Dr. Christina Kelly, Queen’s University Belfast

Dr Christina Kelly is a Research Fellow in the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast. Her current work focuses on the EU- and UKRI-funded PERMAGOV project, where she leads the Irish Celtic Sea case study investigating the governance and development of offshore wind.

Prior to this, she was co-investigator on the EPA and Marine Institute-funded ‘Sustainable and Holistic Management of Irish Ports’ (SHIP) project and served as work package lead on the Interreg-funded ‘Maritime, Ocean Sector and Ecosystem Sustainability’ (MOSES) project. Across these projects, her research has advanced best practice in marine governance, ports and shipping, coastal transition management, marine and coastal planning, and stakeholder participation.

Christina holds a BSc in Environmental Planning, an MSc in Environmental Systems, and a PhD in Environmental Planning. Her doctoral research (2017), funded by the Irish EPA and Irish Government, investigated the integrated management of Irish estuaries and coasts and proposed a coastal transition pathway towards sustainability using a multi-level perspective.

Alongside her research, she lectures in marine spatial planning at undergraduate level, is an assistant PhD supervisor, and has served as an external PhD examiner at the University of Cádiz. Her work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals, and she has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including regular participation in the Coastal Transitions research network and conference series.

Before entering academia, Christina worked as a Marine Spatial Planner in the Shetland Islands and as a Planning Consultant in Ireland, gaining ten years of professional experience. She is delighted to return to the Coastal Transitions conference at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, in August 2026, and is honoured to deliver this year’s keynote lecture.

Dr. Heather Ritchie, Queen’s University Belfast

Dr Heather Ritchie is a Senior Lecturer in Planning at the School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, appointed in May 2023. Prior to joining Queen’s, she was a Lecturer in Spatial Planning and Energy Policy in Ulster University, where she joined in 2009. Heather holds an undergraduate degree in Law (LLB Hons, 2:1) from the University of Dundee (2004), followed by an MSc in Environmental Planning with Distinction from QUB (2005). She completed her PhD at QUB (2006–2011), focusing on stakeholder engagement in Marine Spatial Planning. She is Programme Director for the Master of Planning (MPlan) in European Planning and serves as ERASMUS and Industrial Placement Coordinator. Heather teaches planning law and regulation across both undergraduate (BSc) and postgraduate (MSc) programmes in Planning and Development. Her research interests centre on transboundary governance and stakeholder engagement in MSP. Heather is involved in two research projects. The first is the ESRC Funded TRACC (Transformative Research Actions for Resilient Coastal Communities) where Heather leads a case study of the Foyle. The second is the Marine Institute funded CoCoMar (Enabling co-existence and co-location in shared island marine governance) with UCC. Heather currently supervises 4 PhD students. She is Co-Champion of the School’s Athena SWAN initiative and is a Chartered Town Planner with the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), where she serves on both the Marine Spatial Planning Committee and the Northern Branch. Heather has recently taken up an External Examiner post at the University of Birmingham.