Sessional presenters are being confirmed continually and will appear here.
Notes for the speakers guidelines. Refer to bottom of page.
Hayley Natoli works for Project Paradigm, a national program of IFYS, that works to support prevention, early intervention, and community capacity building in the effort to ensure children and young people are free from harm through exploitation.
Alanna Philipson is a public health professional passionate about early childhood health promotion. She holds a Master of Public Health and a Graduate Certificate in Perinatal and Infant Mental Health. As Principal Program Officer for Connecting2u at Children’s Health Queensland, she leads a universal text messaging supporting families from pregnancy to age five.
Angela Hoy is the Team Leader for Family Wellbeing program within Child and Family Services at Uniting. Angela has a nursing degree with specialisation in Community Health and Paediatrics, with decades of experience supporting families in early parenting support and working in various evidence-based programs including at QEC and Uniting.
Dr Anita Egginton is a disaster resilience specialist with Thriving Qld Kids Partnership. Through the Thriving Kids in Disasters initiative, she collaborates with a wide range of committed and passionate people and groups across the state to involve and support infants, children, young people, and caregivers in disaster management settings.
Anna Kinnane is a Senior Project Officer at Children’s Health Queensland, working within the Connecting2u Program. With a background as a paediatric Occupational Therapist, she is passionate about early childhood health and wellbeing and committed to equitable access to clear, culturally appropriate health information for all families across diverse Queensland communities statewide.
Anna-Marie Kanaan is State-wide Integrated Care Manager at Karitane, leading Child and Family Hubs across NSW. She has designed and implemented community-led programs in Tanzania, Nauru, and with refugee communities in Southwest Sydney. Holding degrees in Geography and Social Development, she is passionate about partnerships and driving positive change.
Bettina Williams is a proud Turrbal woman with Wakka Wakka heritage on her father’s side and Gomeroi on her mother’s. She works and play across Yuggera, Yugambah, and Mununjali Country, supporting children’s development through culturally responsive practices that nurture growth, learning, and strong community connections. She is a Child Development Specialist committed to supporting early learning and wellbeing
Caitlin Craner is a Senior Speech Pathologist with Child Development Service and founding member of the THHS FASD Clinic. In her current role, Caitlin provides education and support to services and families regarding FASD and referral pathways for assessment, facilitating access to comprehensive diagnostic formulation and shaping intersectoral collaborative care pathways.
Candel Nadruku is a dedicated Child & Family Practitioner based in QLD. With a passion for empowering families, Candel provides tailored support to strengthen relationships and promote child wellbeing. Collaborating with communities and professionals, Candel focuses on creating safe, nurturing environments where children and families can thrive.
Catherine Cooney, a Melbourne-based social worker and researcher, has over 20 years’ experience in trauma-informed practice and programs supporting women and children. As Head of Program at Brave Foundation, she leads SEPT for young parents. Her work reflects a commitment to evidence-based practice, equity, and pathways for families to thrive.
Cathryn Hunter is a Practice Design Specialist with over 15 years’ experience in research, practice design, implementation, and workforce development. She specialises in translating evidence into practical resources, training, and coaching to support professionals and policy makers across family and community services.
Charlotte Joscelyne-May is a Speech Pathologist and Allied Health Team Leader with more than 10 years’ experience working with children and families. She is passionate about family-centred practice and has a particular interest in perinatal wellbeing. In her role at the Benevolent Society’s Childhood Approach Charlotte has played an important role in reorientating clinicians’ practice through the implementation of a relationship-focused approach in Early Supports.
Daisy Ramsden is an Early Childhood Consultant and International Bestselling Author with over a decade of experience supporting children, educators and organisations. Through her dynamic presence and science-backed framework, The Emotional Seasons™, she helps families and teams master emotional regulation to cultivate wellbeing, learning and connection in the early years.
Dr Diane Cruice currently works with Helath Pregnancy, Kids and Families, Prevention Strategy Branch, Queensland Health. She has a background in Speech pathology, PhD in Public Health with and experience in paediatrics in clinical, research and planning roles. Social determinants of health, well-being and development in children are key interest areas.
Eloise Markey is an ECT with nine years’ experience in the sector and a postgraduate certificate in Trauma-Aware Education. Her interest is in supporting infants who have experienced trauma, and she is currently working in a research replication project in trauma-informed early learning.
Emma Carmody has 20 years’ experience in child protection and family violence, specialising in practice design, implementation, and workforce development. She works with practitioners and leaders to co-design and embed evidence-informed practice frameworks, tools and training that improve outcomes for children and young people across diverse communities.
