Cheryl Desha (Paten) - TNEP Education Director

Cheryl Desha (formerly Paten) is a lecturer in the School of Engineering at Griffith University and Education Director of The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), a non-profit partnership on research, educaton and strategy for innovation for sustainable prosperity.

Cheryl graduated in 1999 from Griffith University’s Environmental Engineering degree program (First Class Honours), receiving a University Medal and Environmental Engineering medal. She worked for consulting engineering firm Arup for four years, also undertaking eight months work placement within the Queensland government. In 2003 Cheryl joined TNEP in formal collaboration with Griffith University as a lecturer in the School of Engineering. Further to this collaboration.

Cheryl and the team from TNEP have developed a range of projects focused on education and training for sustainable development, including working with universities, professional bodies, government agencies, companies, schools and touring international keynote speakers. She is a co-author of
The Natural Advantage of Nations (Earthscan 2005).

In 2005 Cheryl was selected as the Engineers Australia Young Professional Engineer of the Year. In the same year, she was a member of the TNEP team which was announced winner of the prestigious Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership, Education and Training for The Natural Advantage of Nations, and the Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program.

In the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), Cheryl is focusing on developing TNEP initiatives related to rapidly transitioning engineering education to ‘engineering education for sustainable development’. In 2005 she began her PhD on this topic at Griffith University, involving the development of a Curriculum Renewal Framework for engineering education to make the transition. She also co-founded the Queensland node of the Sustainable Living Challenge at Griffith University in collaboration with the Port of Brisbane Corporation (2006-2008).

Cheryl’s career goal is to facilitate sustainable development by empowering society with emerging language, knowledge and skills related to achieving sustainable solutions.

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PhD Research Topic