Meet Our Play Speakers!
What happens when you gather a group of curious minds, playful spirits, and bold advocates for children’s play? You get our Illuminate Play Conference speakers! Each one brings their own spark; from storytellers and innovators to researchers and hands-on practitioners, all ready to share ideas that will make you laugh, think, and see play in brand-new ways.
These are not your ordinary “sit and listen” presenters. Think of them as your guides on a joyful adventure. They’ll spark your imagination, invite you to experiment, and remind you that play isn’t just for children, it’s for all of us. Whether you’re looking to be inspired, challenged, or simply reminded of the joy in your work, you’ll want to meet them all.
Get ready to laugh, reflect, and connect as you meet the brilliant minds and playful spirits who are lighting the way. This is your invitation to join the conversation and maybe even play a little along the way.
Many Voices. Many Perspectives.
At Illuminate Play, we believe advocacy for play is strengthened when many voices are heard. Our speakers were selected not only for the relevance of their topics, but also for the different experiences, perspectives, professional contexts, and approaches they bring to conversations about children, play, learning, rights and community.
Sally Fowler Haughey
Feature Keynote & Play Speaker
Acclaimed educator Sally Haughey distills decades of research and experience to advance our understanding of children’s play and learning so we can best nurture their innate brilliance. Sally’s illuminating Play-Activated Learning model gives educators and families an understanding of a child’s behavior in the classroom during free play, including the growth unfolding in the brain. It also offers a view of your role as the educator in supporting the child’s learning and development. Explaining the incredible unfolding and blossoming that happens during play, Nurturing Brilliance provides a science-based approach to communicating that growth and development to parents, while highlighting the expert you already are and providing you a way to bridge gaps in understanding so that all well-intended parties can support the ultimate goal—children’s growth and learning. To teach. To connect. To calm. To build trust, courage, and the kind of curiosity and wonder that we believe only children have.
Cathy Belgrave
Cathy Belgrave is an Early Childhood and Elementary Educator, host of The Intentional ECE Podcast, and founder of The Intentional Educator – a platform dedicated to empowering educators to thrive in their practice. With a background in developmental psychology, a B.Ed., and Wunderled ECE certification, Cathy has spent over 25 years working alongside children and the educators who champion them. She weaves experience and inquiry to offer innovative approaches to curriculum and play pedagogy, supporting teachers and leaders in revitalizing their practice with fresh perspective and renewed purpose. Cathy’s work is grounded in the belief that relationships – with self, with children, and with the learning environment – are the foundation of everything. Her mission is to help ECE and elementary educators bring authentic, consistent practices to their learning environments, so children and educators alike, have the opportunity to thrive.
Celeste McIlhargey
Celeste is a dynamic presenter and leadership coach who has been working with teachers, management, and teams in early childhood education for the last decade. She holds a Masters in Education from the University of Calgary, where she focused on educational neuroscience and leadership, and before that she studied to be a physical education teacher. All this to say – she knows how to lead, and she loves to play! She is passionate about working with individual to create vibrant and supportive communities, while also helping all people to see themselves as a leader. She currently is the mastermind behind Celeste McIlhargey Coaching & Consultation, and works as a full-time instructor for Bow Valley College.
Deborah Wilson
After many years teaching Preparatory level (first year of schooling in Queensland), Deb Wilson has recently returned to the prior to school setting as a Kindergarten teacher and is currently the Kindergarten Coordinator in a Kindergarten in a School based setting. During her career, she has been a classroom teacher, music teacher and Music Coordinator in the State, Independent and Tertiary sectors. As a young teacher, she developed a keen interest in music and learning, with a particular focus on how music can enhance the development of oral language, literacy, numeracy, social, fine and gross motor skills in the early years. Deb has always championed parents as a child’s first teacher and continues to advocate for strong relationships between home and school today.
Gina Blank
Gina Blank (she/her) moves through the world as a cis-gender, bi-racial woman; these identities are paired with undergraduate education in psychology, and a master’s degree in general special education. She has worked with Kids Included for over twenty years in a variety of roles: supporting children with disabilities; coaching early childhood educators; and currently, coordinating and facilitating professional learning for community partners and the public. When she is not supporting adult learning, she can generally be found outdoors—photographing wildlife, digging in the garden, or reading a good book.