Fiona Nave has over 20 years experience working clinically as a Paediatric Dietitian in tertiary hospitals across Australia and England, Fiona is a subject matter expert on nutrition in children. Having an inner working knowledge of clinical environments, and multi-disciplinary professional knowledge and role scope has enabled Fiona to successfully lead prevention in the first 2000 days for Health and Wellbeing Queensland.
Dr Geraldine Harris is the Executive Director of Pathways to Resilience. She brings over 30 years in early childhood leadership, place-based practice and childhood wellbeing. She authors neuro-informed frameworks and advocates for children’s voice, and uses collective neuroscience approaches to strengthen child, family and community wellbeing.
Dr Jen Jackson recently joined Tomorrow Today as Executive Officer. She has previously worked in a range of education research and policy leadership roles in government, university and not-for-profit organisations, with a focus on early childhood development.
Kamisa White is a proud Yawuru and Bunuba woman and mother of four. She is passionate about early childhood development and family wellbeing. She has always worked in community program positions that support empowering families through educational programs/services, resource development and practical strategies.
Katherine Allen is a Speech Pathologist at Act for Kids and facilitator of the Little Leaps Supported Playgroup in Cairns. I support children and families through trauma-informed, strengths-based, attachment-focused practice. She works collaboratively to assess and support communication, language, and social skills development, empowering children to build confidence, resilience, and meaningful connections in safe, supportive environments.
Kylie Ellison is a Registered Play Therapist- Supervisor (PTPA), Registered Counsellor- Supervisor (ACA) and host of the podcast “The Play Therapy Circle”. Kylie is passionate about supporting all professionals who work with children to utilise the power of Child Centred Play Therapy to hear children’s stories and heal through play.
Kym Dunstan is a paediatric speech pathologist who has worked in Australia, NZ and the UK providing clinical services to children with a wide range of communication difficulties. Kym has worked in the Early Childhood, Education and Health sectors, community organisations and private practice. The Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing team (Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service) involves bringing together what is known about the Social Determinants of Health and the importance of the early years to improve health equity, especially for vulnerable children.
Liz Parriman is Palawa woman born in Lutruwita (Tasmania), living most of herlife in Broome. As a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she has 40 years’ experience in Education and Restorative Justice, and currently works as a Building Babies Brains Facilitator at Waardi.
Leigh Wilks is a research specialist at the Parenting Research Centre. She works on the Parenting Today™ national survey, translating national data into meaningful insights to support evidence-informed practice and policy for children and their families.
Louise Cunningham has worked within Child Protection and several community services organisations in Victoria for over 20 years. She is currently a Senior Manager at Uniting Vic Tas and has a passion for developing innovative programs that deliver connected services for children and families, encouraging early support within accessible community settings.
Michelle Cole is the Principal Partnerships Manager – Capability Development at Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership. She has led impactful initiatives in child safety, education, and workforce development, including the QMHC-funded ‘Enabling Workforces and Organisations for Thriving Kids’, co-founded Calmer Kids in 2018 and developed neuroscience-based resources to support resilience and mental health for children, families and communities.
Miranda Edwards is a Noongar woman from Collie, Western Australia. She was CEO of Lullas Children and Family Centre for 120 Indigenous children, for over 14 years. Miranda is currently the Director of WA EYS and National Workforce Manager for SNAICC – National Voice for our Children.
Murra Thinna Preschool is a community-led preschool located in Murrin Bridge on Wiradjuri Country. Embedded within a community hub, the preschool partners with families and Elders to deliver culturally strong programs that nurture identity, language, belonging and wellbeing for children and families.
Nat Brass and Sarah Hughes are a dynamic coaching team, blending deep expertise in the Science of Reading with playful, engaging facilitation. Together, they coach and inspire educators to embed evidence-based, intentional and joyful literacy practices that build strong foundations for young learners.
Natalie Worthington is the Manager of Child and Family Services at Uniting Vic Tas. Natalie is a Social Worker with extensive years of experience of working in the Child Youth and Families sector, both in statutory services and the community sector.
Nicole Gentile is an early childhood teacher with over 15 years’ experience and a Master of Special and Inclusive Education (Early Childhood). She has extensive expertise supporting children with diverse needs in education and care settings.
Nisrine El-Choueifati is a speech pathologist, educator and author with over two decades of experience. She is the founder of Talking Triumphs Speech Therapy & Consultancy and champions universal design to embed communication support within everyday early childhood environments for sustainable impact.
Olivia San Gil is a Team Leader at Act for Kids in the Individual Support Services team in Cairns. A Social Worker with over 12 years’ experience, she supports a diverse team working with families facing significant challenges, including safety risks and involvement with tertiary services.
