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For more than 35 years, early learning has been part of Joelene Brown’s life. And while her roles have changed considerably over that time, what keeps her inspired hasn’t.
It’s the opportunity to make a difference for children, families and the people who support them every day.
Joelene’s career began as a Senior Educator before she progressed to Assistant Director and then Centre Director. From there, she moved into Goodstart’s State Support Office, taking on a range of roles that broadened her experience and shaped how she leads today.
Now, as Goodstart’s State Manager for Western Australia, Joelene leads more than 50 centres and supports over 1,100 Goodstarters who care for and educate more than 5,600 children and partner with 4,500 families each day.
A career inspired by the difference early learning can make
For Joelene, working with children always felt like a natural path.
“I started babysitting for family and friends from a very young age, and once I began my traineeship, I honestly never saw myself doing anything else,” she said.
As her career progressed, so did her understanding of just how significant high quality early learning can be in a child’s life.
“Seeing first-hand the difference high quality early learning can make became an even greater driver for me.
“As my career progressed, that passion grew into wanting to inspire and lead others, helping educators recognise the incredible impact they can have every single day.
“More than 35 years later, that is still what keeps me here.”
Backing people to be their best
Across her career, Joelene has worked alongside countless teams and communities, experiences she says have shaped both her personally and as a leader.
At the heart of her approach is a strong belief in backing people, building confidence and creating environments where people feel they belong and can do their best work.
And after seeing the early learning sector navigate significant change over many years, Joelene believes perspective, optimism and a sense of calm are important qualities she can bring to the role.
“We have incredible people doing incredible work, and I want us to continue backing ourselves, learning together and being brave enough to lead the way.”
Proud of the difference Goodstarters make
Ask Joelene what makes her proudest and she quickly turns the attention to the people around her.
For her, Goodstart’s purpose isn’t simply something that is talked about. It is something she sees brought to life by Goodstarters every day.
“I’m proud of the people around me who truly live our vision, purpose and aspiration for all children to have access to and participate in high quality early learning,” Joelene said.
“We keep challenging ourselves to do better for children, families and communities, and I’m incredibly proud of our collective commitment to making that difference.”
That collective impact is also what Joelene points to when reflecting on WA’s progress.
Rather than identifying one achievement, she is proud of the momentum being built across the state, from strengthening quality and growing the confidence and capability of teams to progressing reconciliation and finding new ways to support children experiencing vulnerability and their families to participate in high quality early learning.
“Those outcomes belong to our people, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’re achieving together.”
Looking ahead
For Joelene, the focus is on ensuring children and families across WA continue to experience high quality early learning, supported by confident, capable teams who know their communities.
After more than 35 years in early learning, she remains passionate about creating places where children can thrive, families feel connected and Goodstarters are supported to make a difference every day.