proud grandmother of three beautiful grandchildren and worked for many years looking after old people with Kintore aged care. She now works with the local council.
Isobel Major
Treasurer
Isobel is from the Papunya community. Before moving to Alice Springs with her husband who is on dialysis she worked for Papunya Tjupi Arts. She has 5 children and 2 grandchildren. She loves learning and wanted to be a Purple House director to help her people and support them to get back to Country.
Bobby West
Director
Bobby is a senior Pintupi man and community leader from Kiwirrkurra community who has been a director for Purple House since the beginning. Bobby is a Papunya Tula artist and shareholder, and was involved in the original collaborative Kiwirrkurra Men’s painting which was auctioned for $340,000 for the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal. In 2011 Bobby won the General Painting Prize in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Bobby commenced dialysis treatment in 2014.
Jill Kantawarra
Director
Jill was born and raised in Papunya community, then she moved to Haasts Bluff where she worked as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner for 27 years. She resigned in 2019, then in 2021 she started working at the aged care in Papunya and is still working there. Jill has 3 adult kids and 4 grandkids. This is her first time as a Purple House Director and she is looking forward to being able to contribute to Purple House.
Pamela Tolson
Director
Pamela is from Mt Liebig and Papunya. Her father, the late Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula was one of the earliest Papunya Tula artists and a collaborator on the Kintore Men’s painting that was auctioned as part of the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal in 2000. Many of Pamela’s family members have experienced kidney disease and she is passionate about being able to talk up about what is important to dialysis patients and their families.
Audrey Turner
Director
Audrey is from Mt Liebig community where she worked for many years in the local council office. Audrey is the Chairperson of the Mt Liebig Local Authority and has been a director for Purple House for over 15 years. She is a strong advocate for remote dialysis.
Patrick Poulson
Director
Patrick is from Papunya where he worked for Papunya Tjupi arts, before relocating to Alice Springs for dialysis treatment. As a director for Purple House Patrick wants to help people keep connected to Country, culture and family.
Isobel Gorey Nambajimba
Director
Isobel is a senior Pintupi Luritja woman from Papunya. She is a founding member artist and director of Papunya Tjupi artists and former chairperson of Desart, the peak body for Central Australian art centres. Isobel has also served on the board for Waltja.
Maisie Campbell
Director
Maisie is a Pintupi-Luritja woman from Mt Liebig community and has a long history of involvement with Purple House having been on the board in previous years. Her husband was the second person to receive dialysis at home in Kintore and was a Papunya Tula shareholder. Maisie is a relentless advocate for the needs of Pintupi-Luritja people.
Pilita Naparula Wakuri
Director
Pilita is from Kintore community where she has held many roles, working in both the school, office and serving on the boards for the community store and local ranger program. Pilita has many family members who have experienced end stage renal disease and needed dialysis. She has had a long involvement with Purple House as a director and supporting Purple House staff in the community.
Senior Leadership
CEO Sarah Brown AM
Sarah Brown AM is the Chief Executive Officer of Purple House, working with its board of Indigenous directors to run the organisation since its inception two decades ago.
Sarah was recognised with an Order of Australia in 2020 “for significant service to community health, to remote area nursing, and to the Indigenous community”. In 2017 she was Hesta Australia’s Nurse of the Year and in 2018 made the AFR BOSS magazine’s ‘True Leaders’ list.
A fearless advocate for high quality, community-led healthcare for Indigenous Australians, Sarah has invested three decades of her life in this work across Australia. She holds a Master of Nursing, a Graduate Diploma in Aboriginal Education and a Graduate Diploma in Health Service Management. Prior to joining Purple House, Sarah worked as a remote area nurse in communities as diverse as Cape Barren Island (TAS), Balgo (WA), Yuelamu and Harts Range (NT). She has also been an Aboriginal health service manager in the Kimberley and a university lecturer.
Sarah paints, has exhibitions across Australia and overseas, has 3 grown up kids and drives a 1959 Morris Minor. She thinks ‘work/life balance’ is irrelevant if you love what you do!
Deputy CEO Natasha McCormack
Natasha McCormack is an Arrernte, Warumungu, Alawa, and Kija woman with deep connections to Mparntwe (Alice Springs). With 20+ years’ experience in governance, policy, advocacy, and community development, she has worked across commercial, government, and non-government sectors, driving systemic change and social justice.
Recognized with multiple awards, including Centralian Territorian of the Year, Natasha brings lived experience of the challenges faced by Aboriginal people in remote communities. A wife, mother of five, postgraduate student, netball coach, and cultural consultancy founder, she joined Purple House as Deputy CEO in July 2024, committed to strengthening people, policies, and organisational growth.
Consumers
Purple House is governed by the people it provides services to and shaped by regular consumer feedback. With Indigenous renal consumer groups in the Top End and Central Australia, the Purple House and other service providers have access to regular and robust consumer input. The groups provide patients with a forum to advocate for change which will support better health outcomes and cultural safety.
Central Australian Renal Voice
The Central Australian Renal Voice (CARV) is a consumer-led forum empowering Aboriginal people receiving renal care in Alice Springs. Established in 2013, CARV provides a platform for dialysis patients and their families to share experiences, advocate for improved services, and drive meaningful change.
Meeting quarterly, CARV brings together patients, families, and service providers to discuss key issues including healthcare, accommodation, and support services. The goal is to enhance dialysis care, ensure culturally safe services, and improve patient outcomes. Service providers participate to enable patient-driven decision-making in renal care planning and delivery.
Purple House supports CARV by assisting with meeting coordination and secretariat services.
CARV’s Key Priorities:
- Dialysis on Country – Advocating for care closer to home and community.
- Culturally Safe Services – Ensuring renal care is responsive to patient needs, values, and lived experiences.
- Improved Transplant Access – Working towards better pathways for kidney transplants.
By amplifying the voices of renal patients, CARV is shaping a more inclusive, responsive, and effective renal healthcare system in Central Australia.
Renal Advocacy and Advisory Committee
The Renal Advocacy and Advisory Committee (RAAC) is a self-formed patient advocacy group for improved services for Aboriginal renal patients in the Top End of the Northern Territory.
Established in 2012, RAAC was the first group to represent the interests of consumers of renal services in the NT. Formed through the independent actions of patients accessing treatment for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in Darwin, the group identified a need for a space to discuss their concerns, support each other, and present better avenues to raise issues and priorities with service providers.
More than a decade on, RAAC continues to advocate for improvements to services for Aboriginal people living with ESRD in the Top End with founding members still active representatives of the group. In this time RAAC has fostered an environment that recognises the lived experiences of renal patients, including supporting opportunities to build on their existing skills to guide patients on their renal journey and support culturally safe service as patient perceptors.
Mentors
Purple House and mainstream health services benefit greatly from our Patient Preceptor (Mentor) team. Their expert knowledge and lived experience make them powerful mentors, educators and advocates for those navigating the dialysis and transplant journey.
“Us the Mentors, we work for the Purple House, we have knowledge about culture, language translation and we guide the patients through our transplant lived experiences. We are the link to our people in our community through kinship and they trust us. Consumer voice committees are made up of renal and transplant patients which can include family and community. Mentors are the links to the health services which include the hospital renal services and transplant team.”
David Croker, Mentor
