Experience

Certified Environmental Practitioner Scheme (org)
• Australia
• Environmental Services
• 1 - 100 Employee
• Board Member

  • Jul 2022 - Present


Umwelt Australia

• National Social Practice Lead

  • Aug 2013 - Present

  Dr Sheridan Coakes has over 25 years, research and applied experience in the areas of Social Impact Assessment, Social impact management and community engagement. Sherie has a PhD in the area of Community Psychology and has worked extensively with industry, government and rural and urban communities across Australia. In 1997, she established Coakes Consulting, a specialist national social consultancy developed to address social and community issues within a resource management context. The company developed out of a need for companies and agencies to address social and economic issues and impacts in project and policy development planning, and followed on from her role with the Commonwealth Government in designing and implementing the social assessment methodology for the Australian Regional Forest Agreement Process - one of the most significant applications of social assessment by government at a national level. Since establishing her business in the late 1990’s, Sherie has developed and refined a unique approach to SIA and community consultation practice that has been applied in numerous large scale and controversial public and private sector projects across resource management sectors such as agriculture, biotechnology, linear infrastructure developments, quarrying and sand mining, on-shore and off-shore oil and gas, open cut and underground mining and waste management. As a recognised thought leader, Sherie has published and presented papers and seminars on social impact assessment and community involvement in a variety of different forums; contributing to three international texts on Social Assessment practice. She is also the author of the statistical text 'SPSS: Analysis without Anguish', published by John Wiley. Sherie currently is a co-convenor of EIANZ's SIA Working Group. Since August 2013, Sheridan has held the role of National Social Practice Lead at Umwelt Australia, and is also a member of Umwelt's Executive Management team. Show less


Coakes Consulting - Social Impact and Community Engagement Specialists
• Director

  • 1998 - Sep 2013

Social Sciences Centre, Bureau of Resource Sciences
• Senior Social Scientist

  • 1996 - 1997

Social Impact Unit, Department of Primary Industries and Energy
• Social Impact Specialist

  • 1994 - 1996