Vanessa Levesque is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Maine, College of Science, Technology, and Health. Her research bridges sustainability science, environmental planning, and policy analysis through interdisciplinary collaboration. Education: PhD in Ecology & Environmental Sciences (University of Maine), MS in Natural Resources Planning (University of Vermont), BA in Environmental & Evolutionary Biology (Dartmouth College) Her research focuses on municipal-level environmental governance, analyzing how co-produced knowledge drives climate adaptation and community resilience. Projects include assessing rural resilience through digital services, evaluating municipal pandemic response capacities, and innovating vernal pool conservation policies via collaborative networks. Key methodologies span quantitative statistical analysis of policy drivers, social network analysis of conservation partnerships, and qualitative interviews with policymakers. Her work emphasizes partnerships with non-academic stakeholders to ensure practical applicability of findings, engaging disciplines like wildlife ecology, economics, and marine policy. Selected publications highlight transdisciplinary approaches, collaborative governance mechanisms, and frameworks for integrating citizen science into natural resource management. Current projects emphasize small community resilience in coastal and rural contexts.







