Suzanne Carrington was a teacher 1983-1993 and taught in special schools, primary and secondary schools in QLD, Australia and in London, UK. She worked as a Lecturer at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW before moving to Brisbane to take up the role of Lecturer at QUT. She completed her PhD at the University of QLD in 2000. Suzanne was seconded from QUT in 2002-2004 to establish the Staff College, Inclusive Education in Education Queensland. In her role as Principal of the Staff College, she directed professional learning of staff in Education Queensland to support the development of a more inclusive approach to culture, policy and  practice. Suzanne`s leadership in this area engaged international visitors from Universities in Northern Ireland, Britain , New Zealand and the Ministry of Education in New Zealand .

Her leadership and service to Education Queensland involved:

• Liaison with tertiary institutions, community groups, parent bodies, other government departments, the non-government sector and representatives within inclusive education networks at the state, national and international levels.
• Identification and sharing of case studies of good practice in inclusive education on a state, national and international level.
• Brokering and facilitating learning with an emphasis on developing creative and innovative solutions to the unique learning and development requirements of local communities, particularly those in rural and remote areas.
• Ongoing development of new knowledge and understanding of professional learning and training initiatives with particular emphasis on evidence based practice.
• Provision of strategic and policy advice to senior departmental officers on the effectiveness of current policies and practices for the delivery of adequate numbers of suitably trained staff and graduate teachers in the area of inclusive education.
• Coordination of briefing material, papers and reports for the Minister for Education on issues related to learning and development in inclusive education.

  Suzanne convened three significant conferences for Education Queensland between July 2003 and May 2004. Her leadership of these events enhanced a broad understanding of Inclusion with a focus on relationships of value and respect for all in a school community.