Dr Rachael Beswick PhD is Director, Healthy Pregnancy, Kids and Families (Population Health Division). She led Queensland Health’s $247m Putting Queensland Kids First submission and is Program Lead for Healthy Kindy Kids. With 13 years’ system leadership, she has secured $1.9m in research funding and authored 30+ publications.
R
hi Sugars is a passionate educator with over 15 years experience in the early childhood sector. Proudly identifying as neurodivergent, Rhi is a fierce disability advocate and also a member of the consumer advisory group for the organisation, Syndromes Without A Name Australia. Her commitment to disability advocacy resulted in the creation of her early childhood advocacy and inclusion support consultancy, The Atypical Educator.
Roger Meany has led policy, strategy and planning for over 20 years, developing trusted relationships with cross-government, non-government, community and industry stakeholders. He is a strong advocate for change and has led influential collaborations to frame the regulatory and policy reform agenda required to create more thriving and equitable communities.
Sally Matheson graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology in 1996. She has worked as a speech pathologist across preschools, schools, community health and acute hospital settings in rural Victoria. In 2018, Sally took on the role as Education Benalla Program Manager at Tomorrow Today, Benalla’s independent community foundation.
Sarah Jackson is an early childhood teacher with a Graduate Certificate in Trauma-Aware Education. I currently support children experiencing significant disadvantage and complex trauma, using relationship-based, trauma-aware practice to foster safety, regulation and learning, and to translate evidence-informed theory into responsive, reflective pedagogy.
Sarnia Ralston is Prevention Trainer and Queensland Manager for National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN). She is passionate about the aims of NAPCAN programs, including supporting the prevention of abuse, building parent / carer capacity to tune in to their kids and supporting communities and organisations to deeply listen to their children and ultimately prevent harm before it occurs.
Sue Wilson is Brave Foundation’s Head of Transformation, leading evaluation, research, and continuous improvement. A qualified Social Worker and Relationships Counsellor with 35+ years’ experience, Sue champions lived experience in service design. Her expertise spans child protection, family services, and quality systems, driving evidence-informed practices for better outcomes for families.
Tara Leslie is CEO of Cullunghutti Aboriginal Child and Family Centre, Yuin Country, Nowra, New South Wales. Tara is a proud Aboriginal woman, descendant of the Gamillaray and Yuin nations. Tara has worked for over a decade in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, with experience in health, governance and early childhood.
Associate Professor Tess Gregory is a Principal Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia. Tess’s research focuses on the development, social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and academic achievement of children and adolescents. Tess’s research utilises large, administrative, population-level datasets to answer policy relevant questions.
Thomas Wintzloff is a community development leader with Mission Australia, managing place-based services and initiatives focused on children and families in Cairns South. He leads cross-sector work to map early years systems, strengthen collaboration, and use shared data and co-design to improve outcomes for children.
Dr Timothy Rossow is a Clinical Psychologist currently working with the Department of Education. He works with schools across North and North West Queensland to provide support and capability building around mental health and neurodevelopment, and champions equitable service for children and young people’s rural and remote mental health.
Tylisha Wilson brings seven years’ experience at Kura Yerlo Children Centre, progressing from work experience to assistant director. A Connected Beginnings team member, she supports families through leadership, advocacy and community connection, using her experience to build confidence, access resources, and create positive outcomes for children and families.
Associate Professor Yasmin Harman-Smith is the Head of Early Years Systems Evidence at The Kids Research Institute Australia. In her role, Yasmin works closely with policy makers and practitioners to design evaluations in partnership and inform systems that support children and families in the early years.
GUIDELINES FOR SPEAKERS
- Duration: 50 mins timeslot = 40 minutes maximum for your presentation and 10mins for Q&A. Keynote Speaker only.
- Duration: 40 mins timeslot = 30-35 minutes for your presentation and 5-10minutes for Q&A
- Duration: 30 mins timeslot = 20-25 minutes for your presentation and 5-10 minutes for Q&A
- Presentation: If you are using Powerpoint software, please ensure it is the latest version possible.
- Over the 2 days, the day usually commences with a keynote with everyone together, then it breaks out to the sessions. Similarly, another keynote after lunch to bring everyone together then breaks out to sessions afterwards.
- A copy of your presentation is required by Monday 27th April 2026. These are forwarded to the AV Team at the venue to load up for your session and room. Please email them through to cairnsinstitute@jcu.edu.au
Tips:
- Try to avoid any sort of hyperlinked videos in the presentation where you need to reach the internet.
- Make the presentation interactive (eg: get the audience to participate in some way).
- Takeaways (eg: some sort of information resource or flyer) that the delegate can keep/utilise within their own practice.