Dr Ciara O’Donnell is the former national director of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), Ireland’s largest professional learning support service for teachers and school leaders. Beginning her career as a primary school teacher, Ciara has worked in the area of teacher education for 18 years holding a number of senior leader positions with responsibility for curriculum, educational disadvantage, school leadership, and professional learning design, policy and research. Following nine years as PDST’s national director, Ciara now works as an independent consultant specialising in teacher education, curriculum and school leadership while also working as a tutor with Maynooth University. Her research exploring the secondment of teachers to teacher education has resulted in her evidenced-based programme for aspiring and developing teacher educators ‘Becoming and Developing as a Teacher Educator’.