Jessica McLean

Dr. Jessica McLean is an Associate Professor and Discipline Chair of Geography and Planning at Macquarie University. Her research explores interactions between humans, technology, environments, and non-human agents, focusing on digital geographies, water politics, and climate action. She teaches courses on smart urbanism, Anthropocene politics, and environmental justice.

Education: BSc/BA (University of Sydney, 2001), PGrad Cert (University of Melbourne), PhD (University of Sydney, 2011). She has held editorial roles at Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers and co-founded the Open Access Digital Geography and Society journal.

Research Interests: Digital sustainability, water cultures, Indigenous knowledge systems, and climate activism. Her 2020 book Changing Digital Geographies established her as a leading voice in digital geographies.

Key Projects: Includes the NSW Environmental Trust: Enabling Healthier Gomeroi/Kamilaroi Country and a focus on Indigenous water rights in Wiradjuri Country. She has supervised over 10 HDR students, with current research focusing on urban biodiversity and digital climate action.

Awards: Kathleen Fitzpatrick Fellowship (2016), MQ Research Supervision Fellow (2020). Active in media commentary on digital ethics, TikTok impacts, and climate policy.

Labs/Networks: Affiliated with Data Horizons Research Centre, Global Indigenous Futures Research Centre, and Housing and Urban Research Centre. Collaborates internationally on climate action and decolonial methodologies.