Our People

Christina M. Kennedy

Global Director of Spatial Conservation Science, Global Science

Fort Collins, Colorado

Headshot Christina Kennedy.

Christina Kennedy Christina M. Kennedy, Senior Scientist. © Christina M. Kennedy

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

conservation biology, landscape ecology, ornithology, working lands conservation, land use policy

MEDIA CONTACT

Global Media Relations
ph. +1 7038415319

Biography

Christina Kennedy is the Global Director of Spatial Conservation Science on The Nature Conservancy’s Global Science Team. In this role, she leads a team dedicated to advancing spatial science data, tools, methods and planning approaches to drive impactful conservation actions. Her team collaborates with global, regional and country programs to co-develop critical spatial science products, and to provide training, tools and technical support to inform strategies to protect, manage and restore land/seascapes. Their work focuses on informing conservation goals and priorities, developing spatial action plans, and monitoring and evaluating conservation efforts to promote effective biodiversity-inclusive conservation planning.

Christina leads science initiatives aimed at balancing human use with conserving biodiversity and promoting multi-functional landscapes for nature and people. Her research examines the effects of land use and landscape pattern on species, ecosystems, and the services they provide. Her projects integrate field studies, landscape assessments, spatial planning, and evidence synthesis within transdisciplinary partnerships to inform conservation practice and policy at local to global scales. Examples of her work include global modeling of ecosystem integrity and forecasting development threats to inform proactive conservation; modeling land use trade-offs to balance agricultural production, nature conservation, and environmental compliance in Brazil; advancing landscape planning to improve impact mitigation for nature and people; linking field surveys with spatial analysis to understand habitat fragmentation effects on tropical systems; and synthesizing global datasets to elucidate how farming systems and landscape context impact farmland biodiversity and their services. Christina has published over 95 articles, book chapters or policy reports; her works are among the top 5% of research cited and have been published in Ecological MonographsEcology Letters, Global Change BiologyBiological Conservation, Science Advances, One Earth, Science, and Nature Communications.

With over 20 years of experience, her career includes university, governmental, and NGO positions that span wildlife research, natural resources monitoring, spatial planning, ecosystem services modeling, agroecology, and biodiversity policy. Prior to joining TNC, Christina was a lead Postdoctoral Fellow on a National Science Foundation project that involved over 25 scientists across 15 countries and modeled the effects of farming practices and landscape diversification on global (bee) pollinators. She was also a Researcher at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, where she spearheaded field work in Jamaica on the effects of forest fragmentation and landscape matrix on Neotropical birds. Previously at the Environmental Law Institute in D.C., she conducted research and outreach on laws and policies related to land use, wetlands protection and biodiversity conservation. She also served as a field biologist for various state and federal agencies in Hawaii, and investigated the status, habitat requirements, and recovery needs of threatened and endangered bird species.

Christina earned her B.S. degree from Cornell University, master’s degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Ph.D. degree from University of Maryland’s Biology, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Program. Christina holds adjunct faculty appointment at Colorado State University. 

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