Karen Murcia (PhD) is a Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University and a program co-lead of the Australian Research Council funded Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. As a specialist in the field of creativity and STEM education, she inspires innovation in pedagogies for fostering children’s development of curiosity, creative thinking and problem solving. Her philosophy of ‘Heads on, Hearts on and Hands on’ underpines her coaching and professional learning programs. Additionally, she leads a Digital Child education research team who are investigating the impact of digital technologies on children living and growing in the digital age. Proudly, she is a Director of Scitech, which is Western Australia’s preeminent science discovery centre. As a teacher, researcher and thought leader her aim is to inspire and foster STEM innovation in partnerships with early years centres, schools, community groups and industries, both nationally and internationally.

Dr Amelia Ruscoe is a children’s rights advocate in pursuit of innovative ideas to enhance the learning experiences of young children in the context of contemporary education discourse. She is an experienced educator and curriculum writer of 30 years, presenter to national and international audiences, and is recognised for her innovative use of visual and dialogic methodologies with young children. Her research explores education discourse, childhood affordances during transitions to school and learner engagement.

Dr. Dee O’Connor is an expert in child development, specialising in holistic development incorporating higher level critical and creative thinking integrated with social and emotional wellbeing. Dee’s research is centred within the development that can occur within play and experience based learning, and the approaches and pedagogies that support actualisation.

Dee is a full time academic and leader in higher education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dee has been working in universities for twenty years. Prior to entering academia Dee was a practitioner and held a variety of roles in Child Care and Education, Community Development, Family Support and Public Policy.

A/Prof Christine Robinson is the course coordinator of the Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. Christine is an established HE leader, working previously as an Associate Dean Research, Early Childhood Program Coordinator and Assistant Principal in a Catholic school. Christine researches and teaches in spirituality, play-based and relational pedagogies, literacy education and religious education. Christine currently Chairs the international collaboration known as the Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education (G.R.A.C.E).

Carly Steele is an applied linguist and a fully qualified teacher with over 12 years’ experience in diverse educational contexts across Australia including urban cities, and rural and remote communities. She holds the position of Senior Lecturer and Master of Education Course Coordinator at Curtin University in Western Australia. Carly engages in participatory action research in collaboration with classroom teachers and her research aims to promote culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and assessment practices. She has published in high-ranking journals and her first co-edited volume is Steele, C., Ober, R., & Oliver, R. (Eds.) (2025). Celebrating First Nations Languages and Language Learning in Australian Schools: Stories Across Generations of Language Activism, Advocacy and Allyship. Routledge.

Dr Stefania Giamminuti is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Curtin University, Western Australia. Hailing from Rome, Italy, she lives and works in Boorloo/Perth and Walyalup/Fremantle, on the unceded Boodja/Country of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, paying respect to elders past, present and emerging, and working towards reconciliation and recuperation. Stefania privileges qualitative and post qualitative approaches in pedagogical research, utilising an ethical-political-aesthetic lens to investigate dialogues between the Reggio Emilia educational project and international early years contexts, supporting and sustaining an image of early childhood settings as places of research and contesting impoverished images of early childhood teachers. She is the author of acclaimed books, book chapters and journal articles and is in high demand as a public speaker internationally. Her most recent book, The role of the pedagogista in Reggio Emilia: Voices and ideas for a dialectic educational experience, is published by Routledge in the prestigious Contesting Early Childhood series, co-authored with Claudia Giudici, Paola Cagliari and Paola Strozzi (Reggio Children), and based on a collaborative research project with Reggio Children and with the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Stefania enjoys strong and enduring collaborations with educational sector partners, valuing impact and engagement with early years settings whilst building research capacity in early childhood educators and leaders. Many of her projects emerge out of questions that matter to early childhood settings, and are co-led, co-presented and co-authored with early childhood teachers and educational leaders. Stefania is a long-standing member of the Council for Childhood and the City, Scuola Pablo Neruda, Reggio Emilia (Italy), and she is the current Chair of Council, Lance Holt School, Fremantle (WA).

Sally-Anne Polson is an Educational Leader and Early Childhood Teacher at MLC Kindle, in Melbourne, Australia. She is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach® and strives to foster a culture of research which promotes teacher as researcher, embarking on post qualitative research and centre-wide inquiry, co-researching with academics, teachers, children and families. Initially completing a Diploma in early childhood, Sally continued to build her knowledge through study and practice, completing a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and later a Master of Education. With 25 years in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector, she has predominantly worked within Long Day Care settings, where she values the strong relationships formed with children and families over many years.

Dr Amie Fabry is an award-winning early childhood consultant, educator, and researcher who works across early education and school settings to strengthen leadership and pedagogy. With a career spanning classroom practice, research, policy, and advisory roles, Amie brings a rare combination of academic depth and practical insight into what highquality early learning looks like in action. She is known for her strengths-based and practical approach to building the confidence, knowledge and skills of leaders to create responsive and trusting cultures in which all children and educators thrive. She is the author of Lead with Intention, the first evidence-informed framework for leading in the early years of school and hosts the podcast Leading the Early Years for the Future, which amplifies the voices of courageous leaders who work to make a difference to the lives of young children. In addition to her consultancy and research, Amie serves as a Director on the ECA National Board and as a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Preschool Outcomes Measure, where she contributes her expertise to the development of national tools and frameworks that strengthen outcomes and equity across early learning systems.