Emily Ballantyne-Brodie

Emily Ballantyne-Brodie is an expert in designing sustainable places with developers, communities and government alike. Her major focus is to re-design places around local food systems. Emily's vision is to inspire places that have community connectedness, entrepreneurship, vitality and lots of green! She has a Masters of Environment and Sustainability from Monash University and studied business and history as an undergraduate. Emily was awarded a finalist position in the United Nations of Australia Sustainability Entrepreneur award 2011. Emily envisions that people can transform communities towards sustainability through design and social enterprise models. She believes design coupled with good business enables us to re-invent, be creative, consider aesthetics, set strategies and connections in place with integral stakeholders to achieve the vision. Emily has carried out research in sustainable design around the world and is currently contributing to her field with a PhD on her sustainable design practice at the Queensland University of Technology and Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Her PhD focuses on Design-Led Innovation approach to developing sustainable food systems, what she describes as "Design-Led Food Communities". She is a Director of the public space design organisation Urban Reforestation and Principal consultant at the design studio Sustainable Everyday.