Little Sparklers Announces New Board Directors to Support Families and Strengthen Community Impact
Little Sparklers is delighted to welcome four new Directors to its existing Board. Each brings a deep commitment to supporting families, improving infant wellbeing, and ensuring parents have access to safe, evidence-based information during the earliest and most vulnerable stages of life with their babies and young children.
Our new Directors include (click to expand):
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Belinda is a senior corporate and commercial lawyer with more than 18 years' experience across top-tier private practice and senior in-house roles, and currently serves as General Counsel, Company Secretary and Head of Compliance for a listed Australian financial services business. Her practice spans corporate governance, commercial contracting, funds management and M&A, with deep experience in highly regulated environments. She has advised boards and executive teams across the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors — including national and internationally operating charities — and understands the governance and regulatory obligations that come with being a registered Australian charity. Belinda was recognised as part of the Commercial Team of the Year (Australian Law Awards, 2024). Her connection to Little Sparklers is personal: she was among the parents in The Beyond Sleep Training Project community who helped workshop the ideas that became the charity, and has experienced firsthand what it means to families in those early, vulnerable years. She is delighted to help protect and sustain it.
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Heather is a Clinical Psychology Registrar and researcher working in the field of infant mental health, with a focus on the parent-infant relationship and infant sleep. Her PhD research at Murdoch University investigates infant sleep as a relational caregiving experience, and how families can be better prepared and supported in ways that reflect their values and circumstances. Her clinical experience spans child and adolescent, perinatal, and infant mental health in public sector and community settings, with relational psychotherapeutic work with parents and babies at the heart of her practice. She is a founding member of the Infant Mental Health Research Alliance, through which she has co-developed the Infant Mental Health Knowledge Hub, a national resource for families, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. As a co-sleeping parent, she has navigated the realities of infant and toddler sleep firsthand and believes that for infants to thrive, parents must be supported too. She is passionate about parents having access to evidence-based guidance so they can make informed decisions aligned with their family context. Drawn to Little Sparklers’ commitment to supporting families with compassion and respect for their choices, Heather is honoured to serve on the Board.
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Miranda is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with more than 25 years of experience across health, community, and human services. Most of her career has been dedicated to public infant, child, and youth mental health services. In addition to her social work degree, she holds a Master of Mental Health Science and other specialist qualifications. Miranda has held senior clinical and operational leadership roles within the public mental health system and brings extensive experience in strategic planning, service development, workforce development, governance, and quality improvement. She is passionate about strengthening outcomes for infants, children, young people, and families. As the parent of three unique “Little Sparklers,” Miranda understands the importance of recognising and nurturing each child’s individual strengths and needs. Her children continue to be her greatest teachers and have inspired her involvement with Little Sparklers.
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Levita is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education at Monash University. She is also a Counselling Psychologist in private practice, a member of the Centre for Perinatal Psychology, and the Australian Institute of Infant Mental Health.
Her current research program examines psychological factors affecting the transition to parenthood and advances in culturally responsive approaches to infant sleep safety. She is deeply committed to improving health literacy and culturally adapted care for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families. Levita brings research and practice expertise from working with families through a culturally responsive, evidence-informed lens.
“These leaders share our passion for helping families feel supported, informed, and empowered,” said Carly Grubb, Founder and acting Board Chair. “Their guidance will help us continue building support and resources that genuinely make a difference in the lives of parents and infants.”
The expanded Board will help Little Sparklers grow its national reach, strengthen partnerships, support robust succession planning, and continue advocating for broader options for sleep and settling support that protect both infant and perinatal mental health.