Stephanie has extensive experience within state school and higher education as a teacher, educator, policy officer and manager. Additionally Stephanie consults with schools and private organisations to enhance staff capacity to support the needs of young people to access and thrive in education settings. Stephanie has a particular interest in working with staff who support students with social, emotional or behavioural needs, especially those with complex trauma histories. Stephanie is a sessional academic at QUT, supporting pre-service teachers and current educators to enhance their knowledge and practices around student behaviour, engagement and the impact of trauma in learning environments.

Anthony Van Ruiten is the Principal of Willunga High School (WHS). His leadership experience in a broad range of school settings has reinforced a clear understanding of the impact of wellbeing for learning and the importance of strategically creating school structures, policy and procedures that enhance wellbeing for learning to promote academic excellence. The improvement journey at WHS has been a complex one, but one underpinned by a clear purpose of ensuring students are able to access learning through high quality differentiated teaching practices whilst being supported by effective and comprehensive wellbeing services. Anthony’s leadership of the strategic implementation of trauma informed practices in all aspects of school life has led Willunga High School to outstanding improvement in school culture and the learning environment, resulting in higher student academic achievement across all year levels, a rapid decline in student behaviour incidents and higher levels of student, self-reported, ‘belongingness to school’.

I am a dedicated educator, nationally certified as a LEAD Teacher and HALT assessor, recognised for my work as an Autism Inclusion Teacher under South Australia's statewide initiative and currently working as a Student Wellbeing Coordinator. With a strong interest in student wellbeing, I am committed to implementing evidence-based practices that enhance engagement and support academic success for all learners. My career is driven by a passion for inclusive education and has been recognised through several awards, including the 2022 South Australian Primary Teacher of the Year, the ECT Schools Plus Commonwealth Bank Award in 2023, and being named a Top 50 World Teacher Finalist in 2025. These achievements reflect my commitment to creating supportive, high-impact learning environments where every student can thrive.

Michelle Maunder is a qualified Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience working across the child protection, education, and health sectors, both in Australia and the UK. Passionate about social justice, youth voice, trauma-informed care, relational practice, and systems reform, Michelle believes the best solutions come from listening to young people and having the courage to act on what they tell us. Her work has focused on strengthening connections between health, education, and community services to make support more accessible, responsive, and effective. Drawing on extensive experience across multiple sectors, Michelle brings a unique cross-sector perspective and a commitment to translating advocacy into action. She believes better outcomes are achieved when services work together around the needs of young people, rather than expecting them to navigate complex systems alone.