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About
Words for Change

Words for Change works with big hearts and curious minds creating positive futures.

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  • We synthesise social neuroscience, cognitive linguistics and marketing communication into the science and practice of language-driven change.

  • We emphasise connection, care and curiosity as the bases of individual and community wellbeing and resilience.​

  • We offer research, training, strategy and content services applying practical evidence-based approaches to language-driven change.

Dr Trudi Ryan,
Principal, Words for Change

Dr Trudi Ryan is a behavioural linguist with a cross-disciplinary academic background spanning linguistics, ecology, neurobiology and marketing. Trudi specialises in language-driven behaviour change. She is endlessly curious about words and how they shape our perception, reasoning and behaviour and she's excited to share their potential in creating positive change.

Trudi has worked as a consultant for 19 years and was previously employed in research, education and communication roles with CSIRO, Deakin University, Land & Water Australia and Victorian government agencies. 

Trudi holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Environmental Management, a PhD in Ecology, a Grad. Dip in Marketing Communication, a Grad. Cert. in Behavioural Neurobiology and a Master of Arts in Linguistics (in progress). She completed a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Ecology with CSIRO's Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research.


Trudi is an Accredited Professional Editor, an Accredited Coach in the Schwartz Values System and is Dare to Lead trained. She is a Director of the Country Universities Centre (Ovens-Murray) and a member of several professional associations:​

  • Australian Linguistic Society

  • The International Ecolinguistics Association

  • ​Society of Australasian Social Psychologists

  • International Cognitive Linguistics Association

  • Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association

  • The Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor.

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