Bio
Hi, I'm Sam Rye 👋
I find it hard to write a bio as my work has spanned places, disciplines and domains, but here's a short and longer bio in case they're useful.
Short Bio
Sam Rye has spent the last 15+ years working across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand on social and environmental change projects across a range of areas including biodiversity loss, disaster response, community resilience, local food, mental health and wellbeing, climate action and more.
With a diverse background spanning social innovation, communications, events and process design, strategy, research, technology, partnerships, social entrepreneurship and strategic design, Sam brings these skills and experiences together to focus on collective action initiatives.
He currently leads the development of Monash University's Living Lab Infrastructure whilst also working on MSDI's Net Zero Precincts initiative.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samrye
Long Bio
Sam Rye has spent the last 15+ years working across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand on social and environmental change projects across a range of areas including biodiversity loss, disaster response, community resilience, local food, mental health and wellbeing, climate action and more.
With a diverse background spanning social innovation, communications, events and process design, strategy, research, technology, partnerships, social entrepreneurship and strategic design, Sam brings these skills and experiences together to focus on collective action initiatives.
He currently leads the development of Monash University's Living Lab Infrastructure whilst also working on MSDI's Net Zero Precincts initiative.
Sam is also an active contributor to several global communities of practice such as Future of Labs, OECD Mission Action Lab, UNDP SIU Portfolio Approaches, The Systems Sanctuary Sangha, and more.
Sam has been writing about social innovation, systems change, social labs, experimentation, strategic design and other topics for 10+ years across various platforms, lately on Fieldnotes (https://www.samrye.xyz/), and has written extensively for many of the organisations he has worked for. His work has been featured by the likes of Nesta in Experimental Government articles, Labnotes and other internationally curated Systems Change newsletters. Sam has given talks to the likes of UNDP Strategic Innovation Unit, Wasan Network, UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, Open Living Lab Days 'Universities in Transition' Centre For Public Impact’s #AfterShock Systems Thinking event, Social Design Sydney, as well as being interviewed for and producing podcasts with Kumu and The Changemakers Podcast. He is an active contributor to a range of initiatives focused across a wide range of topics including systems change, complexity, social entrepreneurship, social innovation, storytelling, narrative change, and more.
Previous projects, initiatives, leadership and supporting roles include with: Enspiral, Collaboration Cafe, Lifehack, Conservation Volunteers New Zealand (Punakaiki Coastal Restoration Project) & CV Australia, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), Illuminate Systems Luminary Cohort, and currently Monash University (Monash Living Lab Infrastructure) & Monash Sustainable Development Institute (Net Zero Precincts). Sam is a named author on Governing University Living Labs for Sustainable Development Report.
Sam lives in the Yarra Ranges in Victoria, Australia with his young family, and is invested in his local community through active membership in the State Emergency Service (VICSES) and supporting Resilient Millgrove.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samrye