Kelly Hoareau has extensive academic and corporate experience in environmental management and sustainability, with first-hand experience working across Africa and with various Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal nations.

She is a co-founder of the Island Biodiversity and Conservation (IBC) Centre and served as a Management Committee member and liaison with the University of Seychelles until 2022. Kelly holds an MSc in Environmental Management from the University of Johannesburg and is currently pursuing a PhD on Science, Technology and Decision-Making in the Blue Economy: Addressing Knowledge Gaps with Australia’s Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre and the University of Tasmania.

Kelly is the former and founding Director of the University of Seychelles James Michel Blue Economy Research Institute. During her ten years at the University, she also served as Head of Programme for Environmental Science, where she developed and lectured courses on global change, environmental research, earth system science, tropical land management, and biogeography.

Before joining UniSey, Kelly worked as an environmental consultant in the fields of contaminated site management, impact assessment, and risk management. Her professional and academic journey reflects a deep commitment to nature conservation, sustainable development, and transdisciplinary collaboration.

Kelly is passionate about making science accessible to communities, decision-makers, and investors, recognising that this is key to advancing sustainable development and empowering people to take meaningful action that supports both human well-being and a healthy environment. Her engagement with academic, government, private, and non-governmental organisations continues to drive her interest in transdisciplinary research and knowledge co-production aimed at fostering innovative, ocean-based sustainable development.