Dr Angela Dean is an environmental and conservation social scientist. Her research explores how to foster individual engagement in conservation and sustainability initiatives, and how this engagement generates benefits for both nature and society.  Her current research program explores the following themes:

• How do community experiences of nature and local places influence perceptions of conservation challenges and solutions?
• How does participating in citizen science programs influence perceptions of environmental problems and capacity to engage in solutions
• How do psychosocial issues, such as well-being and social capital, enable or constrain capacity to participate in conservation actions?
• How do behavioural and communication initiatives influence conservation action and policy support across diverse social groups?

Dr Dean has more than 15 years’ experience leading research and engagement programs related to communities and behaviour change. Her expertise in human dimensions research has been gained across two distinct fields: (i) human wellbeing and mental health and (ii) environmental engagement. Central to her research is the recognition that transitioning to a sustainable future occurs within a social context. As such, it is imperative to understand how individuals within these contexts experience sustainability challenges and how this can be a foundation for change.

Dr Dean’s research addresses a range of environmental challenges, including sustainable urban water management, catchment management, reef and coastal conservation, and threatened species conservation. She is the lead investigator on a current project about mainstreaming engagement in biodiversity conservation, which explores how everyone, even urban residents, can contribute to biodiversity conservation.