Meet your Sector Specialists

Connie Borg

Connie has over 25 years’ experience in a variety of community and education and care services,  specialising in infants and toddlers. Along with strong community involvement, Connie believes support and guidance to build educator capacity is the best way to drive quality sustainable practice.

Connie has been with Child Australia for over three years and is passionate about the professional development and growth of educators in the Early Education and Care sector.  

Fiona Rudkin

Fiona brings experience spanning 30 years in Corporate Management highlighted by her tenure as the co-owner of a Childcare Centre. With qualifications in both the Early Years and Disability Sectors, Fiona’s extensive background has supported consultancy roles in Early Childhood Education and Care settings, and subsequent management positions of Disability Employment Agencies.

During a 5-year residence in Phuket, Fiona delivered private English tuition to Thai-speaking children and adults. This led to a consultancy role for a training organisation, the highlight being facilitating Teaching English as a Second Language to training teachers in primary schools in Thailand. Fiona’s focus remains steadfast on the enduring success and sustainability of educational professionals, with emphasis on creating Early Learning environments that are not only sought–after workplaces, but also nurturing spaces for the holistic advancement of educators.

Sasha Beirne

With a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Childcare Management, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and certificates in Mental Health First Aid and Somatic Breath Coaching, Sasha possesses a robust academic foundation. Her profound commitment to enhancing the welfare of children, families and educators underscores her purpose.

Having supported the sector both internationally and nationally in her career, she has adeptly nurtured teams in diverse leadership capacities. Her trajectory led her to contribute to the sector through training and assessment before assuming her current role as a consultant. Whether engaged with leadership teams, educators, students, or peers, Sasha consistently places priority on their holistic wellbeing. 

Sonali Fernandes

Sonali has extensive experience in Early Childhood Education and Care, having worked across roles from assistant educator to room leader, service manager and trainer.

Sonali is a huge educator advocate, and her passion is to support educators, who ultimately support children, while creating inclusive environments where every child feels valued and supported. During her six years as a service manager, she thrived in a hands-on, collaborative leadership style, working alongside educators to problem-solve and improve outcomes for children.

To share her passion more broadly, Sonali completed her Cert IV in Training and Assessment and spent three years with a Registered Training Organisation delivering Certificate III and Diploma qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Sonali is dedicated to supporting educators’ professional growth, promoting reflective practice and equipping services with strategies to create environments where all children can flourish.

Rocky Beaton

Rocky brings over 25 years of experience in the early years learning sector, having worked across England and Australia in a range of leadership and operational roles. Most recently, she spent more than a decade as an Executive Centre Manager, leading an Exceeding-rated service within one of Perth’s leading services. This experience has provided Rocky with a strong, practical understanding of quality practice, leadership, compliance and continuous improvement.

Rocky is passionate about strengthening and enriching the early childhood sector by supporting educator and leader confidence, wellbeing and psychological safety. She believes that when educators feel valued, supported and empowered, they are better positioned to work collaboratively and create environments where children experience a genuine sense of belonging.

A key strength of Rocky’s work is her focus on environments as the third teacher. She supports teams to design learning environments that are deliberate, purposeful and respectful of children’s capabilities. When environments are thoughtfully curated, children thrive as confident, engaged learners, and educators develop a strong sense of ownership, pride and professional identity in their practice.

Rocky holds a Diploma of Children’s Services, a Mental Health First Aid Certificate, and is a qualified PRINT® Model consultant (The Why of You), supporting individuals and teams to deepen self-awareness, enhance communication, and build positive, high-functioning workplace cultures.