Andrea Kanaris is a social scientist, award-winning practitioner, author, and systems thinker with over two decades of experience at the intersection of people, policy, and sustainability. She is the Founder and Director of All Things Social Impact, a leading platform that empowers professionals and organisations to embed people-centred approaches into environmental, infrastructure, and social initiatives.
Andrea is also the host of Voices of Change – Stories That Matter, a storytelling podcast that brings forward the voices of changemakers and communities driving social and environmental impact, expanding the conversation beyond metrics to what meaningful change really looks and feels like on the ground.
In 2025, Andrea received the ROAR Bronze Award – Woman of the Year, recognising her outstanding contribution to advancing socially responsive practice across sectors. That same year, she published A Practical Guide to Social Impact Assessment for the Real World, which quickly became an Amazon Best Seller. The book offers step-by-step, field-tested guidance for conducting social impact assessments that are rigorous, responsive, and rooted in real-world complexity. It has become a go-to resource for consultants, regulators, educators, and project leaders seeking practical tools for navigating community impacts, risks, and benefits in diverse contexts.
Andrea’s professional experience spans more than 40 social impact assessments (SIAs) across Australia, Indonesia, and the UK, including major projects in renewable energy, public infrastructure, resources, health, and regional development. She is known for her ability to bridge disciplines; translating complex environmental data into human-centred strategies that build trust, reduce risk, and deliver long-term benefits for people and place.
A former public health and social planning specialist, Andrea authored the Queensland Coordinator-General’s Social Impact Assessment Guideline in 2018, a landmark regulatory framework that elevated the role of social science in major project approvals. Her work helped redefine expectations for how governments and proponents engage communities, understand lived experience, and monitor social change over time.
Today, through All Things Social Impact, Andrea provides consulting, coaching, and a digital subscription platform that supports continuous learning for social impact professionals. Her work focuses on building capability across the field, from early-career graduates to senior advisors, and creating space for practical tools, shared knowledge, and ethical leadership in impact work.
Her podcast Voices of Change – Stories That Matter adds a deeply human layer to her practice, creating space for untold stories, lived realities, and local insights to influence the way impact is designed, measured, and delivered.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Community and International Development) and a Master’s (Postgraduate Diploma) in Social Planning and Development from the University of Queensland. She is a sought-after advisor and speaker, valued for her clarity, humility, and deep commitment to meaningful, measurable, and community-owned outcomes.
At EarthX 2026, Andrea will bring her signature practical lens to the global sustainability conversation, showing how integrated environmental and social impact assessment can move us beyond compliance and towards impact that lasts.