Meet Our Elite Early Learning Consultants

Hand-selected specialists bringing deep expertise, proven experience, and a shared commitment to excellence in early childhood education.

Mandy Alborn – Profile

Mandy Alborn

Ambassador for Children's Rights QLD | ECEC Consultant | Mentor | Pedagogical Leader

Mandy is an Ambassador for Children's Rights QLD, an experienced Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Consultant, Mentor, and Pedagogical Leader with over 30 years in the early learning sector. Her career has spanned hands-on teaching, service leadership, mentoring, and sector-wide consultancy, giving her a deep and practical understanding of what quality looks like in action.

Mandy is highly regarded for her expertise in behavioural learning support for children, working alongside educators and families to implement respectful, evidence-informed strategies that strengthen relationships and build children's social and emotional competence. She is passionate about empowering adults with the skills, confidence, and reflective capacity to respond to children with clarity, consistency, and compassion.

With extensive experience guiding services through Assessment and Rating and continuous Quality Improvement processes, Mandy provides clear, strategic leadership that helps teams move from compliance to confidence. She supports services to understand the National Quality Standards in depth, embed strong pedagogical practice, and build sustainable systems that lead to meaningful and measurable improvement.

Mandy's approach is warm yet direct, reflective yet practical. She believes that when educators are supported to grow in knowledge and confidence, children thrive and services flourish.

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Fiona Maki – Profile

Fiona Maki

Kindergarten Practice Consultant | Social & Emotional Development Specialist | Holistic Programming Mentor

Fiona Maki is an experienced early childhood teacher and consultant who supports kindergarten teams to deliver enriching, holistic, and developmentally grounded programs where children are calm, settled, and engaged and where educators feel confident, capable, and supported in their practice. Her work centres on social and emotional development, thoughtful behaviour guidance, and inclusive approaches that strengthen everyday experiences for both children and teams.

She specialises in holistic programming, documentation, and the practical application of critical reflection, supporting educators to reflect both individually and collaboratively in ways that are meaningful, efficient, and sustainable. Fiona's approach is grounded in a "work smarter, not harder" philosophy, helping teams reduce unnecessary workload while strengthening the quality and intent of their practice.

Fiona is dual qualified with a Master of Teaching (Early Childhood: Birth to Age 8) and a Bachelor of Primary Education (Prep to Year 10), with additional masters-level training in Steiner education. This breadth of expertise provides her with a deep understanding of children's developmental pathways, allowing her to support genuinely meaningful transitions to school that prioritise long-term wellbeing and authentic learning.

She is also a passionate advocate for child-safe practice and the creator of Safe From the Start, a professional learning program designed to help services embed child safety into everyday practice in practical, relational, and sustainable ways.

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Jay Gomez – Profile

Jay Gomez

ECEC Consultant | Quality Improvement Specialist | Leadership & Professional Development Trainer

Jay Gomez is a highly respected early childhood education and care (ECEC) consultant with more than 20 years of hands-on industry experience. Driven by a genuine commitment to achieving the very best outcomes for children, Jay partners with services and educators to build confident, capable teams and high-quality learning environments that truly make a difference.

Jay's journey began in an early learning classroom supporting a child with autism alongside an exceptional team of educators. That formative experience sparked a lifelong dedication to excellence in early childhood practice. Since then, Jay has worked across every role within an early childhood service, developing a deep, practical understanding of operations, pedagogy, compliance, leadership and team development. This breadth of experience ensures his professional development is not only inspiring, but grounded in the realities of daily practice. Holding a Certificate III, Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care, as well as a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Jay is uniquely positioned to deliver high-impact, practical training. He has provided consultancy, mentoring and professional development to educators and leadership teams across Queensland and New South Wales, consistently supporting services to strengthen quality practice and improve outcomes for children.

Jay is a passionate advocate for play-based learning, underpinned by strong pedagogical knowledge and reflective practice. He believes that when play is intentionally supported by skilled, knowledgeable educators, children are set up for lifelong success. His approach empowers teams to deepen their understanding of the early years, strengthen curriculum decision-making, and embed meaningful, sustainable improvements across their service.

