Dr Tahna Pettman
Dr Tahna Pettman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact Flinders (CSI Flinders) .
Tahna’s experience is unique, having worked in government, community, and academia, and those who work with Tahna know her as an advocate for evidence-informed public health, equity, and liveable communities achieved through intersectoral collaboration.
Tahna has expertise in knowledge translation, research impact and evidence-informed decision-making, with over a decade of experience spanning boundaries between evidence generation, teaching, policy, and practice.
This began with her PhD research in 2005, where she lived and worked in Whyalla, a rural city in South Australia. She has earlier qualifications in health sciences and clinical research and was the first person to attend University in five generations of her paternal Australian/UK families.
Tahna joined the team that is now CSI Flinders in mid-2021, to apply her knowledge brokering experience to an ARC-funded linkage research project with the South Australian food relief sector. The project aims to translate principles into good practice and collective impact. Tahna also provides research consultancy services for organisations, engaging people to ensure that research investments are useful, relevant and have impact.
After becoming a parent to three within 21 months, Tahna volunteered as Vice President of the Multiple Birth Association of South Australia, a community that supports and advocates for the unique challenges experienced by those in a multiple birth family.
Tahna has published over 40 journal articles and Government reports, and five book chapters. She serves on the editorial board of BMC Implementation Science Communications, and volunteers as a Mentor for the Australian Health Promotion Association.