Associate Professor Karen Vella (PhD) is Head of the School of Built Environment.

Karen is an urban and environmental planner with two decades of research and practical experience in community engagement, governance evaluation, strategic planning, and exploring the social aspects of environmental management and restoration problems.  A/Prof Vella holds a Bachelor degree in Regional and Town Planing with Class 1 Honours from the University of Queensland and a PhD in Environmental Planning, also from the University of Queensland.   A/Prof Vella has also held research and policy positions for the Australian Government (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), the community-based NRM sector (Terrain NRM), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). A/Prof Vella has an international and national research profile in research on collaborative governance, planning for climate adaptation, building and measuring social resilience, stakeholder engagement,  policy systems evaluation and social science in the Great Barrier Reef.  Her work is multi-disciplinary and involves strong use of social science to identify innovative solutions to real world sustainability problems.  A/Prof Vella’s work has considerable influence on state and national policy within Australia and is recognised nationally and internationally in fields of science concerned with human and public policy dimensions of environmental decision-making that threaten sustainability. A/Prof Vella has extensive experience of applied research and end-user focused grant delivery through more than AUD $8.2M in external funds for projects at various faculties.  This includes extensive experience in developing and applying innovative frameworks to meet the knowledge and planning needs of government and wider industry and community stakeholders. Contact A/Prof Vella  for new research opportunities.