Keynote Speaker

Dr. larissa Naylor

Larissa Naylor is Professor of Geomorphology and Environmental Geography at the University of Glasgow, UK. Larissa works at the interface of geomorphology, ecology and engineering and applies this interdisciplinary approach to address ecological and climate change challenges facing society in Europe, Canada, Asia and West Africa. Working in collaboration with practitioners and policymakers, her work shapes academic debates, policy, planning and practice in both coastal and urban settings. Previous academic roles include Associate Professor, University of Exeter and Fellow, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.  She has also held roles in Government Agencies and Environmental Consultancies in the United Kingdom and Canada. She obtained a DPhil in Geography from University of Oxford in 2002 and a BSc in Geography from University of Victoria, Canada, in 1997, and has authored numerous peer reviewed articles, book chapters, reports, as well editorial roles in world-leading journals. 

Larissa helped establish the UK’s Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership; informed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 4th and 5th Assessments; and advised the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She was appointed to Adaptation Scotland’s Advisory Board, and has shaped climate change, marine, flooding and planning policies and climate change adaptation action plans from national to local scales across Scotland and Wales, including the Scottish Government’s Dynamic Coast project.

Her work has won notable awards for career achievements, best papers, industry innovation and as exemplars of international best practice on coastal risk management projects, including co-leading a chapter in US Corps of Army Engineers International guidelines on Natural and Nature-based Solutions.  Her work has been featured by multiple news outlets including the New Scientist, The Sunday Times, BBC, FrenchNews24, Inside Climate News and National Geographic Kids.