ELAA’s dedicated team encompasses high level sector expertise to meet the needs of our members. Our team is devoted to ensuring our content and resources are current and up-to-date. Many of our team members come from the Early Childhood Education and Care sector and use their experience and expertise to provide relatable and knowledgeable information and advice.
Tim Watts
Interim CEO
Tim has held executive roles in education, health and community care, with significant focus on workforce development. Most recently he was CEO of innovative student wellbeing platform Pivot which is in use at over 500 schools Australia-wide. He is known for his strategic thinking, driving innovation, and developing people. Tim started his career with policy and strategy consulting firm Nous Group and has served on the boards of Environment Victoria and the carsharing service Flexicar.
Chris Stallard
General Manager - Membership & Enabling Services
Chris has over 16 years of senior management experience in the not-for-profit sector. His professional journey has included a broad range of community services including disability, aged care and services tailored for young individuals.
His experience during this time has varied from managing community services teams through to managing key internal areas such as IT, Finance, HR, Strategy and Business Development. Chris has completed his Master of Business Administration (Deakin University) and is currently a grateful beneficiary of the sector with a daughter attending kindergarten twice a week.
Ruchi Gupta
General Manager – Operations & Digital Transformation
Ruchi is a seasoned business consultant with over 17+ of project management experience in a number of leading Australian organisations. Ruchi has led a number of business improvement initiatives and digital transformation projects, and also played a pivotal role in designing organisational project management frameworks.
Katrina Nightingale
Business Unit Manager - Member Solutions
With over 30 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector across educational, leadership and consultancy roles, Katrina leads ELAA’s Member Solutions team in providing advice and support to ELAA members. Katrina uses her extensive experience in long day care, kindergarten, and vocational education and training to provide exceptional advice on a range of matters from legislative requirements, leadership and service management to professional development programs, resource development and intensive support for services experiencing complex issues.
Kine Asgautsen
Manager - Engagement & Marketing
Kine is an experienced communications, engagement and marketing professional with a varied skill set gained working in higher education and peak body organisations.Kine is the Manager – Engagement and Marketing, leading the membership and communications team in providing membership advice, current and up to date information to members. Kine works across ELAA teams providing strategic communications and marketing advice.
Yao Cheng
Communications Coordinator
Elodie Raveau
Administration Specialist – Membership, Engagement & Marketing
Elodie has 7+ years’ experience working in Office Administration, Communication and Event management for schools, in Paris and Naarm/Melbourne. Prior to ELAA, she previously worked as a Marketing & Event Coordinator for a not-for-profit organisation within the Disability Sector. In addition to her professional experiences, Elodie also works as a freelance artist & Illustrator.
Georgie Delbridge
Advisor
Georgie has more than eight years of experience as an educator in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector spanning long day care, family day care, Out of School Hours Care, and sessional kindergarten. Leveraging her expertise in building relationships with early childhood stakeholders and drawing upon years of customer service experience, Georgie is committed to her role as an Advisor. She is devoted to offering guidance, support, and quality outcomes for ELAA’s members.
Emma Incerti-Zapedowski
Senior Advisor - Workplace Relations
Emma has over eight years’ experience as a trusted advisor for workplace relations and human resources (HR) employers and management teams. She is ELAA’s Industrial Relations Lead, responsible for the re-negotiation of the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement (VECTEA). Emma has a passion for the not-for-profit sector, having worked in HR management roles in aged care and early childhood education and care.
Corinne Leita
Advisor
In her role as an Advisor, Corinne specialises in governance and industrial relations advisory support, stakeholder engagement, Early Childhood Education and Care national law and regulation. She has a keen interest in employment law, advocacy, investigations, and conflict resolution. Corinne has more than10 years of experience in teaching and leadership roles across early childhood and primary school education including teaching in rural areas and working with children and families with complex needs.
Leanne Rodriguez
Advisor – Best Start Best Life Reform and Engagement
Leanne brings extensive experience working in various roles in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings and Youth Mental Health in the not for profit and commercial space.