Ginette Wilson
Ginette has enjoyed a 40-year career in early learning and child care in North America and the United Kingdom in a variety of positions and has held formal leadership positions within teams in the private, not-for-profit and local government sectors. Ginette is a registered early childhood educator and a qualified Playworker and is experienced in developing and facilitating professional development opportunities and certificated courses for early childhood educators and playworkers. Ginette is passionate about all things outdoor and nature-based learning as well as empowering educators, children and families though the affordance of their voices.
Hester Laubscher
Hester Laubscher is a Level 3 Early Childhood Educator, mentor, consultant, and owner of Teeny Tykes Home Daycare in Calgary, Alberta. With over 10 years of experience in early learning, Hester is passionate about play-based learning, emergent curriculum, outdoor play, seasonal pedagogy, and helping children and educators feel seen, heard, and valued.
Hester holds an Early Childhood Education and Development Diploma and has completed FLIGHT: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework training through MacEwan University. She is also the founder of Early Years Mentorship and Consulting, where she supports educators in strengthening reflective practice, professional confidence, and play-based approaches.
Her work is rooted in curiosity, relationship-based practice, and the belief that children’s play is meaningful, powerful, and deeply connected to children’s rights, voice, identity, and belonging. Through her mentorship, workshops, and daily work with children, Hester advocates for play as an essential part of childhood and a vital foundation for learning, well-being, and community.
Jamie-Lee Wagler
Jamie-Lee Wagler, RECE, OCT, is an educational consultant, college professor, and speaker specializing in out-of-school care. She is the founder of Miss Jamie Consulting and host of The Forgotten ECE Podcast, where she advocates for greater recognition of school-age educators and the importance of quality before- and after-school programming. Jamie has presented across Canada on leadership, play, child development, educator well-being, and creating meaningful environments where school-age children thrive. Her sessions are known for being energetic, practical, and grounded in current research, leaving educators inspired with ideas they can implement immediately.
Leanne Cornelsen
Leanne has worked in the early learning field for over twenty years, bringing a deep passion for outdoor education, engaging learning environments, and meaningful relationships. She earned her Master of Education in Early Childhood Education in 2022 and brings a diverse range of professional experience, including ten years supporting children with diverse needs, co-leading an outdoor preschool program, and instructing in early learning within adult education since 2022. Leanne also sits on the Teacher Advisory Board for Take Me Outside, an organization founded in Alberta that advocates for increased outdoor education in the early years, up to grade 12. Leanne and her family reside in B.C.
Michele Wellsby
Michele Wellsby is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. Her research focuses on child development, language development, and the role of play in child development.
Rochellie Lywin
Rochellie Lywin is an Outdoor and Nature-based Learning Specialist, a Certified Forest and Nature School Practitioner, and a Level 3 Early Childhood Educator with a passion for play, connection, emotional well-being, and relationship-based practice.
She is the founder of Three Pines Outdoor and Nature Play in Cochrane, Alberta, where she creates child-led and play-based experiences grounded in trust, belonging, curiosity, and connection.
Rochellie has experience working with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and mixed-age groups through play-based and outdoor learning.
She is also an approved vendor with the Calgary Catholic School District, offering outdoor and nature-based learning experiences in school settings.
She serves on the Board of Outdoor Play Canada and works as a Youth and Family Counsellor in a non-profit mental health setting in Calgary, AB.
Her work focuses on creating meaningful experiences that support confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, and a strong sense of belonging for children and families.
Tricia Cameron
Tricia has been working with children, families and communities for over 35 years in diverse roles including early learning and child care, family support and advocacy, community development, special education, rehabilitation, early intervention and behavior consultation. Tricia is a graduate of the ELCC diploma program and has been operating her family child care program since 2010. She is a passionate educator and dedicated life-long learner who thrives in environments where she can encourage and support fellow educators in their learning journey and professional growth. Having first learned about Schemas in Children’s Play from an article by Clare Caro in 2012, Tricia was fascinated with the possibilities for play based learning and child-led play. Observing children’s play more closely with a Schema Play lens, she began to notice schema play at work everyday in her child care program.
AECPCN 