Director, Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action, Queen's University Belfast
Research Fellow, GroundsWell, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics

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Dr Amanda Slevin is Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action and PCAN Policy Fellow, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics. An environmental sociologist with 20+years’ experience in community development, adult and community education, Amanda’s research focuses on society-environment interactions. Her research interests include anthropogenic climate change; policy frameworks, decision-making and practices surrounding climate action and hydrocarbon extraction; energy conflicts and just transition; climate praxis and transformative pedagogy; community participation in multi-level climate action. Amanda’s qualifications include her PhD in Sociology (UCD), MA and HDip in Adult and Community Education (Maynooth University), BA Hons in Community Development (LYIT).

Prior to commencing work with the ESRC-funded, UK-wide Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) in Sept. 2019, Amanda initiated and currently co-convenes QUB's first Faculty AHSS interdisciplinary module on sustainability and climate breakdown (PAI 1010). Co-founder of Belfast Climate Commission (part of PCAN), Amanda established and chairs the Commission’s Community Climate Action Working Group; she works closely with all the Commission’s working groups, particularly the Youth WG. Amanda is also Chair of Climate Coalition Northern Ireland, the multi-stakeholder network behind NI’s first Climate Change Bill.

Amanda is Principal Investigator for two sustainability research projects: (1) Mapping Community Climate Action', participatory action research on community climate action in the Belfast City Region, co-developed with members of the Community Climate Action Working Group. (2) ‘Pathways for Sustainability’, funded by QUB’s Green Fund, this qualitative research project with QUB staff and students explores QUB teaching and learning around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (Co-Investigators are Prof. John Barry, Dr Colin McClure and Teresa Hill). Alongside traditional research dissemination activities like her monograph ‘Gas, oil and the Irish State’ (2016, 2017, Manchester University Press), Amanda regularly contributes to public debate via media interviews and writes accessible articles on socio-ecological issues. She frequently undertakes community engagement initiatives such as the award winning, arts-based ‘Creating our Vision for a Greener Future’ project that she co-developed with students to engage members of the public around sustainability and climate action (funded by QUB’s Green Fund).