Professor Kathomi Gatwiri is a nationally recognised scholar, researcher, and leader whose work bridges academic research and community impact. She is a Professor in the Social Work Discipline at Flinders University and an ARC DECRA Fellow at the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.
As one of Australia’s leading Afro-diasporic scholars, Kathomi’s research focuses on decolonising methodologies and anti-racist pedagogies. Her interdisciplinary work explores racial trauma, identity, migranthood, and the experiences of minoritised people, particularly those assigned ‘categories of difference’ in Australia. She developed the Racial Dignity Theory and the Racial Dignity Framework, as a tool for understanding racism as an assault on human dignity. This framework has been adopted across various organisational settings.
Since completing her PhD, Dr Gatwiri has secured over $1.5 million in competitive research funding. She has published more than 100 traditional and non-traditional research outputs, including the books African Womanhood and Incontinent Bodies and Afrodiasporic Identities in Australia.
She is the Founder and Director of Healing Together, a service offering culturally affirming therapeutic support for people impacted by racial trauma, and Femicide Count Kenya, a platform documenting murdered Kenyan women. She served for four years as President of the Australian Women and Gender Studies Association and is a member of the advisory committee for the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Racism@Uni national study.
Professor Gatwiri holds a PhD in Social Work, Masters of Counselling & Psychotherapy (MCPsy), BASW (First Class Honours), and Mini-MBA from Melbourne Business School. Her distinguished achievements include Outstanding African-Australian Professional of the Year (2024), Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence and Outstanding Community Impact (2022), Vice-Chancellor Early Career Researcher Award (2019), Community Impact Award as ‘Kenyan of the Year’ (2017), and John & Gwen Waters Excellence Award (2012).
As Professor in Social Work and Head of Discipline, she leads one of Australia’s most diverse academic teams, spearheading strategic direction across curriculum design, teaching innovation, postgraduate supervision, and community engagement. Her vision cultivates a discipline grounded in dignity, embedding mentorship, critical inquiry, trauma-informed approaches, and culturally safe practice whilst overseeing operational planning, staffing, resource management, and quality assurance processes including accreditation reviews and curriculum renewal.