Clients choose Jay because he understands the sector from the inside out. He brings authenticity, credibility and a collaborative style that engages educators at every level. Whether supporting quality improvement, building leadership capability, strengthening inclusive practice, or delivering targeted professional learning, Jay ensures services are well-equipped to meet the needs of their community with confidence and excellence. For organisations seeking professional development that is practical, inspiring and results-driven, Jay Gomez is the trusted partner to elevate practice and achieve lasting impact.

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Jodie Hall– Profile

Jodie Hall

Early Childhood Teacher | Leadership Consultant | Educational Mentor

Jodie is a qualified Early Childhood Teacher and consultant based in Queensland, Australia, with over 35 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector. She is deeply committed to empowering educators and services to create nurturing, inclusive, and high-quality learning environments for young children.

Holding a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood), Jodie's extensive career has spanned roles including Centre Manager, Area Manager, Educational Leader, Educational Mentor, and Early Childhood Teacher.

Her breadth of experience gives her a strong understanding of both daily practice and strategic leadership. She works alongside childcare services and standalone kindergartens across Queensland to strengthen systems, curriculum design, team capability, and learning environments that support children's holistic development.

Jodie has a special interest in cultural safety, authentic resources, and meaningful community engagement. Her trauma-informed approach recognises the impact of adversity on young children and prioritises the creation of safe, trusting environments that foster healing, resilience, and belonging.

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, she views the environment as the "third teacher," thoughtfully designing natural, engaging spaces that encourage curiosity, exploration, and agency.

Jodie brings wisdom, warmth, and practical leadership insight to every service she supports, helping teams build strong foundations where children and educators can thrive.

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Sharon Armstrong – Profile

Sharon Armstrong

Child Health Nurse | International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)

Sharon Armstrong is a highly experienced Child Health Nurse and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with over 30 years of dedicated service supporting families in the early years. Throughout her career, Sharon has been a steady and reassuring presence for parents navigating the joys and challenges of caring for a new baby.

With deep clinical knowledge and a calm, compassionate approach, Sharon supports families with infant feeding, breastfeeding challenges, early growth and development, sleep, settling, and overall newborn wellbeing. She is passionate about empowering parents with practical, evidence-based guidance while honouring each family's unique circumstances and values.

Sharon's strength lies not only in her expertise, but in her ability to listen without judgement, build trust quickly, and provide clear, confidence-building strategies. Families consistently describe her as warm, reassuring, and deeply knowledgeable — someone who helps them feel capable and supported during one of life's most transformative seasons.

Sharon believes that when parents feel informed and confident, babies thrive and strong foundations are laid for lifelong health and connection.

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Stephanie Bennett – Profile

Stephanie Bennett

International Early Years Leadership Consultant | Co-Owner, The Curiosity Approach | Inspirational Trainer

With nearly 25 years of experience in Early Years leadership and management, Stephanie Bennett is a respected international trainer and consultant, and co-owner of The Curiosity Approach. She is passionate about empowering leaders and managers across the globe to adopt a heart-centred approach to leadership, sharing practical strategies for building cohesive, motivated, and high-performing teams.

Stephanie supports individuals and leadership teams to break through limiting beliefs and self-doubt, integrating motivational tools and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques that build clarity and confidence.

Her work inspires courageous leadership grounded in authenticity, connection, and purpose.

Stephanie's mission is simple yet powerful: to inspire leaders to lead with heart, courage, and confidence — creating early learning environments where educators feel valued, teams feel united, and children truly thrive.

Are you ready to lead with HEART, courage, and confidence to foster a thriving early learning environment?

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Laura McNab – Profile

Laura McNab

Occupational Therapist | Nervous System Literacy Specialist | Founder of RISE

Laura McNab is an Occupational Therapist and founder of RISE, with a deep commitment to strengthening early learning environments. Blending clinical expertise in child development with real-world experience across community, disability, and early childhood settings, Laura supports children, families, educators, and leaders to better understand what sits beneath behaviour.

