Amanda Burr graduated with a Bachelor of Education in late 2015 from New Zealand Tertiary College. With a past dominated by her love and passion for animals combined with her family of five children set the scene for her current interest and passion for researching how animals can become a pedagogical tool. This has fuelled her unrelenting desire to further explore this field of research, believing that if the environment is the third teacher then animals must surely be the fourth teacher. She is currently pursuing her Graduate Diploma in Teaching as part of her learning journey towards researching her combining passions of children and animals.

Andrea Delaune has been a highly active early childhood teacher and manager since graduating from the Christchurch College of Education in 2001. Inspired by the research conducted from her recent Masters of Education thesis entitled Gifted education for infants and toddlers in Aotearoa New Zealand: An insight into exemplary practice, Andrea has a passion for increasing awareness and understanding of the phenomena of giftedness in the early childhood years. Positioning herself as an advocate for social justice in education, Andrea utilises the theoretical understandings of post-structuralist, post-humanist, and moral philosophical theories to advocate for equitable educational outcomes for all children in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Andrea is an elected Board member of giftEDnz, The Professional Association for Gifted Education.

Guneet Sachdev is an early childhood educator. Two years ago she quit her job as a Sales and Marketing Manager after spending six years in the Media Corporations industry in India. She did this to pursue her dream of making a difference to the field of education, starting with young lives. An educator by day, and a writer by night, Guneet has been publishing children’s stories in a local journal- 'Buddhism in Focus'. She is an active member of the Soka Gakkai International, New Zealand, a World Peace Organisation, the humanistic principles of which she intends to spread in the society through her work.

Helen Lane has worked in tertiary early childhood education for five years and has a particular interest in social and emotional development in young children. Helen has trained as a child psychotherapist and has worked as a primary school teacher.

Jean Rockel is currently an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Learning, Development and Professional Practice, at the Faculty of Education and Social Work at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.  She was editor of The First Years Nga Tau Tuatahi, NZ Journal of Infant and Toddler Education from its instigation in 1999 until 2014.  Her current participation in an Australasian research project involves the views of under-graduate student-teachers regarding infant pedagogy.

Jennifer Fiechtner is a certified teacher with experience working with children from early childhood through high school. She is the author of a companion booklet for families entitled Five Parenting Strategies to Support Emotional Development, and Editor in Chief at Innovations in ECE Press.

Katie Sandilands has been working in the field of early childhood education for close to 20 years in roles ranging from teaching, management, and lecturing at New Zealand Tertiary College. Recently she has completed her master’s thesis focusing on infants within early childhood centres in New Zealand. This has led her to be passionate about ensuring that teachers working with infants in early childhood centres have the knowledge and skill to ensure quality practices.

Kay M. Albrecht PhD, has held academic appointments at four universities and is the president of Innovations in Early Childhood Education. She co-authored Social Emotional Tools for Life: An Early Childhood Teacher’s Guide to Strong Emotional Foundations and Successful Social Relationships, the Innovations series of curriculum, development, and training materials, and authored The Right Fit: Recruiting, Selecting, and Orienting Staff.

Mariette Zoeppritz grew up in Germany and has always been interested in learning about different people and cultures. She did her Bachelor of Arts in South Asian languages, cultures, and history at the University of Heidelberg before migrating to Aotearoa/New Zealand. Following her passion to work with children and wanting to give children a better experience of school, she completed a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) at the University of Waikato during which she realised that her passion is in working with younger children. She has worked in early childhood education ever since. During her Graduate Diploma in Teaching (ECE), which she did through NZTC, she first encountered the idea of peace education and was introduced to heart-centred education.

Michelle M. Forrester PhD, has held faculty appointments at three universities and was on the medical staff at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is clinical psychologist in private practice with expertise in a wide variety of early childhood issues and trains graduate level students in Psychology, Social Work and Counselling. She is the co-author of Social Emotional Tools for Life: An Early Childhood Teacher’s Guide.

Norah Fryer is a retired Early Childhood Co-ordinator who specialised in and still contributes to professional development programmes for teachers. Her current participation in the MEHRIT Centre international project involves the neuroscientific research studies surrounding Self-Regulation – how it is developed and maintained throughout our life-span.

Dr Simon Rowley MBChB. FRACP (Paediatrics) graduated from Otago University in 1972 and completed his postgraduate studies in Oxford returning to New Zealand in 1984. He is currently a senior Neonatal Paediatrician in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at National Womens Health, Auckland City Hospital, and also practiced General Paediatrics in private for 30 years, looking after children of all ages. His interests include the neurobiology of infant brain development, early childhood behavioural and developmental outcomes, and medical ethics. He is a member of the Brainwave Trust, a logical extension of his interest in the newborn brain. Dr Rowley is married with four adult children.