Marine Ecologist · Innovation Scholar · Changemaker
The motivation you need
to inspire action for
a better world.
Melanie Lewis blends ecological literacy with design and systems thinking to guide purpose-driven changemakers, from Rotary boardrooms to university incubators.
"Without changing our pattern of thought, we will not be able to solve the problems we created with our current patterns."Einstein, a guiding principle
Featured Projects
A selection of initiatives Mel has led, built, and championed.
End Plastic Soup
Rotary · Regional Director, Oceania
Leading the Oceania chapter of the global Rotary initiative to end plastic pollution in oceans, rivers, and ecosystems by 2050.
Read more → Education & InnovationMacquarie University Incubator
Expert/Enabler-in-Residence · Since 2021
Designing and facilitating programs that teach startups and researchers how to think more creatively about solving global challenges.
Read more → ConsultancySensibilizer
Founder · Social Enterprise, Sydney
A prototype laboratory for frameworks that help organisations escape conventional thinking and accelerate the transition to a better world.
Read more → Social EnterpriseFOOD4FACE
Founder · Startup
A startup disrupting eco-friendliness in the cosmetics industry, using science-backed natural ingredients to rethink how we think about beauty and sustainability.
Read more → ResearchPhD Research
University of Technology Sydney
Doctoral research into how Knowledge Innovation Communities can accelerate systemic climate action. Completed, then left behind in favour of putting the findings directly into practice.
Read more →About Mel
Mel started as a marine ecologist, working in the environmental field since 1998. Over time she evolved into an innovation scholar, then a social entrepreneurship advisor, drawing a line from the science of ecosystems to the design of human systems.
Her doctoral research at UTS explored the role of Knowledge Innovation Communities in accelerating climate action, and that work now lives at the heart of her practice through Sensibilizer.
Full story →