Mel dates her passion for ECEC from her first engagement working on the floor in the toddlers’ room of a long day care centre.

As Centre Director of an employer sponsored long day care centre, she focused on the critical importance and value of relationships with families, always acknowledged that parents were their child’s first teachers. Formerly General Manager for Playgroup NSW, Mel believes passionately in working with children and families for impact within the broader early childhood sector. She led Playgroup NSW through a complete transformation of their early childhood strategy and vision for young children, their families, their communities to drive outcomes for the 40,000 families, and 20,000 children that attend playgroups across NSW.

“Influencing sustainable change is the basis of my vision for the sector over the next five years. I want to see a deeper analysis of the challenges we face, and give the right people a seat at the table, who can work collectively in leading authentic improvement. At the core of my vision is that children’s voices are heard, listened to, and actively engaged with as we make crucial decisions around the evolution of our practice. For parents and families, my hope is that they only ever have to tell their story once. Beyond this, they should expect we will remain committed to working with them in an ongoing and holistic manner, connecting them to appropriate services, and establishing strong relationships that are centred around meeting the needs of their children.”