Meet Wendy Sarkissian

Dr Wendy Sarkissian FPIA

I am a planner, speaker and consultant who is passionate about our future, the future of housing, of communities and of community engagement.

I am committed to finding inspirational and spirited ways to nurture and support an engaged citizenry.

My career as consultant and academic in Australia and overseas has provided firsthand knowledge of many contexts, from developers’ boardrooms to low-income housing estates.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Education, a Masters of Arts in literature, a Master of Town Planning and a PhD in environmental ethics and planning education.

Building a career as a social planning consultant when there was no such discipline, I have pioneered innovative planning and development approaches in a wide variety of contexts.

I work with senior managers and advisors to government departments and private enterprise, primarily in the urban, community, housing and development sectors.

Now a senior member of my profession and regarded as an engaging and thought-provoking speaker, I am a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

I have served on Boards in South Australia and Queensland and am the author of several books on housing and community engagement.

A busy and productive few years…

The past four years have been incredibly productive!

Three new books have been written and published, a major, year-long evaluation study of resident satisfaction with high-rise housing in Vancouver completed and our home and office are nearing completion.