Dr Wendy Sarkissian LFPIA is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most experienced social planners and engagement specialists. She is committed to finding spirited ways to nurture and support an engaged citizenry. Initially trained as an educator, she holds a Master of Arts, a Master of Town Planning, and a PhD in environmental ethics. She worked as a community planner and consultant in Australia from 1969 to 2016. 

Wendy has pioneered innovative planning, engagement and development approaches in an astonishing variety of contexts, earning over forty professional awards. In Australia, she has been Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Adjunct Professor in the School of Sustainable Development, Bond University, and was Adjunct Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Wendy is a Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

A widely experienced speaker and facilitator, Wendy has spoken at Australian and international conferences for many decades. She is the lead author of three professional books about community planning published by Earthscan/Routledge and her recent memoir, Creeksong: One Woman Sings the Climate Blues-A memoir (2023, revised edition 2026), Hold Fast: Navigating personal and Climate Greif with a Reconciled heart (2026) and Opening to Climate Grief: A Workbook Companion to Hold Fast (2026). 

I am an award-winning planner, environmental ethicist, speaker, workshop trainer, thesis coach, and award-winning author. My work spans community engagement, housing, environmental ethics, and personal and climate grief. 

For many decades, I was a speaker on the Australian and international speaking circuit, managed by Renegade Management in Melbourne. I was a regular speaker at the Woodford Folk Festival. After the traumatic death of my husband in early 2016 (and my forced retirement due to injury), I turned to daily practices of connection and reflection that inform my climate-grief memoir, Creeksong: One Woman Sings the Climate Blues-A Memoir (Tellwell Talent, revised edition,  2026) and have shaped my new Hold Fast book and its companion workbook, Opening to Climate Grief.

Longer background

• PhD in professional ethics with a focus on environmental ethics and caring for Nature. Supervised by Professor Peter Newman, AO, a Member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 

• Decades working closely with governments and local communities in housing, community engagement, and participatory planning in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada

• Lead author/co-author of three award-winning professional books published by Earthscan/Routledge: Kitchen Table Sustainability, SpeakOut, and Creative Community Planning

• Dissertation and thesis coach and editor for Master’s and PhD students

Awards and honors

Over 40 professional awards for community planning, research, and advocacy.

2026 Seniors Leadership Award for Ourstanding Service and Community Education, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 2026

Life Fellow, Planning Institute of Australia. 

Being a Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) is the highest professional honor that PIA can bestow. This honor recognizes planners who have created a legacy of lasting positive change in planning and provided distinguished service to both the Institute and the profession. My fellowship reflects more than five decades of work in community planning, community engagement, and ethical practice, and long service to PIA itself. For clients and collaborators, this designation signals deep experience, trusted leadership and a proven commitment to advancing planning in the public interest.