Alison Prowle grew up in the South Wales Valleys during the 1970s and '80s. There, she saw first-hand the impacts of poverty on children's lives and watched far too many of her
peers fall through the gaps in services and fail to meet their potential. This instilled in Alison a passion for working with disadvantaged communities. Her career has spanned teaching,
family support, community development and local government management, actively seeking out those roles where she felt she could make a difference. Alison is now a Senior
Lecturer in the Department of Children and Families at the University of Worcester. She teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, specialising in
early intervention, adverse childhood experiences, human trafficking and forced migration, and strength-based family support. Alison's current research interests centre around
supporting families facing adversity and equipping the children and families' workforce to develop trauma-informed and strength-based practice solutions.

Angela Hodgkins has had a varied career in working with children and families, having trained as an NNEB in 1984 and working in a wide variety of settings. Angela is also a
qualified and experienced Counsellor, having worked in victim support, GP surgery and Childline. Angela went on to work as a Development Officer for Children with Disabilities
and Special Needs and then into teaching adults, first at F.E. colleges and now as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester. She is Course Leader of the BA (Hons) Integrated
Working with Children and Families. Angela's PhD study, titled "Exploring Early Childhood Practitioners' perceptions of empathic interactions with children and families," was
completed in 2024. Angela's main research interests are empathy, emotional intelligence, strength-based practice and children's rights.

Rebecca Thomas was formerly chief of staff at Save the Children (STC) and now works with the UK STC team, focusing on ensuring children have the money, services, and power to end
child poverty. With over ten years of experience leading complex programmes, securing significant funding, and building strong partnerships across government, philanthropy, and
communities, Rebecca brings a wealth of expertise in child-centred strategy and advocacy. She is passionate about embedding children's voices and needs at the heart of decisionmaking,
believing that lasting change comes through collaborative efforts that create a fairer, more inclusive future where all children can thrive.