ECTA Committee

Kim began her teacher training at Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College in 1979 and attended her first ECTA Conference, as a second year student, in 1980. Kim’s first teaching position was at the Blackwater Kindergarten between 1982 and 1986. After the birth of her first child she moved to Gympie and recommenced teaching in 1993 at Gympie Community Kindergarten (now know as Alma Street Pre-Prep). In 2006 she began teaching at Gympie South State School in the Prep Class. Kim retired from teaching in 2015. 

In 2002 Kim joined the State Management Committee, volunteering to take on the vacated role of State Regional Groups Coordinator and in 2005 became Vice-President followed by President in 2007. As President, Kim strives to support regional and remote members. She continues to be an office bearer for the ECTA Cooloola Regional Group. Kim
strongly believes that children need to be co-constructors of their own educational programs. Contributing and being respected leads to high engagement and maximum learning. Kim also is the secretary of the Journal Committee and Coordinators the Conference and website.

Beginning her teaching in regional Queensland the ECTA annual conference was the highlight of her year as she had extremely limited opportunities to connect with other Early Childhood Professionals. The Emerald Kindergarten (45 minutes away) had the closest Early Childhood Teacher and consultants visited once a year. Kim is passionate about using modern technologies to connect with colleagues across the state, country and world. 

Helen is an enthusiastic and passionate early years educator, who has worked in the field for almost 40 years across a number of towns in Queensland.  Helen is very proud to be known as one of “those” Kelvin Grove BKTC trained Preschool Teachers whose “creative play based, and relationship driven philosophy” remains as true today as it was back in the early 1980’s. 

With a love of the arts including music, dance and creative thinking and design, her programs were focussed on meeting the needs of each individual. Helen worked in many roles including Preschool, Primary, Special Needs Teacher, HOC, Early Years Advisor and Kindergarten Director.

Since retiring, three years ago, Helen has been able to devote more time to her love of photography, attending music gigs, travel (COVID willing) scrapbooking, cooking, and socialising with her family and friends. She has not missed the paperwork!

Helen also joined the ECTA management and conference committee and has relished the challenge of coordinating the conference sites in Brisbane.

Joanne is a qualified early years teacher, who completed her teaching training at Central Queensland University, and has worked in the Central Queensland region throughout her working career.

 Joanne has worked as relief teacher, classroom teacher, kindergarten teacher and has worked across settings including schools, early learning services and school-age care services. Joanne is also a qualified trainer and has delivered the early childhood education and care package. Joanne is currently working as the coordinator of a family day care scheme.

 Joanne has always been committed to quality education and care as she believes that early childhood education provides the foundations for our children and our society. Joanne believes that by empowering educators we can provide supportive environments for our children to enhance their learning and enable them to be successful learners throughout life.

 In her spare time, Joanne enjoys scrapbooking and working in her local community to support educators and organisations to come together to support families and young children.

 Joanne joined ECTA many years ago to not only engage in quality professional development but to network and collaborate with other educators.  Joanne’s roles with ECTA include State Management Committee Secretary and Webinar Organiser.

Lisa Cooper first joined ECTA as a member in 1992. She helped to form the Hervey Bay ECTA Regional Group in 1995. Lisa continues to be an active member of the Hervey Bay group, and has held the role of Treasurer since 1998. Lisa took her involvement with ECTA to a higher level when she joined the State ECTA Management Committee in 2005?. Since 2007? Lisa has been in the role of Treasurer, and is the Conference Committee Secretary. Lisa represents ECTA on the Qld College of Teachers Professional Standards Committee and is an accredited AITSL panellist for teacher education course approvals and endorsements. Lisa’s professional journey with education has spanned across several years and various roles, including (school-based roles) Preschool Teacher, Preschool Teacher-in-Charge, Prep Teacher and Acting Deputy Principal; (regional based roles) Early Years Advisory Visiting Teacher, Age Appropriate Pedagogy Coach and Early Years Coach. After completing her Master’s in Education (Guidance and Counselling), Lisa moved her professional career into the area of wellbeing, working as a Guidance Officer and currently holds the role of a Senior Guidance Officer in the North Coast Region. Lisa is passionate about early childhood being an important time in life; where children learn every day by doing. As an early year’s educator Lisa strived to ‘activate a child’s own natural desire to learn’. Montessori As an inclusive educator, Lisa gave credence to – ‘If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teach in a way the child can learn.’ Unknown A prominent poster in Lisa’s classroom read – ‘Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood’. F Rogers

We must always remember, ‘Children learn as they play. Most importantly, through play children learn how to learn’. F Donaldson

Dr. Jodie Riek has been involved in Early Childhood Education for more than twenty years, through a range of education environments including childcare, primary education, vocational and higher education. Jodie began her career in Australia working in childcare centers for over ten years in a variety of teaching and management positions within the sector. Transitioning to public education in 2007, she fulfilled the roles of Early Years Classroom Teacher, Teacher-Librarian, Digital Pedagogy Coach, and Head of Mentoring. In 2012 she began working in higher education and is currently an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her current research interest areas are restoring play pedagogies in early primary classrooms; early literacy; and the impact of pedagogical learning communities on the practices of early childhood teachers. Jodie currently serves on the ECTA Management Committee and is the ECTA Educating Young Children Journal Editor.