Melissa Fanshawe is an associate professor in the School of Education at University of Southern Queensland. She has over twenty-five years’ experience within Queensland schools as a teacher, advisory teacher, deputy and principal. Melissa has won a number of national and international teaching awards including an Australian Awards for University Teaching citation, an ASCILITE innovation award for online teaching and is recognised on The Educator HotList 50 Best Educators in Australia 2023.
Melissa is also a trained specialist teacher for students with blindness and low vision, with a Masters in special education and Doctorate focusing on access technology. She enjoys her volunteer roles for Vision Australia as the Education Ambassador for the LEGO Foundation's braille bricks. She is co-president of the South Pacific Educators of Vision Impairment and an executive of tbe Australian Braille Authority. Melissa is passionate about providing all students access to quality education.