Born and educated in Sydney, Jillian taught English and History at Vaucluse Boys High School before travelling with her husband to England and Scotland. On their return a year later they moved to Adelaide where Jillian trained as a teacher librarian while lecturing in Children’s Literature. After working as a teacher librarian, library advisor, affirmative action coordinator and deputy principal and principal, she managed The Orphanage Teachers’ Centre for the South Australian Education Department before working on two national projects, Education Netwok Australia and The Le@rning Federation. She retired in 2009. Her interests include the history of education, embroidery and family history. She is an active member of the Embroiderers’ Guild of South Australia.