About

Our Team

The Project Blue Hub was created by a team of dedicated researchers who want to create a better world by focusing on the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved lives, and ocean ecosystem health.

C. Patrick Heidkamp, Ph.D, Executive Director, & Co-PI

Dr. C. Patrick Heidkamp is an environmental economic geographer whose work advances just and sustainable transitions through a theoretical framing grounded in critical pragmatism. He is Professor of Geography in the Department of the Environment Geography and Marine Sciences at SCSU and is affiliated with the Economic Rights Research Group at The University of Connecticut and with the High North Center for Business and Governance at Nord University (Norway). His current research explores just transitions in the Blue Economy in Connecticut and in the Subarctic/Arctic.

Colleen L. Bielitz, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer & Co-PI

For the past three decades, Dr. Colleen Bielitz has been transforming institutions through strategic initiatives, creative entrepreneurship, and visionary leadership. Considered by her peers as a disruptive innovator, she is a blue economy & technology evangelist. Her primary focus, the United Nations' 17 SDGs which provide a road map for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind. Dr. Bielitz was on the launch team for MassDigI and the first Yunus Social Business Centre in the United States. She has been a founding member of science and technology incubators in Massachusetts and Connecticut and is a passionate advocate for promoting social good.

Emma Cross, Ph.D., Researcher

Dr. Emma Cross is a marine biologist whose research includes climate change impacts on marine organisms, paleo-biology and marine ecology of Connecticut coastal waters. She has research experience and/or international collaborations with the UK, New Zealand, Spain, and Antarctica. Dr. Cross’ research has been published in high impact journals including Global Change Biology, Environmental Science & Technology, Biology Letters, ICES Journal of Marine Science, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology and Biodiversity.

Miriah Kelly, Ph.D., Researcher

Dr. Miriah M. Russo Kelly (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Environment, Geography, and Marine Sciences at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT. Dr. Kelly’s teaching and research focuses on the human dimensions of ocean and coastal climate change issues. Dr. Kelly works in the area of environmental management and decision-making, and studies collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches to addressing complex environmental problems. Dr. Kelly is also dedicated to translational environmental sciences, including environmental communication, environmental education, and environmental engagement.

Scott Graves, Ph.D., Researcher

Dr. Graves educational background/training includes: a Doctorate of Philosophy in Science & Technology Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Idaho (1999), a Master’s of Science (ABD) in Marine Geology/Geophysics from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography (1990), and a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Science from the University of California Santa Cruz, in addition to an Associate’s Degree and technical certificates in Earth Science and Geotechnical application and Science Illustration. Dr. Graves recent research focus has been on “Proximal Sensing” (low altitude drone mapping of coastal environments), particularly coastal forests, wetlands and beaches. Dr. Graves has a long history of interaction and serves as a Master Trainer in the International GLOBE Program, the largest and longest running international collaborative among earth and environmental scientists and science educators with members in over 120 countries.

Katarzyna Toskin, DBA., Collaborator

Dr. Toskin is an Associate Professor of Business Information Systems at SCSU. In addition, she is the lead faculty for the GetVirtual service based learning course which provides students with valuable real life learning experience while supporting small businesses in their local community. Furthermore, Dr. Toskin is currently working on establishing a new organization focused on Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship and Economic Development housed in the School of Business. She holds a Doctorate degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida as well as MBA degree from Quinnipiac University, and Master’s in Computer Information Technology from CCSU. Her research interests include data analytics, artificial intelligence, computing education, gender parity in entrepreneurial landscape, employee motivation, and work value differences. She has published in journals such as Journal of Computer Information Systems, Journal of Information Systems Education, Information Systems Education Journal, International Business: Research, Teaching, and Practice. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Toskin has spent fifteen years in the industry helping organizations develop Business and Information Systems solutions.

Noelle King, Affiliate researcher 

Noelle King is a PhD researcher in the Department of Geography at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. Her PhD, funded by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership AQUABALANCE project, employs a transdisciplinary approach to understanding sustainability transitions and the social, economic, and ecological dimensions of the European aquaculture industry. She holds an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Southern Connecticut State University, where she combined GIS and qualitative analysis of stakeholder interviews to examine challenges and opportunities facing the ocean economy in an eastern Icelandic municipality, and to identify potential pathways toward a more sustainable Blue Economy. Her research interests include critically engaging with Blue Economy and Blue Growth narratives, and integrating social justice and ecological sustainability into ocean and coastal decision-making across diverse geographical contexts.

Theresa Cocola, Researcher Affiliate

Theresa Cocola is a Research Affiliate with Project Blue, contributing to sustainable solutions for ocean and coastal challenges. She holds a Master’s in Global Sustainable Development from the University of Warwick (UK) and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Systems and Sustainability from Southern Connecticut State University. Her background spans systems planning, sustainability strategy, and applied research, including work on transportation systems and sustainable behavior in industry settings. Her current interests focus on emerging workforce development needs within the Blue Economy and how education, industry, and policy can better align. She is passionate about connecting research with practice to support the regional Blue Economy industry.

Jillian Zitofsky, Project Blue Graduate Assistant

Jillian is currently a student at Southern Connecticut State University pursuing a Masters in Coastal Resilience. She has a Bachelors in Environmental Systems and Sustainability Studies and an Associates in Biology. Her research is currently focused on social cultural dimensions within Connecticut's oyster industry. Additionally, Jillian supports the daily operations of Project Blue, which includes administrative tasks and managing the organization's social media pages.

Emmanuel Xonu, Graduate Student Researcher Fellow

Emmanuel Kwasi Xonu is a graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University where he is pursuing a Master of Science in Coastal Resilience. His background in Political Science informs his justice centered approach to Blue Economy. Emmanuel is dedicated to exploring how local voices and Indigenous rights are represented in the face of rapidly expanding ocean based industrialization. He is also interested in employing sensemaking as a framework to enhance climate adaptation and encourage community engagement. Emmanuel aims to promote blue economy pathways that are socially equitable, community driven and ecologically resilient by drawing on transdisciplinary approaches.

Tori Jones, Undergrad Research Assistant

Tori is an undergraduate senior at SCSU pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Systems and Sustainability, with a minor in Marine Studies. She is currently working on an honors thesis that focuses on the impacts of a harbor expansion on the local economy and surfing community in Þorlákshöfn, Iceland. Her research interests include coastal resilience, environmental justice, sustainable transitions, and the blue economy.