Dr. Hali Healy joined the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) as a Research Fellow in February 2025. Prior to this she was a Senior Lecturer in the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Anthropology and Development Studies. She has a BA in Anthropology (UBC, Canada), an MSc in Development Studies (SOAS, UK) and a PhD in Human Geography (KCL, UK).
As a political-ecological-economist and committed ‘engaged scholar’, she has co-authored and conducted transdisciplinary research on social and environmental justice with sustainability scientists, activists and ‘pracademics’ from across the global north and south. Dr Healy is also a Research Associate at the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI, Germany) and at the Department of Geography, Environmental Management & Energy Studies (GEMES) at the University of Johannesburg. Recent projects include collaborative storytelling around commons-based alternatives to development in South Africa, and participatory digital counter mapping in resistance to extractivism in Xolobeni, on South Africa’s Wild Coast. At GEES, Hali is excited to be part of the Centre of Urban Well Being (CUWb), working on WM-Adapt, a collaborative project with the West Midlands Combined Authority and other local partners seeking to drive a step change in local adaptation delivery.