About
image: Rebecca Westcott, Bush Heritage
Words for Change
Words for Change works with language, meaning and change in complex social and ecological systems, drawing on interdisciplinary insights from linguistics, social neuroscience, systems thinking and ecology.
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It supports people, organisations and agencies working in complex and uncertain social–ecological contexts, who want their communication to be thoughtful and intentional, so it can change hearts, minds and actions.
Dr Trudi Ryan,
Principal, Words for Change
​I’m a communication scientist with over 30 years’ experience working at the interface of social and ecological systems.
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I hold a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Ecology, an MA in Linguistics, and postgraduate qualifications in Behavioural Neurobiology and Marketing Communication. I have worked in research, education and communication roles with organisations including CSIRO, Land & Water Australia, Deakin University and Victorian government conservation and natural resource management agencies.
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Through this interdisciplinary work, I've developed Language Unearthed, my applied framework for working with language as a living system. It brings together insights from ecology, linguistics and neuroscience to help people recognise how language patterns shape what is noticed, valued and acted upon, and how these patterns can be reshaped to support fairer futures.
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I design and deliver workshops, undertake language analysis, synthesis and content development, and provide strategic and reflective language support for leaders and teams navigating complexity.
My work continues to evolve through ongoing engagement with ecolinguistics, discourse analysis, social neuroscience and emerging computational and AI-based tools, with a focus on strengthening human judgement, ethical reasoning and values-aligned communication.
Roles & Affiliations
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Deputy Chair, Country Universities Centre (Ovens–Murray)
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Member, Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) Expertise Pool
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Accredited Professional Editor (IPEd)
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Coach in the Schwartz Values System
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Member, International Ecolinguistics Association
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Member, International Cognitive Linguistics Association
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Member, Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor