Maria has led the university in becoming the first in the world to be awarded a Green Flag from the Foundation for Environmental Education, to being named Sustainable Large Institution of the Year 2022 at the PWC Sunday Business Post Sustainable Business Awards, and Sustainability Institution of the Year 2023 at the Green Gown International Awards. Maria leads the development and implementation of the UCC’s sustainability and climate action plan and works across units and disciplines to develop the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability. She has extensive experience in developing and delivering large scale behavioural change programmes and in engaging a wide range of stakeholders with sustainability topics.
Maria holds a BSc in Ecology and PhD in Zoology from University College Cork and undertook her postdoctoral research at the University of Limerick, investigating the role of higher education in the transition to a more sustainable society.