Karthika has been an Early Childhood Teacher, Trainer and Facilitator for over 20 years. She is currently the Director of the Australian Institute of Early Childhood and works at The University of Sydney and TAFE NSW. Her interest in early literacy stems from her work with refugee and migrant families. This has led to creating workshops that have been delivered across Australia and internationally to facilitate literacy development with a focus on children who speak English as a second language using performing arts as a tool.