Leanne is a passionate advocate for children who believes all children are entitled to quality education and care recognising the benefits and importance of 2 years of kindergarten prior to commencing school.
Guillermina Rollero
Advisor
Guillermina is an Early Childhood Education and Care professional with over 14 years of teaching and leadership experience. In her current role as an Advisor within ELAA’s Member Solutions team, Guillermina’s supports members through the development and delivery of governance training, advice on qualifications and service compliance, the management of professional development resources and online learning initiatives, the capability assessment support program, and intensive service support program.
Erin Taylor
Advisor
Erin is a dedicated professional in the early childhood sector with over ten years of diverse experience. She brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to her Advisor role in the Member Solutions team.Having navigated various facets of the early childhood sector throughout her career, Erin now focuses on providing valuable support in Industrial Relations (IR) advisory, as well as interpreting and navigating ECEC national law and regulation. She is experienced in areas of advocacy, investigations, and conflict resolution, with a keen interest in employment law.
Loredana Dowdle
Specialist - Member Resources Project
With over 25 years of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) experience, Loredana understands the diverse needs of families and children within the early years and has a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant ECEC legislation and funding guidelines. Loredana has extensive experience working with government agencies, community groups, early childhood professionals, and specialist services to achieve quality outcomes across policy and resource development, system improvements, and program evaluation.
Johanna Morcom
Specialist - Operations
Jo has over 10 years of office administration experience, including project, events, and marketing. Prior to this she studied and worked in the disability sector. Through her experiences she has developed a passion for problem solving and continual process improvement which she puts into practice as part of ELAA’s Governance & Operations team.
Road Safety Education
Zora Marko
Manager - Road Safety Education
Zora has a keen interest in occupational health and safety in children’s services and has over 20 years’ senior experience in industrial relations. Zora has championed the safe transportation of children and participates in key road safety stakeholder groups, including Road Safety Education Reference Group Australasia (RSERGA) and was on the committee of the Victorian Safe Communities Network (VSCN). She also sits on the WorkSafe Health & Social Assistance Group.
Christina Martono
Administration Specialist - RSE Project Support
Christina, the Program Administration Officer, has worked at ELAA (KPV) since 2008. She has extensive knowledge in development of websites, social media and general IT systems development. Christina holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering (Systems Engineering), a Bachelor of Engineering (Software Systems Engineering) and a Cert III in Children’s Services.
Anita Valenzisi
Specialist - RSE Project Administrator
Anita is the current Program Administrator of the Starting Out Safely program. Anita has been employed with ELAA since 2011 when she was engaged to set up the initial SoSP delivery and administrative systems. Previously employed in children’s services in local and federal government. Anita currently sits on the WorkSafe Health & Social Assistance Group.
SAEW Project
Georgia Arrowsmith
Administration Specialist - Project Support
With over 10 years of experience in administrative and customer service roles, Georgia has garnered invaluable expertise across multiple industries, fostering a well-rounded skill set shaped by diverse professional environments. Her proficiency spans HR, HSEQ, Sales, and more. Georgia is currently working with the Project Delivery team on the Skilling an Adaptable Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce (SAEW) Project, leveraging her skills to offer valuable administrative support.
Greg Box
Manager - SAEW Project Delivery
Greg is the Project Manager for the Skilling an Adaptable Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce (SAEW) Project. A skilled project manager with over 25 years of experience, Greg has highly developed communication skills and extensive project planning and evaluation experience across the government, community, industry, and education sectors. Greg values consultation and collaboration with key strategic partners in the development of innovative programs to meet the diverse needs of stakeholders in communities across Victoria.
Anita Mathews
Specialist – SAEW Project Officer
Anita brings her Early Years teaching experience to ELAA’s SAEW Project. She has worked across a variety of Early Childhood settings, with her most recent role being Early Childhood Teacher and Educational Leader. Anita is a strong advocate for continued educator education, driven by the knowledge that outside of family, educators are the most influential factor in a child’s learning outcomes and well-being.
