Gail Winkworth and Michael White have worked for many years in public administration, the private sector and academia. In recent years they have developed a unique approach to partnership building that is both research based and practical.
They have proven the success of their approach over several collaborative projects between Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies, the non-government sector and local communities. They are widely published in this field.
Gail Winkworth
Dr Gail Winkworth PSM is an adjunct professor of the Australian Catholic University (ACU), with a continuing role in research, publishing and teaching. Her major areas of specialisation are collaboration and integration across service delivery systems and child-centred practice.
With her combination of practice, policy, administrative and academic experience Gail participates in a number of government and non government forums.
For many years Gail led child and family welfare programs in ACT and NSW including Child Protection, Adoption, Out of Home Care, Child Abuse Prevention and the cross sectoral Schools as Communities and Parentlink Programs.
She is a recipient of The Public Service Medal for the development of innovative programs for disadvantaged children and families. Gail was the founding editor of the peer reviewed journal Communities, Children and Families Australia. Dr Winkworth is also a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers and is a consultant for the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Courts.
Michael White
Michael White is a leader of policy and practice in the education and care of children in Australia. He held senior executive positions in health, education and community services Departments in a number of State jurisdictions in Australia and was a lecturer in Child Development and Education at the University of Tasmania
In his roles in eduction, Michael was the Director of School Education in Victoria and in the ACT, and Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. In the health and human services sector he provided executive leadership for the Child Protection, Youth Justice, Out of Home Care, Family and Youth Support programs and Child Health programs. .
Michael has a strong focus on evidence based practice and he led the development of a collaborative cross government monitoring system to report on children's health, learning and well-being.
As a consultant Michael work focuses on early childhood education and care services.