Carla Rogers is a community engagement specialist, facilitator, and program designer dedicated to Closing the Gap. After a Churchill Fellowship in 2001, she founded Evolve in 2005 and later joined forces with Aunty Munya. Blending Elder wisdom with world-class facilitation, she equips non-Indigenous Australians with the skills to become passionate and effective Allies to First Nations people.
Running a Small Business is Hard
When I started Evolve back in 2005, I was running it out of a garage in a seaside village on the Far South Coast of NSW. This was before the internet really took off. I’ll never forget one of our first audio-only “webinars” (we called them teleconferences back then), where 300 people from around the world dialled in – only for all of them to suddenly drop out when the whipper snipper fired up and sliced through the dodgy phone line running into the garage. Eeek!
A New Chapter
In 2011, Aunty Munya joined the team. By 2014, she became co-owner and Director, and we officially became Evolve Communities. Together, we refined our vision:
To inspire thriving communities of Allies who value and learn from one another, from First Nations peoples, and from wisdom that leads to a kinder, more inclusive Australia.
We’ve poured ourselves into developing everything we now offer – training, resources, programs – to help non-Indigenous people like me grow as confident Allies, and to walk in strong relationship with First Nations peoples.
Our Values
Our values guide us in this work:
We are Guided by Indigenous Wisdom | We are Living Allies | We Evolve
These aren’t just words – we’ve built a Team Compass that outlines the behaviours that bring these values to life. We use it to guide recruitment, culture, and how we respond to conflict.
The Evolve Ship
We describe Evolve as a ship. Aunty and I set the course – our vision, values, and destination. We choose our crew (our team), shape the experience we want for both crew and passengers (our clients), and trust that over time, everyone on board helps refine the journey. Through calm waters or storms, what anchors us is our commitment to values, to each other, and to the journey itself.
Sounds poetic, doesn’t it?
But it’s not always smooth sailing. Humans are, well… human – and we each bring our own experiences and perspectives, all valid, but sometimes at odds with one another.
As ‘Living Allies’, we commit to walking our talk – and that means navigating conflict, diverse worldviews, and hard conversations. We absolutely don’t always get it right. When things feel difficult, we go back to our 3 Rs:
Reflect, Relate, Reconcile.
But most importantly, we go back to Country – to reconnect, restore, and fill our cups.
Writing from Country
That’s what I’m doing now.
In the eye of a storm – amid global turmoil, National Reconciliation Week follow-up, EOFY pressure, and NAIDOC prep (May and June are Evolve’s biggest months), I’m writing to you before sunrise at my outside desk, my muse a Djidjiriwa (willy wagtail) on the fence post – it has a lot of opinions!
I think of Aunty Munya’s wisdom:
“Ultimately, it’s all about love – Narmanju.”
With turmoil and conflict around, I ask myself:
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How do I be a Living Ally – what can I do right now?
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How do I respond from love – Narmanju in Bardi, and Ngambumaya in Dharawal?
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How do I practise Dadirri, deep listening?
For me, as an Ally, the answer is to not lose focus – to continue listening to First Nations peoples and voices.
Join us for a NAIDOC Week Yarn
We invite you to gather with us around the virtual fire — a space to reflect, ask questions, and explore how you can walk forward with purpose. Together, we’ll deepen our understanding and take meaningful steps toward Reconciliation in a genuine, practical way.
