Dr Lorraine Hammond AM is Professor Early Year Literacy at the University of Notre Dame, however she began her career as a secondary teacher. She has worked and researched in the areas of early literacy, high impact instructional strategies, including explicit teaching and learning difficulties since 1990. Awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2002 to investigate support for student with reading disabilities, Lorraine has been recognised by an Australian Government National Teaching Award (2016) for outstanding tertiary teaching and in 2017 the Australian Council for Educational Leadership recognised her work in schools promoting high impact instruction. In 2019, Lorraine received an Order of Australia (AM) for her significant contribution to tertiary education and the community. Since 2017, Lorraine has developed and presented professional learning on evidence-based literacy strategies for the Kimberley Schools Project in the north of Western Australia in regional and remote community schools as well as school systems in every state of Australia. Lorraine is a member of the Expert Advisory Panel to the Australian Educational Research Organisation (AERO) and in 2024 was inaugurated into the WA Women's Hall of Fame for her contribution to evidence-based reading instruction in schools and universities.