Her work centres on nervous system states, sensory dynamics, relational patterns, and regulatory challenges that shape how children show up in classrooms and care environments. Rather than offering compliance-led strategies or surface-level behavioural fixes, Laura helps teams interpret behaviour as meaningful information about a child's capacity, load, and emotional state.

Laura is the creator of the RISE Nervous System Literacy Framework, a practical approach designed specifically for early learning contexts. Through this framework, she supports education teams to:

Read and interpret nervous system signals in the moment, particularly in busy and unpredictable group settings
Understand how transitions, sensory load, routines, and social demands influence behaviour and participation
Make proactive environmental and relational adjustments that prevent escalation
Create classroom environments that reduce regulatory strain for both children and educators

Her approach draws on contemporary neuroscience, attachment theory, sensory processing research, and developmental psychology, translating complex theory into practical strategies that educators can implement immediately.

Laura works with early learning centres through professional development workshops, in-room coaching, leadership consultation, and ongoing implementation support. Her goal is to equip teams with the knowledge, shared language, and confidence to strengthen inclusion, engagement, and wellbeing — not by adding more systems to manage, but by deepening understanding.

Centres that partner with Laura gain clear frameworks, practical tools, and a transformative shift in how behaviour, regulation, and potential are understood across the entire service.

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Leesa Medcalf – Profile

Leesa Medcalf

Team Culture Specialist | Early Childhood Leader | Mother of Two

Leesa is an experienced early childhood professional with over 20 years in the Education and Care sector, specialising in building strong, connected, and positive workplace cultures. She is passionate about transforming team environments — particularly when morale is low — into spaces that feel inspiring, collaborative, and genuinely enjoyable.

With hands-on experience, Leesa brings practical, no-nonsense strategies that create meaningful and lasting change. She is known for her unique and engaging approaches that rebuild connection, strengthen communication, and foster a sense of belonging within teams.

As a mother of two, Leesa leads with empathy, kindness, and inclusion at the heart of everything she does. She believes that when educators feel valued, supported, and united, entire workplaces are transformed — and children ultimately benefit most.

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Tess Tandori – Profile

Tess Tandori

Early Childhood Specialist | Mentor | Advocate | Mother of Five

Tess is a Mother of five and is a degree-qualified teacher, Steiner Waldorf certified educator, birth and postpartum doula, and passionate advocate for the early years.

With a deep commitment to the unfolding consciousness and development of children from preconception to seven years, Tess views the first seven years as the foundation for lifelong wellbeing, learning, and resilience. With experience spanning early childhood education, service leadership, holistic kindergarten teaching, and successful business development, Tess brings both grounded practical knowledge and rich pedagogical insight to her work. Her approach is deeply influenced by Steiner Waldorf philosophy, honouring rhythm, creativity, reverence, and the natural pace of childhood.

Tess specialises in Steiner Waldorf early childhood education and parenting, play and nature-based learning, storytelling, song, and the creation of handmade resources that nourish imagination. She supports educators and families to establish screen-conscious environments, guide children's behaviour through clear and respectful boundaries, and create nurturing spaces that protect the magic of childhood. Her work also extends to breastfeeding advocacy within ECEC settings, supporting diverse family choices including homeschooling, and walking alongside families in the early years with warmth, depth, and integrity.

Tess is deeply committed to empowering adults to create environments where children can thrive gently, rhythmically, and authentically.

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Kate Ledingham – Profile

Kate Ledingham

Heart behind Speechcare | Speech Pathologist | Community Advocate

Kate Ledingham (she/her) is the heart behind Speechcare—a neurodiversity-affirming speech pathologist, community advocate, and proud mum of two. She brings warmth, empathy, and a deep respect for all forms of communication into everything she does.

With a strong commitment to supporting communication across the lifespan, Kate believes that every individual deserves to be heard, valued, and empowered in ways that honour their unique identity. Her approach is grounded in neurodiversity-affirming, person-led support.

Kate specialises in supporting neurodivergent individuals, including autistic children and those with diverse communication profiles. She works collaboratively with families, educators, and professionals to create inclusive environments and provide practical strategies.

Kate is deeply committed to helping individuals and families build meaningful connections and inclusive environments where everyone can communicate, belong, and be understood.

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