Melissa Sterry BA (Hons), PGCert, MCIM, MCIPR, FRSA

Futurologist, sustainability innovation strategist, design scientist and award-winning social entrepreneur Melissa founded sustainability innovation think tank, consultancy and incubator Societás™ in 2004, as a pioneering platform to launch groundbreaking new initiatives engaging the creative industries. Melissa structured Societás™ to provide the strategy, insight and skills to take concepts from paper to reality, whilst engaging ethical and sustainable practices.

In January 2010, in partnership with environmental scientist Matt Prescott, Melissa launched NEW FRONTIERS™; a catalyst for rapid innovation in sustainable design. Focused on the built environment the initiative brings together sustainability leaders from across design, architecture, engineering, urban planning, chemistry, materials science, ecology, policymaking and media to create interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge sharing, capacity building and public discourse. Led from Greater Manchester and the Northwest of England NEW FRONTIERS™ is working with institutions across academia, industry, government and the NGO sector to roll out seminars, workshops, scholarships, mentoring, a participative digital platform, exhibits, living labs and other planned elements including a prestigious biennial national prize.

A Visiting Fellow of the School of Art & Design at the University of Salford, from which she graduated with a 2:1 honours degree in Design Practice in 1996, she is a member of the University’s Assembly. Having been awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship with Commendation from Kingston University London in 2009, in January 2010 Melissa became a PhD Candidate at the 6* RAE rated School of the Built Environment at University of Salford; the UK's premier school for the Built Environment. Her research applies Resilience Theory to the Built Environment and investigates potential applications and impacts of biomimicry within urban habitats. Melissa is developing models that transfer knowledge from plant and animal technologies found in complex ecosystems including rainforests, savannahs, coral reefs and wetlands to blueprints for future sustainable cities resilient to natural disasters; cities able to anticipate and prepare for environmental changes, to enable reduced structural damage and loss of life from events including flooding, storms, fires and heat waves.

Melissa is co-founder and director of two annual international visual arts awards that bring the spotlight to the world's best emerging talent - the Creative Graduate Prize™ launched in 2005 in partnership with arts platform Medium Magazine and the Iconique Societás Awards™ launched in 2007 in partnership with online fashion zine Iconique.com. She has previously held three editor-in-chief roles and has been a guest editor/writer for many international titles covering a wide range of issues including emerging global trends in design, communications, media and the visual arts.

Melissa has sat on sustainability and social enterprise steering groups, non-executive boards, panels and committees for many organisations including WWF and the International Design Awards. A regular speaker, panel chair and workshop host at sustainability conferences and seminars across the United Kingdom, she is frequently invited to contribute interviews and commentary to the trade and consumer press.

Recent industry awards include the Mensa Education & Research Foundation International Award for Benefit to Society (2010), two special recognition awards from the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network for exceptional creativity and capacity building in the innovation sector (2009), induction to the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Hall of Fame (2009), a WestFocus Enterprising Business Award (2009) and being listed in the Future 100 (2008), which lists the one hundred talented young entrepreneurs who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in progressing a responsible business venture. 

A Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts Manufactures & Commerce, Melissa is a member of several professional institutes including the International Society of Bionic Engineering.

Click below to see Melissa's press file: