Meet the Team

Frances Way

Frances joined the Climate Champions on secondment from CDP where she is Chief Strategy Officer. CDP is an international non-profit that drives companies and governments to measure and reduce their environmental impacts. Prior to CDP, she worked in the private finance sector, primarily at Dresdner Kleinwort's Global Equities Division. Frances sits on the board of EIRIS Foundation and holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College.

Claire Duthuit

As part of the Senior Leadership Team, Claire supports and empowers the Strategic Communications and Events Team, driving ambitious global climate action, showcasing real economy solutions and facilitating collaboration among diverse sustainability leaders worldwide. Claire and the team amplify the work of the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and real economy leaders through strategic media engagement, dynamic social media outreach, compelling storytelling and engaging events.

Claire brings to the Champions more than 15 years’ international experience at the forefront of the global issues that matter most — from designing an award-winning climate campaign with a reach of three billion people for the UN Secretary-General, to developing new ways for nonprofits to up-level their success across Facebook, Instagram and the Metaverse. A decade working across 150 countries with the United Nations, experience partnering with the likes of Nike, H&M and Disney on effective ESG, and a role leading engagement strategy at Meta have allowed Claire to build a reputation for creativity, leadership with integrity and high-stakes brand management.

Claire holds Masters degrees in both Visual Media and Social Anthropology, as well as a University of Cambridge diploma in High Impact Sustainability Leadership.

Jen Austin

Prior to the joining the Climate Champions Team, Jen was the Policy Director for the We Mean Business coalition where she led the coalition’s global policy strategy, working with coalition partners and the world’s leading businesses to articulate a compelling business case for ambitious climate policy around the world. Prior to We Mean Business, Jen served as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. State Department. Jen has experience in international climate policy, economics, diplomacy, and strategic communications, having also worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for both of President Obama's presidential campaigns. Jen's first jobs out of college were as a reporter for a daily newspaper in Uganda and with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia. Jen has a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School where she wrote her thesis about global carbon markets, and got her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She is based in Washington, DC.

Lisa Larsen

Lisa has a long track record of building, developing and leading high performing teams and social purpose organizations. Over the past 20 years she has worked in senior roles related to public service research and consultancy, including the Behavioural Insights Team, Accenture and the Nordic sustainability house, Ramboll.

She combines operational expertise with a deep understanding of what it takes to shape high performing teams and deliver social impact - from strategy to implementation; performance improvement; budget management; proposals and fundraising; thought leadership and market positioning; research and evaluation.

In addition to her role with the Climate Champions Team, Lisa leads a module in Health Policy Delivery, part of an MSc programme at Imperial College London.  She holds a Cand.Scient.Pol in Political Science from Copenhagen University.

Ramiro Fernandez

Ramiro Fernández has more than 20 years working in sustainable development. In his previous role he worked as Climate Change Director the Avina Foundation. Since 2008 he has specialized in climate change and energy. With vast experience on participatory planning process on the energy sector and worked with national governments in the implementation of their commitments under the Paris Agreement. In 2014 and 2015 he acted as senior advisor to the Minister of the Environment of Peru, as President of COP 20, and member of the Steering Committee of the "Lima Paris Action Agenda" at COP 21. Ramiro is Vice-chair of the Advisory Council of the "Momentum for Change" initiative of the UNFCCC.

Emmanuelle Pinault

Emmanuelle leads the Systems Transformation Team at Climate Champions,  overviewing the delivery of the 2030 Breakthroughs, a set of clear, simple goals created to align the Energy, Transport, Industry, Buildings, Nature and Carbon Removals sectors around shared decarbonization 2030 targets, with the objective to halve emissions by 2030, enable net zero by 2050, and keep global warming to 1.5 degree.

Prior to joining Climate Champions, Emmanuelle was the Director of City Diplomacy of C40 Cities, a network of nearly 100 megacities working together to tackle climate change, where she led C40 engagement in UNFCCC and other UN processes, the G20 and IPCC, through key initiatives such as the Compact of Mayors, GCoM, Cities Race to Zero, CitiesIPCC and Urban20. Before that, she was an advisor to several governments on diplomacy, cooperation, climate change, sustainable development, culture and education.

Emmanuelle holds a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from Science-Po Lyon and a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the EHESS – Paris. Born and raised in France, she lived in seven different countries across Europe, Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia, and likes to define herself as a global citizen. She is the mother of three boys whom she proudly raises as feminists.

Aida Lorenzo

Coming Soon

Alfredo Redondo

Before joining the Climate Champions as the Nature Team Lead, Alfredo was a Senior Advisor for Strategic Engagement and Partnerships at the World Resources Institute Ross Center for Sustainable Cities where he advised the executive management; developed their engagement strategy with aims to raising the organisation’s profile with a focus centered on people, climate, and nature; and coordinated the organisation’s presence at 3 consecutive climate COPs. Previously, Alfredo worked in other climate and cities organisations such as C40 Cities, the Global Covenant of Mayors and the Coalition for Urban Transitions, where he broadened his experience in strategic engagement; climate policy; diplomacy; research and innovation; and impact-driven partnerships. He studied International Relations in Argentina and a Masters in Public Policy in the UK as a Chevening Scholar.

Alida Saleh

Alida Saleh currently serves as a Senior Advisor for the Built Environment Climate Champions Team, led by the High-Level Champion for COP28 H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak. She is the Head of Sustainability for Middle East and Africa at JLL.
Alida, a global sustainability leader, brings over 20 years of expertise developing sustainable and net zero transition strategies on an international scale. She is a highly regarded domain expert within the field. A graduate of Harvard University, where she undertook her Masters in Sustainability, she leverages her knowledge, network, and expertise to translate complex sustainability challenges into practical action plans to achieve results. Alida currently serves as a Board Member on the Emirates Green Building Council. Alida has also served as a Board Member of the Canadian Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory Board with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development with the Canadian Government; Board Member of the Harvard Sustainability Infrastructure Advisory Board; and a Steering Committee Member, Disaster Management Advisory Committee, with Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada.

Catalina Cecchi

Catalina joins the High-Level Climate Champions Team (CCT) as Senior Energy Advisor from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), Washington DC. Masters in Economics of Sustainable Development and Environmental Sciences, Catalina is a former member of the COP25 Presidency and advisor to the High-Level Champion on hydrogen. Her research at C2ES centers on the role of non-Party stakeholders in systems transformation and the accountability of voluntary initiatives toward achieving UNFCCC COP outcomes, such as the global stocktake. She is also a high integrity carbon markets policy expert.

Catalina has a sustainability auditing and consulting industry background from Deloitte France. She has specialised in energy and mining with a Latin American focus, having worked at BHP as institutional relations specialist, the Mining Council as policy workstreams manager and the Ministry of Energy of Chile on clean energy partnerships with subnational governments.

Catalina is a trained analytical philosopher and archetypal psychoanalyst from the James Hillman Institute in Florence.  She has been a world trotter, loves singing, Latin dancing, Italian cooking, tennis, meditation and nature.

Celine Harbone

Celine Harborne is an Associate in the Built Environment Team, supporting the High-Level Champions to mobilise ambitious climate action in the built environment. She is an active member of the BuildingToCOP coalition, which brings together leaders in the sector to promote the built environment’s potential in accelerating the transition to a healthy, safe and resilient net zero future. She played a key role in developing the Azerbaijan Sustainable Built Environment Blueprint in the lead up to COP29 in Azerbaijan, catalysing in-region decarbonisation action.

Celine is seconded from JLL, where she is a Sustainability Consultant at JLL. She has delivered projects for corporate occupiers as well as Real Estate investors and developers. Her experience ranges from driving collaborative approaches between tenants and landlords when developing extensive green leasing strategies for large retail banks and tech companies, to creating due diligence acquisition checklists that minimise risk and satisfy sustainability requirements. She has acquired asset-level technical knowledge of net zero interventions whilst managing the delivery of 100+ EU Energy Efficiency Directive energy audit reports, and conducted legislative reviews and materiality assessments.

Prior to these roles, Celine conducted renewable infrastructure investment and marine conservation internships, and volunteered at COP26 in Glasgow. She holds a First Class degree from the University of Durham and is a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), after successfully completing the Certificate in Environmental Management. She is based in London, UK.

Harald Friedl

Harald is a serial impact entrepreneur. Since 2017 he has been for 3 years the CEO of Circle Economy, an impact organization of 50 people based out of Amsterdam with a global reach. Circle Economy is a leading ecosystem builder that translates circular pathways into concrete action on the ground – with businesses, cities and nation states. Harald has extensive international experience running both for-profit and non-profit businesses with a focus on scaling impact. Prior to joining Circle Economy in 2017, Harald spent 5 years in South East Asia (Myanmar) where he co-founded the Impact Hub Myanmar and was Managing Director of a renewable energy company. Before that he spent time working  with the United Nations in New York and worked as spokesperson for the Austrian Government and advisor to the Austrian Deputy Prime Minister. Harald started his career as journalist and TV anchor and presented a daily show for economic news in Austria. Harald enjoys connecting with people, spending time in nature and nurturing ecosystems and people that are dedicated to making the world a better place for future generations.

Joo Hyun Ha

Joo Hyun Ha is a Senior Sustainability Advisor at the International Union of Railways (UIC). Joo started this position in February 2022 and is responsible for building partnerships and advocating for the role of rail in sustainable mobility systems. She is also coordinator for the Gender Equality sector activities, which support rail companies in empowering women both as workers in the rail sector and users of these services. Her expertise includes environmental policy, with a focus on transport and cities, as well as in international cooperation from previous roles at UNEP Cities Unit and at the Sao Paulo City Hall in Brazil. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and is an International Relations major from Pontificia Universidade Catolica – Sao Paulo (PUC-SP)

Kapil Narula

Kapil Narula is Breakthrough Agenda Senior Analyst at the Climate Champions Team. He provides targeted input and ensures that the Breakthrough Agenda Report is high-quality, well-evidenced, and clearly communicated. He also facilitates international collaboration by engaging with relevant stakeholders.

Kapil has over two decades of versatile work experience in international organisations, universities, government, think tank and industry. His last three roles were as Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Secretariat at Beirut; Advisor (Energy), NITI Aayog (policy think tank of the Government of India) at Delhi; and Senior Researcher at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Earlier, Kapil served in the Government of India (Ministry of Defence) as an Officer in the Indian Navy where he worked onboard ships, was the Head of Faculty in the naval officers training academy and a researcher at a maritime think tank. He played a key role in formulating the energy and environment conservation roadmap for the Indian Navy.

Kapil holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Development Economics, Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and certifications in sustainability and climate risk. He was a Commonwealth Professional Fellow (UCL, London), Visiting Scholar (TU Graz, Austria) and a Young Scientist (IIASA, Vienna). His past work on global clean energy transition and sustainability includes heat decarbonisation, decentralised energy access, energy security, energy modelling, critical minerals, blue economy, energy efficient shipping, blue financing and maritime governance amongst others. He is the author/editor of seven books on energy and maritime issues, has published more than 100 articles/papers (h-index 16, 1700+ citations – google scholar) and is on the Editorial Board of eight academic journals.

Katharine Palmer

Katharine Palmer is the global head of sustainability for Lloyd’s Register.. With nearly 20 years’ experience in the shipping industry she is an established thought leader and expert on environment and sustainability  within the maritime value chain.

Katharine represents Lloyd’s Register on many industry forums and collaborative initiatives including the UN Global Compact, Getting to Zero Coalition and the Sustainable Shipping Initiative and is currently the co-chair of the IMarEST Technical Leadership Board and an elected trustee on the Board of the Sustainable Shipping initiative.

Ken Tran Phong

Ken has joined the Climate Champions Team as a part-time secondee from Airbus, bringing 15 years of experience in customer services, production and aircraft development. It has become his mission to reconcile his deep understanding of the aviation industry with a concrete and steadfast commitment to work towards equitable and decarbonized aviation.

Within the future aircraft development team at Airbus, Ken works firsthand on the challenges inherent in pioneering eco-efficient technologies and increasing the usage of cleaner energies while navigating the intricate balance between economic viability, industry realities and the imperative for decarbonization. His primary objective as part of the CCT is to bridge the various initiatives undertaken by the aviation ecosystem, with a focus on mobilising more ambitious decarbonization efforts necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Born in Paris, France, Ken received his Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d’Aérotechnique (ISAE-ENSMA). He is currently based in Toulouse, France.

Kristina Rodriguez

Kristina currently servers as the Oceans & Coastal Zone Associate, leading the Non-State Actor coordination of the Ocean Breakthrough Agenda, and supporting the development and implementation of the Mangrove Breakthrough NDC Task Force, since July 2023.

She also serves as the U.S. Ambassador for the SHE Changes Climate Initiative. Prior to the Climate Champions, Kristina was a research analyst at Ocean Conservancy, documenting and assessing Justice40 metrics for ocean and coastal conservation and resource management programs throughout the federal government.

She holds a Masters of Environmental Management in Climate Change Science and Solutions and Environmental Policy Analysis from the Yale School of the Environment.

Luciano Caratori

Luciano joins the High-Level Climate Champions team as Oil & Gas Transitions Lead on secondment from the Centre of Studies on Global Climate Change with Instituto and Fundación Torcuato Di Tella (ITDT/FTDT), Argentina.

His work with ITDT is focused on energy policy for the energy transitions, just transitions, and climate action planning, with two overarching themes: energy data and scenario planning.

Previously, Luciano served as Undersecretary of Energy Planning and National Director of Energy Information for Argentina’s Federal Government, as well as advisor to the vice chair of the Mining, Energy and Fuels Committee of his country’s National Senate.

Luciano represented Argentina in the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) and the Secretariat of Energy in the National Cabinet for Climate Change (GNCC).

His independent consulting practice included the valuation of energy assets and the assessment of transition risks faced by energy companies, as well as strategic advisory to local and national governments in energy planning.

Maria Ogbugo

Maria Ogbugo is a senior business executive with 19 years’ work experience in shipping, oil and gas regulation and banking in Ghana, West Africa. She is a respected thought leader in the maritime sector in West Africa, in the areas of coastal and short-sea shipping, equitable decarbonization of the shipping industry and infrastructure project development. She is an infrastructure development expert who is passionate about developing bankable and transformational projects to meet Africa’s infrastructure needs. Maria obtained her BA (Hons) in Economics and Geography from the University of Ghana and her MSc. (Econs) in International Business, Energy and Petroleum from the University of Aberdeen.

Michael Mbaru

Michael Mbaru is a Marine Scientist and Lawyer with over 12 years of experience in marine environment conservation, maritime governance, and climate change advocacy. His work focuses on developing, implementing, and monitoring policies, projects, and regulatory frameworks to ensure the sustainable protection of marine ecosystems and the maritime industry’s transition towards decarbonization.

Currently serving as the Assistant Director - Marine Environment Protection at the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), Mr. Mbaru leads efforts in marine pollution prevention, surveillance, and enforcement in Kenya’s inland and offshore waters. He also plays a critical role at the Maritime Technology and Cooperation Centre for Africa (MTCC-AFRICA) as a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Expert, contributing to capacity-building initiatives aimed at reducing shipping- related emissions in the region.

Mr. Mbaru is seconded to the Climate Champions Team, where he actively champions Africa’s just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in shipping. His focus includes accelerating the uptake of green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2030, unlocking climate finance for Africa’s maritime transition, and ensuring that resilience is embedded in maritime climate action.

His expertise spans marine environmental protection, maritime and environmental law, climate change governance, blue economy, oil and gas management, occupational health and safety, and disaster response. This multidisciplinary background enables him to bridge policy, science, and law to drive impactful change at the intersection of climate action and maritime sustainability.

Beyond his professional commitments, Mr. Mbaru is an avid advocate for ocean literacy, mentoring young professionals in the maritime and environmental fields. He enjoys exploring Kenya’s coastal and marine heritage, engaging in community conservation initiatives, and is passionate about sustainable community development.

Mohamed Hegazy

Mohamed HEGAZY is Transport Lead for the Climate Champions. He is also the founder and Director of Transport for Cairo (TfC) L.L.P. TfC provides strategic advisory consultancy services, data, tech and research to improve urban mobility in emerging cities. With TfC, I successfully led the completion of more than 40 projects in 5 countries in Africa.

With 8 years of experience in project leadership, I focus on data collection, data aggregation, data science & urban computing to transform ideas into practice. Academically trained in Economics, Sociology and Public Policy design, I specialize in solving real world problems around deep decarbonisation of transport, informal system change management and digitalisation of transport using data-driven methodologies.

Born in Cairo, Egypt and have cum laude degrees in Economics from the American University in Cairo (2012) and Governing the Large Metropolis from Sciences Po, Paris (2018). Received training at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Columbia University, New York (2018). Currently based in Cairo.

Nady Mohamed

Nady Mahmoud is an Egyptian nature scientist based in Bonn, Germany. With extensive experience in nature and natural resources management, Nady has cultivated a diverse background spanning academia, research, and roles within international organizations. Currently, he serves as the Land-Use & Urban Nature Lead, spearheading work on the Lane Use Breakthroughs with global partners and supporting commitments and delivery of actions with the  global initiatives aimed at the restoration, conservation, and management of land and forest systems.

Throughout his career, Nady has led pivotal international projects on land use and climate in the Mediterranean region and Europe, in universities and international organisations. His tenure with the European Commission notably included participation in global ecosystem valuation projects. Recognized as a leader among his peers, Nady was selected for the prestigious Climate Protection Fellowship, aimed at fostering young climate leaders in Germany. This experience further broadened his expertise in Nature, land and climate.

Nady holds a Master’s degree in Applied Ecology and Ecosystem Analysis from Kiel University in Germany and is presently pursuing a Ph.D. in Climate and Nature-Based Solutions at Bonn University. Nady is passionate about delivery and implementation of land, forest and urban-nature conservation actions through inclusive high quality mechanisms.

Rebecca Brooks

Rebecca Brooks is Food Systems Lead at the Climate Champions Team. She leads the food and agriculture portfolio where she helps develop and launch multi-stakeholder initiatives to support food systems transformation to deliver better outcomes for people, nature, and climate. Rebecca previously led the global Land Use and Food Systems portfolio at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and before that worked across the Sub-Saharan Africa region at a climate consultancy working on agriculture and water infrastructure projects. Rebecca holds an MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics.

Simon Sharpe

Simon Sharpe is a Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute, and Director of Economics for the Climate Champions Team. He is author of Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change, which has been longlisted for Financial Times Business Book of the Year 2023. He was previously Deputy Director of the UK government’s COP26 Unit, where he led international campaigns on energy, transport, land use, science and innovation. His other roles in government included leading international climate change strategy, developing the approach to clean growth in the UK’s industrial strategy, and serving as head of private office to Ministers of State for Energy and Climate Change. He also served on diplomatic postings to China and India. Simon has published academic papers on climate change science and economics, and policy reports on climate change risk assessment, economics, and diplomacy. His current focus is on the Breakthrough Agenda – a process to strengthen international collaboration to accelerate transitions in each emitting sector of the global economy; and on projects to apply new economic thinking to climate change policy, including the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition project, working with China, India and Brazil.

Book website: fivetimesfaster.org
Project website: eeist.co.uk

Maren Pott

Maren Pott is the Business Manager and Water Lead at the Climate Champions team. She is a climate action and sustainable development professional with a diverse international background. With experience spanning roles in the United Nations, start-ups, and development organizations, Maren has demonstrated a strong commitment to driving positive change. She holds dual Master’s degrees in International Management and Business and Development Studies, reflecting her expertise in strategy, cross-cultural leadership, and sustainable development. Maren enjoys spending time outside growing a mini garden on her balcony.

Ramiro Fernandez

Ramiro Fernández has more than 20 years working in sustainable development. In his previous role he worked as Climate Change Director the Avina Foundation. Since 2008 he has specialized in climate change and energy. With vast experience on participatory planning process on the energy sector and worked with national governments in the implementation of their commitments under the Paris Agreement. In 2014 and 2015 he acted as senior advisor to the Minister of the Environment of Peru, as President of COP 20, and member of the Steering Committee of the "Lima Paris Action Agenda" at COP 21. Ramiro is Vice-chair of the Advisory Council of the "Momentum for Change" initiative of the UNFCCC.

Marcia Toledo Sotillo

Marcia Toledo leads the Adaptation and Resilience team, overseeing the integrated implementation of the Race to Resilience campaign and the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda—the two key adaptation mobilization mechanisms of the UN Climate High-Level Champions under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action. These initiatives bring together non-state actors around clear 2030 goals to accelerate adaptation solutions across critical systems—food, oceans, water and nature, health, human settlements, and infrastructure—strengthening the resilience of people, nature, and the economy. Her work focuses on catalyzing action, mobilizing finance, and strengthening the policy ambition loop while fostering radical collaboration among businesses, investors, cities, regions, civil society, and local communities through a people-centered approach that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Marcia joined the Climate Champions Team in 2022. She brings 30 years of experience in driving transformative action for a resilient, nature-positive, and net-zero world. She has built and led high-impact teams, shaped global adaptation strategies, and developed policies and partnerships that bridge climate action, biodiversity conservation, and resilient development. Originally from Peru, she is now based in Germany.

Maria Aguilar

Maria Alejandra Aguilar is a Colombian lawyer with over six years of experience in project management, advocacy, policy analysis, and research related to socio-environmental issues and climate change. She earned an MSc. in Sustainability from the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and a joint diploma from the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Maria has worked in civil society organizations in the LAC region and globally, including positions such as Associate and Climate Justice Coordinator at the Colombian NGO Ambiente y Sociedad; Gender and Indigenous Peoples Specialist at the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). In 2022, she coordinated the Stop Financing Factory Farming Campaign (S3F), a global coalition of 7 NGOs, with Friends of the Earth U.S. as the Secretariat. During the same year, Maria was part of the Youth Fellowship of the High-Level Climate Champions as a Resilience Fellow.

In April 2023, Maria joined the Climate Champions team as the Race to Resilience Campaign Manager. The goal: to mobilize non-state actors towards building the resilience of 4 billion people to climate risks, especially those at the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Mariam Allam

Coming Soon

David Howlett

Coming soon

Ramiro Fernandez

Ramiro Fernández has more than 20 years working in sustainable development. In his previous role he worked as Climate Change Director the Avina Foundation. Since 2008 he has specialized in climate change and energy. With vast experience on participatory planning process on the energy sector and worked with national governments in the implementation of their commitments under the Paris Agreement. In 2014 and 2015 he acted as senior advisor to the Minister of the Environment of Peru, as President of COP 20, and member of the Steering Committee of the "Lima Paris Action Agenda" at COP 21. Ramiro is Vice-chair of the Advisory Council of the "Momentum for Change" initiative of the UNFCCC.

Ali Sheridan

Ali has worked in climate for over fifteen years at the intersection of campaigns, strategy, and policy advocacy across international coalitions, governments, non-state actors, and civil society with a focus on supporting urgent action, ambitious policy and delivering a just and fair transition.

She has held leadership roles across a range of climate programmes with a key emphasis on convening and mobilizing diverse actors including at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, the IKEA People and Planet programme, and the Origin Green Sustainable Food Programme.

Ali is a trusted advisor to a range of boards and advisory committees, providing expertise including credible climate transition planning, policy, just transition, and stakeholder engagement, and has recently been appointed as the inaugural Chair of the Just Transition Commission of Ireland. 

Ali is based in Ireland and holds a MSc Business Sustainability, MSc Sustainable Development, and BSc Environmental Management.

Camila Fernandez

Camila studied Administration and Business in Chile. Her career involves different processes and sectors; to work on social innovation and resilience in some of the most rural regions of Chile; to work as a government adviser on climate change and forestry in the ministry of agriculture; leading the strategy to increase the best sustainability and mitigation practices in the sector. She was part of the team as part of the COP25 Presidency team and as Chief of Staff of Gonzalo Muñoz. Her last experience was in the private sector leading the ESG strategy and green finance in a bank in Chile.

Jane Eisenhardt

Jane is Race to Zero’s Engagement and Acceleration Manager and has joined the Climate Champions team as a secondee from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) where she is working with the EDF+Business team to develop tools to assist companies in their net zero transition. Prior to joining EDF and the Climate Champions Team, Jane worked for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) liaising with North American member states and partners on key environmental issues including nature, restoration, and water and led regional projects focusing on marine protected areas and plastic pollution action. Before joining UNEP, Jane worked in the sustainable food space with NGOs focusing on food policy, sustainable agriculture, and good food access.

Jane has a Master’s degree in Environment, Politics and Development Studies from SOAS, University of London and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Justice Studies from James Madison University. She is now based in New York, where you can often find her at the cinema or trying new plant-based food spots.

Louisa Durkin

Louisa Durkin is an experienced sustainability professional with a background in climate and biodiversity data fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Louisa manages the Climate Action Data 2.0 community, convening experts to drive progress in open data and climate data stocktaking. She is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Climate Collective working to decode digital monitoring, reporting, and verification for climate and nature. Previously, she held the role of Director of Partnership and Impact at Open Earth Foundation. She also previously worked as a Biodiversity & Agrifood Systems Sustainability Consultant at Metabolic in Amsterdam where she worked on Science Based Targets for Nature and tracking biodiversity policies. Louisa holds a master’s degree in biodiversity systematics from the University of Gothenburg and a bachelor’s degree in molecular genetics from the University of Rochester.

Daniela Palma

Daniela has extensive experience as a sustainability consultant, having collaborated extensively with the private sector to guide their environmental practices in realms like climate adaptation, biodiversity preservation, water stewardship, and pollution mitigation. Her professional expertise lies at the intersection of nature and climate, where she specializes in guiding organizations to effectively reduce emissions. Committed to steering non-state actors to net zero and nature positive, Daniela is supporting the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns to measure and track progress to deliver a resilient and fairer zero carbon world.

Jen Austin

Prior to the joining the Climate Champions Team, Jen was the Policy Director for the We Mean Business coalition where she led the coalition’s global policy strategy, working with coalition partners and the world’s leading businesses to articulate a compelling business case for ambitious climate policy around the world. Prior to We Mean Business, Jen served as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. State Department. Jen has experience in international climate policy, economics, diplomacy, and strategic communications, having also worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for both of President Obama's presidential campaigns. Jen's first jobs out of college were as a reporter for a daily newspaper in Uganda and with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia. Jen has a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School where she wrote her thesis about global carbon markets, and got her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She is based in Washington, DC.

Sagarika Chatterjee

Sagarika is a sustainability professional with 15+ years’ experience in climate change and responsible investment. Led the PRI’s global climate change programme and UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance secretariat co-head. Launched Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero with COP26 Private Finance Hub while seconded to the High-level Champions. From May 2022 she has been the Finance Department Director at the Climate Champions.

Her board positions have included: Director of the UK Sustainable Investment & Finance Association, Charity investment sub-committee and trustee experience, and UK-China Green Finance Task Force member.

Sabrina Nagel

In her roles as Adaptation and Resilience Finance Lead within the Climate Champions Team and Global Finance and Policy Advisor for the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, Sabrina is mobilizing financial institutions on adaptation and resilience. In her prior roles she designed adaptation and resilience finance projects and funding mechanisms with DFIs, investors and microfinance institutions to enable access to finance for smallholder farmers in Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa. She also has experience in implementing Agroforestry projects working with indigenous communities in Costa Rica and Borneo.

Puninda Thind

Puninda Thind serves as the Finance Nature Lead, focusing on catalyzing finance sector action to address nature-related risks and leverage value creation opportunities to increase financial flows towards nature-based solutions.

For the last decade, she has worked at the intersection of sustainable investing and climate resilience. At BentallGreenOak, one of the largest global real estate investment advisors, she spearheaded the implementation of the organization’s ESG strategy and reporting. She also led the project team that conducted one of the largest ESG-focused surveys of global real estate investors, in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

Most recently, as a Senior Sustainability Consultant, she helped private sector clients, including large Canadian banks, investment managers, mining, and consumer goods companies, prepare climate strategies and develop disclosures aligned with leading and emerging global reporting frameworks and standards, including, TCFD, SASB, GRI Standard and IIRC.

Puninda has contributed to the Race to Zero criteria consultation process as a working group member of the ‘net zero finance and disclosure of climate-related risks’ working group. She holds a Bachelors of Environment and Business (Honours) from the University of Waterloo and a MSc Sustainability, Enterprise, and Environment from the University of Oxford. She is also active in climate advocacy as a member of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum. Puninda has been previously named as one of Canada’s top 30 under 30 sustainability leaders and one of Canada’s top 25 environmentalists under 25.

Puninda is based in the UK.

Jacinda Njike

Coming soon

Anthony Hobley

Coming soon

Craig Pettengell

Coming soon

Jen Austin

Prior to the joining the Climate Champions Team, Jen was the Policy Director for the We Mean Business coalition where she led the coalition’s global policy strategy, working with coalition partners and the world’s leading businesses to articulate a compelling business case for ambitious climate policy around the world. Prior to We Mean Business, Jen served as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. State Department. Jen has experience in international climate policy, economics, diplomacy, and strategic communications, having also worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for both of President Obama's presidential campaigns. Jen's first jobs out of college were as a reporter for a daily newspaper in Uganda and with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia. Jen has a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School where she wrote her thesis about global carbon markets, and got her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She is based in Washington, DC.

Nathan Cooper

Nathan Cooper is Director of Policy and Engagement Department for the Climate Champions. He leads the department which provides political and diplomatic advice to the High Level Champions, and which delivers strategic engagement to enhance radical collaboration between governments, business, cities and regions, civil society, and other Non-State Actors (NSA). Previously, Nathan led the World Economic Forum’s strategic climate partnerships, including working with world leaders – heads of state, ministers, global CEOs- to drive more ambitious global climate finance, mitigation, and adaptation action. Previously, Nathan held a series of posts in the UK Government, including at the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the UK Cabinet Office, where he led the business and industrial strategy for G7 and UN Climate Change Conference, COP26. Nathan writes on topics such as climate finance, business, and policy, including for The Independent, World Economic Forum Agenda, and the New European.

Dania Petrik

Dania is a climate and development specialist with experience as a consultant, applied policy researcher and technical adviser. In her professional career, Dania has worked extensively on numerous projects related to building resilience in the water, biodiversity and livelihoods sectors across some of the most at-risk countries in Africa. In a policy and governance context, Dania’s expertise lies in identifying transversal climate risks in particular contexts across different regions and countries, as well as establishing what the relevant entry points are for mainstreaming climate priorities into local development plans and national climate-related policies, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

In her project management experience, Dania has also gained extensive stakeholder engagement practice – working with a multitude of different actors, from academia, NGOs, youth groups, the private sector, multilateral organisations, donors, journalists and local and national government authorities. Prior to graduating with a Masters in Energy and Development Studies in 2014, Dania worked in communications and marketing for several years.

Dania loves the great outdoors and her passion for working in the climate field stems from a deep love of nature and protecting the planet’s natural resources. She is a qualified mountain guide, and you can find her hiking the rugged landscapes of South Africa in her spare time.

Eman Wahby

Coming soon

Lina Dabbagh

Lina Dabbagh, leads the Climate Champions CSO engagement. Previously she worked as Head of Policy Advocacy for Climate Action Network (CAN) the biggest Civil Society Network working on Climate Change with over 1600 members in 130 countries and focal point for the ENGO Constituency in the UNFCCC.

In her role Lina facilitated the development of civil society strategies in the UNFCCC and other international fora (in line with member priorities and opportunities for the year); and coordinated the development of CAN policy positions and submission documents. 

Lina is passionate about ensuring transparency, participation and access to  information to achieve just and equitable climate action. Lina holds a master’s in Regional Science of Latin America from University Cologne and a Postgraduate degree from Universidad Autonoma in Mexico. 

Lina was born and raised in Germany and moved to Mexico after graduating. She has two kids, a husband and a dog who keep her busy. She loves traveling, cooking, reading and animals.

Elif Karakulak

Elif is Business Engagement Lead at the Climate Champions Team and is responsible for driving strategic partnerships and engagement with key global business NGOs. Elif also leads the delivery of Climate-Proofing SMEs campaign annual workplan to COP30, including identifying strategic engagement opportunities to build campaign momentum ahead of and at COP30.

Elif is originally seconded from PwC Ireland and has over 12 years of experience in delivering transformation programs across private, public and civil society sectors. With a background in International Relations, Elif started her career in the public sector in Turkey, where she worked with European and Turkish NGOs in their activities to support Turkey’s alignment with the EU. She then moved to Ireland and completed an MSc in Project Management at University College Dublin.

Following her master’s, she transitioned into the private sector and has worked in multi-stakeholder programs across many organisations in the financial services, healthcare, aviation sectors. Her most recent work prior to joining the Climate Champions Team, focussed on supporting a consortium of agribusinesses and financial institutions in their work on scaling regenerative agriculture practices globally.

Shivi Dwivedi

Shivi leads the Youth and Gender Engagement for the Climate Champions Team. Previously, Shivi worked with Leaders’ Quest (LQ), a social enterprise that helps leaders and companies align profit with purpose. At LQ, she helped build and deliver client programmes and experiential journeys in China, India, Israel, Palestine, the US and UK. Shivi originally joined LQ to help grow the Leaders’ Quest Foundation and its grassroots leadership development programme in India. She began her career studying finance, and worked as a consultant with a global audit firm.

In 2022, Shivi was part of an expedition to Antarctica curated by 2041 Foundation, an organization whose mission is to inspire youth and future generations to preserve Antarctica. Shivi is deeply passionate about driving sustainable and ethical change. Over the last decade, her global experience in the business and development sector has given her the ability to bring solutions to the table – in the conference room and on-the-ground. 

In addition to seeing herself as a lifelong dreamer, and a struggling pianist, Shivi loves travelling, reading, exploring underwater life, and animals. She dreams of opening an animal shelter with her partner one day!

Sombul Munshi

Sombul is the Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDE) Engagement Lead at the Climate Champions Team (CCT). She is a sustainability, policy and social impact specialist with over 9 years of experience - gained across Asia and the US.

Prior to CCT, she held the position of Senior Consultant in EY India’s Climate Change practice, working as an Engagement Manager, to support climate action efforts by leading Asia-based and global companies - with a focus on private sector climate finance.

Previously, she has worked with industry leaders, subject matter experts, and policy specialists across UN agencies including UNICEF, ILO,  UNCDF, and UNDP. This includes diverse experience across thematic areas with the cross-cutting lens of climate, sustainability and ESG- inclusive finance, gender, corporate responsibility, and public policy in EMDEs. Her primary geographic focus of work pertains to emerging markets, especially in Asia.

Sombul is currently based in India. She is a member of the Global Shapers – a youth-focused initiative of the World Economic Forum, and holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University, where she specialized in inclusive finance and economic development.

Stephen Davison

Stephen is the Higher Education Lead for the Climate Champions Team, with a background in academic relations, partnership development, and institutional strategy. He has been a member of the University of Cambridge since 2008 where he has held a number of roles, including leading the University’s public affairs engagement and managing international strategic partnerships, before joining Cambridge Zero as Director of Strategy in 2020. 

Stephen is the International Lead for the UK Universities Climate Network, a member of the organizing committee for the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, and co-convenor of the Network of Networks – a forum of international HE Climate Networks. He is a former Senior Officer of the League of European Research Universities and the International Alliance of Research Universities, and a founding member of the Russel Group Political Affairs Network. He has degrees from the University of Hull and the University of Exeter, and is a Professional By-Fellow of Churchill College.

Jen Austin

Prior to the joining the Climate Champions Team, Jen was the Policy Director for the We Mean Business coalition where she led the coalition’s global policy strategy, working with coalition partners and the world’s leading businesses to articulate a compelling business case for ambitious climate policy around the world. Prior to We Mean Business, Jen served as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. State Department. Jen has experience in international climate policy, economics, diplomacy, and strategic communications, having also worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for both of President Obama's presidential campaigns. Jen's first jobs out of college were as a reporter for a daily newspaper in Uganda and with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia. Jen has a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School where she wrote her thesis about global carbon markets, and got her undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She is based in Washington, DC.

Lisa Larsen

Lisa has a long track record of building, developing and leading high performing teams and social purpose organizations. Over the past 20 years she has worked in senior roles related to public service research and consultancy, including the Behavioural Insights Team, Accenture and the Nordic sustainability house, Ramboll.

She combines operational expertise with a deep understanding of what it takes to shape high performing teams and deliver social impact - from strategy to implementation; performance improvement; budget management; proposals and fundraising; thought leadership and market positioning; research and evaluation.

In addition to her role with the Climate Champions Team, Lisa leads a module in Health Policy Delivery, part of an MSc programme at Imperial College London.  She holds a Cand.Scient.Pol in Political Science from Copenhagen University.

Daniela Lerario

Daniela is a biologist and mother of three, residing on an island in Southeast Brazil. With over six years of experience in climate change and action, she brings a strong background in pollution management, circular economy, and socioecology. Daniela serves as a council member of Sistema B Brasil and is actively involved with the boards of Instituto Talanoa, Instituto Oyá, Climate Ventures, and ProduBanco.

Her career began in the dynamic world of street waste pickers and cooperative work, which allowed her to develop a deep understanding of social and environmental challenges in underserved communities. Daniela holds an MBA in waste management and has worked in both the public and private sectors.

An advocate for resilient climate development, her work focuses on building bridges and aligning narratives to stimulate collaborative, science-based action led by non-state and subnational actors in the region. Daniela was also a member of The New Plastics Economy initiative with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and served as a panel expert for the influential study “Breaking the Plastic Wave” (Pew Charitable Trusts and SystemiQ). Since 2019, she has been a resident at the House of Beautiful Business.

Monica Arabe

Monica is the Brazil Business Engagement Manager and has joined the Climate Champions Team as a secondee from Strategy&, PwC’s global strategy consulting business. As the Brazil Engagement Manager, Monica has the primary responsibility for shaping and implementing the High Level Champions engagement objectives and strategies in Brazil, helping the CCT deliver on an ambitious LAC regional engagement plan for COP29 and build momentum towards COP30. At Strategy&, Monica is working with the Energy, Utilities & Natural Resources team to help Brazilian businesses decarbonize and create low-carbon and resilient business models. Before joining Strategy&, Monica worked as a Sustainability and Climate Change Consultant and as a Researcher on Corporate Sustainability, having built her entire career on helping business leaders to transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy. Monica has an MBA from Esade Business School, in Barcelona / Spain, and two Bachelor’s degrees from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) – one in Environmental Engineering and the other in Psychology. She is now based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, but you can often find her in São Paulo.

Braulio Díaz Castro

Braulio Diaz joins Climate Champions Team as LAC Manager.

Braulio has worked for more than 12 years advising local and regional governments, and city networks in Latin America and Europe on issues related to climate change, sustainable development, governance, diplomacy and cooperation.

He has been consultant for UN agencies, EU programs, and before joining the CCT led the international relations and advocacy agenda at ICLEI South America.

Braulio holds a degree in international relations, a master in municipal development and postgraduate studies in political-strategic analysis, citizen participation and international cooperation.

A Mexican passionate on connecting people and local communities and traditions.

Anish Chandra

Coming soon

Bharat Nagar

Hellen Wanjohi-Opil

Hellen works as the Resilience African Cities Lead at the World Resources Institute (WRI) and is on full-time secondment to the Climate Champions. She holds an Msc.(Climate Change & Adaptation) as well as a B.A.(Urban and Regional Planning). She has over twelve years of experience within both the rural and urban space in Africa, particularly working at the grassroots with vulnerable communities. Hellen has been involved in participatory planning for land tenure regularization and infrastructure development in over 20 informal settlements, and planning with marginalized communities in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (ASALs).

Hellen has also worked extensively with city, regional and national authorities in the preparation of over 15 development plans in Kenya and Rwanda. Her experience also includes consulting work on multiple donor-funded projects in the areas of climate resilience, urban governance, urban investment planning, policy, gender, and social inclusion. Hellen also has previously consulted for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) providing technical expertise on county spatial planning, and at the Climate Change Planning Unit at UN-Habitat.

Hellen is based in Nairobi, Kenya, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Naira Hatem

Currently based in Cairo, Naira holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Cairo University, excellent degree with honors. Naira is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Political Science from Cairo University. She was awarded a scholarship for an exchange year at the University of Chicago. Naira speaks English, Arabic and have some basic knowledge of French.

Her previous experience was with the United Nations Environment Programme, Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) as the MENA team intern, where she was a key player in several MENA activities. Naira assisted in the launch of the UN Reflective Cycle Report in English and French, and participated in the Arab Sustainable Development Week (ASDW).

During her undergraduate years, Naira interned with several ministries in Egypt as the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and the Institute of Diplomatic Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has also joined the UN Resident Coordinator office in Egypt (UNRCO) as an advocate for a UN initiative titled: SDGs Advocacy Programme where she sought to promote the SDGs amongst different communities in Egypt.

Claire Duthuit

As part of the Senior Leadership Team, Claire supports and empowers the Strategic Communications and Events Team, driving ambitious global climate action, showcasing real economy solutions and facilitating collaboration among diverse sustainability leaders worldwide. Claire and the team amplify the work of the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and real economy leaders through strategic media engagement, dynamic social media outreach, compelling storytelling and engaging events.

Claire brings to the Champions more than 15 years’ international experience at the forefront of the global issues that matter most — from designing an award-winning climate campaign with a reach of three billion people for the UN Secretary-General, to developing new ways for nonprofits to up-level their success across Facebook, Instagram and the Metaverse. A decade working across 150 countries with the United Nations, experience partnering with the likes of Nike, H&M and Disney on effective ESG, and a role leading engagement strategy at Meta have allowed Claire to build a reputation for creativity, leadership with integrity and high-stakes brand management.

Claire holds Masters degrees in both Visual Media and Social Anthropology, as well as a University of Cambridge diploma in High Impact Sustainability Leadership.

Catherine Harte

Catherine began her career as a journalist for the BBC in London and the Middle East, covering news and current affairs from across the globe. She produced the award winning Doha Debates for BBC World - the only public forum for free speech in the Middle East at the time. Catherine has also worked in the US, producing NPR’s foremost current affairs show On Point. 

As a commissioning producer for Al Jazeera’s flagship environment show Earthrise, Catherine worked with a global network of filmmakers to bring stories of impactful grassroot climate action to the small screen. This cemented her passion for the most important story of our time - the all pervasive issues of climate change. She’s also produced a number of special series for the Outrage + Optimism climate podcast, co-hosted by former UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.

Catherine formerly held Strategic Communications positions with H+K Strategies and the Qatari government’s Education Above All foundation. She currently leads on  editorial content and media engagement for the Climate Champions.

Charlotte Owen-Burge

Charlotte has worked as a journalist and editor in Brussels and London since 2008.

She began her career as an environment correspondent, specialising in EU energy and climate policy before working in London as a magazine editor. From 2014-2020 she was the BBC’s Senior Commercial Editor, delivering multimedia content campaigns on platforms that included BBC World News and BBC Earth. She holds a degree in Politics from Bristol University.

Any spare time Charlotte has is spent outdoors, sharing her passion for nature with her two young children and working on her website The Skylark.

Guilherme Larsen

Guilherme is a seasoned communications professional with solid expertise in creating campaigns and messages to engage international organizations, civil society, governments, the private sector, and the media about climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals. He joined the Climate Champions Team from the United Nations Development Programme, where he held several positions for almost a decade and had the opportunity to implement communications strategies at the national and global levels. His experience also includes a solid background in broadcasting, TV reporter, news producer, and press advisor for different public and private companies. Outdoor sports - particularly mountains-, reading, and spending time with his family are his passions.

Nick Hay

Nick is a communications specialist with a passion for shaping creative communications to support the shift to a net zero, nature positive future. Nick has worked in sustainability communications for most of his career. His experience includes leading the cleantech practice at a global PR firm; where he helped scale up climate solutions ranging from renewables, to smart cities, to energy storage. As a member of the Carbon Trust’s communications team, Nick also led campaigns in support of the trust’s carbon footprinting and advisory services.

Nick leads Storied – a specialist communications practice dedicated to shaping credible stories to spark systems change.

Fabio Scaffidi-Argentina

Fabio is a communications specialist with nearly half a decade of experience in international climate action. At the Climate Champions he has worked on strategy, website, publications, digital marketing, PR and campaigns. He previously coordinated the comms and marketing at Outrage + Optimism, a Global Optimism podcast, and helped the Climate Investment Challenge, an academic non-profit, become the globally largest student-led climate finance competition in 2021.

Fabio obtained his MSc in Strategic Marketing at Imperial College London — where he currently guest lectures — and BA in International Business and German at the University of Reading. He grew up around Europe and is multilingual. He enjoys the outdoors as well as sports, such as scuba diving and skiing.

Jan Kairel Guillermo

Jan is a passionate youth leader and driven climate change advocate, whose 2013 experience of surviving Super Typhoon Yolanda has greatly affected him. In his time as a government official, he focused on youth, legislation, culture and the arts and also led the Philippine delegation at several international events.

His professional history includes positions at Carnegie Climate Governance and the World Meteorological Organization, demonstrating his commitment to climate governance. Jan was instrumental in the development of the Water and Climate Youth Development Plan and Agenda and played a pivotal role in the 2023 UN Water Conference.

Jan graduated Arts Management at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore, and he uses the arts to educate youth about the climate crisis. He has spoken at numerous global youth events and served as the 2020-2021 COY Liaison of YOUNGO and the lead of the 16th UN Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY16) Global Affairs Unit.

Rhiannon Ledger

Rhiannon works within the Climate Champions Events team, curating diverse and impactful events. Previously she supported the High Level Climate Champion, Nigel Topping, as his Executive Assistant. Prior to working with the Climate Champions, Rhiannon worked as a Programme Coordinator at Leaders’ Quest, where she worked on programming, logistics and delivery of leadership development programmes and workshops around the world. Rhiannon has also produced events and carried out research on the future of work and the workplace and has a BSc in Business & Management from Aston University. She enjoys collaborating with diverse teams from around the globe, to bridge gaps, build connections and enhance the impact of business on people and the planet.

Pershang Hama Karim

Peshang Hama Karim is completing his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences, majoring in Hydrology. He brings a wealth of experience from the World Meteorological Organization and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Program. He is a prolific writer and has contributed significantly to the scientific discourse on climate issues with many publications, and he has been a speaker at multiple events at COP27 & COP28. Co-founding the Jingedosty Environmental Organization reflects his commitment to local environmental action. His dedication extends to coordinating and organising programs and sessions at UN Conferences like COP26, COP27, COP28, RCOY APAC 2022, RCOY EE 2023, and the UN Water Conference, showcasing his commitment to shaping a sustainable future for the next generation.

Lisa Larsen

Lisa has a long track record of building, developing and leading high performing teams and social purpose organizations. Over the past 20 years she has worked in senior roles related to public service research and consultancy, including the Behavioural Insights Team, Accenture and the Nordic sustainability house, Ramboll.

She combines operational expertise with a deep understanding of what it takes to shape high performing teams and deliver social impact - from strategy to implementation; performance improvement; budget management; proposals and fundraising; thought leadership and market positioning; research and evaluation.

In addition to her role with the Climate Champions Team, Lisa leads a module in Health Policy Delivery, part of an MSc programme at Imperial College London.  She holds a Cand.Scient.Pol in Political Science from Copenhagen University.

Amanda Manuel

Coming soon

Susmita Mishra

Susmita Mishra holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Sociology. She has efficiently led and coordinated multiple teams across diverse projects at national, regional, and international levels. During her previous experience at the World Meteorological Organization, she focused on administrative functions and forging partnerships for the youth pillar within the Water and Climate Coalition, demonstrating her dedication to empowering young voices in climate and water initiatives.

She has extensive experience in delegate relations and logistics management for six national conferences and seven youth events of various UN conferences, including COP26, COP27, and the UN Water Conference.

Amrita Menon

Amrita serves as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Director of Strategy and Director of Campaigns. Prior to joining the Climate Champions Team, she worked as a Legislative Assistant to an Indian Member of Parliament, where she supported her with policy research and analysis. She also worked as an associate at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, a foreign policy think tank based in Mumbai. She holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Hertie School in Berlin, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Sophia College for Women in Mumbai.

Maren Pott

Maren Pott is the Business Manager and Water Lead at the Climate Champions team. She is a climate action and sustainable development professional with a diverse international background. With experience spanning roles in the United Nations, start-ups, and development organizations, Maren has demonstrated a strong commitment to driving positive change. She holds dual Master’s degrees in International Management and Business and Development Studies, reflecting her expertise in strategy, cross-cultural leadership, and sustainable development. Maren enjoys spending time outside growing a mini garden on her balcony.

Dr Thomas Hale

Tom is Associate Professor in Global Public Policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. His research explores how political institutions evolve–or not–to face the challenges raised by globalization and interdependence, with a particular emphasis on environmental, economic, and health issues. He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, a Master of Global Politics from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. His books include Beyond Gridlock (Polity 2017), Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), and Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014). Tom leads the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker.

Peter Boyd

Peter Boyd is Lecturer at Yale School of the Environment and Resident Fellow at Center for Business and the Environment. Outside Yale, he is Founder & CEO of Time4Good, helping Leaders and their teams build purpose-driven paths to maximum impact. He also serves as an advisor to REDD.plus and Chair of ‘Sustainable Westport’ in his hometown of Connecticut. For over twenty years he has worked on, led and advised, high-growth organizations on purpose-driven leadership and the transition to net-zero and beyond. He was Launch Director and COO of Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room; served as Chair of The Energy Efficiency Deployment Office for the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change; and led The B Team’s ‘Net-Zero by 2050’ initiative focused on business encouragement of an ambitious Paris Agreement at COP21. The Charity & Government experience followed twelve years at the Virgin Group (including CEO of Virgin Mobile South Africa), and his first job with McKinsey & Co.

Dr Nate Aden

Nate Aden leads the Science Based Targets initiative’s work with financial institutions. He has been with SBTi since 2015 and over the years has contributed to the technical foundations of the initiative, including previously leading the chemicals sector work. In addition to SBTi, Nate is a Senior Fellow with the World Resources Institute’s Climate Program.  Nate has more than 20 years of experience working on industry, trade, energy, and climate in Asia, the U.S., and Europe. He has authored or co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and reports, including “Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070“. He works with financial institutions, industry associations, and other stakeholders to help them set Science-Based Targets for GHG emissions reductions. His research on country low-carbon transformation has been written up in the New York Times and he is a frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences.  Nate holds a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. In his free time, Nate enjoys rock climbing, biking, and swimming in lakes.

Dr. Manjyot Kaur Ahluwalia

Manjyot is the Senior Program Officer, US and International Climate Cooperation at World Wildlife Fund-US and provides strategic support to the Alliances for Climate Action on behalf of WWF and its global partners, a growing body of multistakeholder national alliances across North America, Latin America, Africa and the Asia Pacific to accelerate the transition to an inclusive 1.5C aligned net-zero future by 2050. Manjyot holds a PhD in Public Administration and Environmental Policy from the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, DC, a Masters in Corporate Sustainability from the School of Sustainability, at Arizona State University, and a BA in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India.

Jesica Andrews

Jesica is a Senior Project Manager at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, where she leads portfolio target-setting with investors in the UN-Convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance. She also serves as the Co-Director of the Investor Agenda Investor Climate Action Plans Working Group. Prior to working with UNEP FI, she worked on climate change projects across with multiple UN agencies, governments and private firms across some 35 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Jes supports investors in understanding climate risk and aligning with the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics and holds a Master of Finance from the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School.

Dr Lisa Benjamin

Lisa Benjamin is an Assistant Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland Oregon. Her research includes climate impacts and actions of non-state actors, including companies and institutional investors, with a focus on energy companies. Her doctoral studies focused on carbon major companies, corporate and energy law and climate change, and is the basis for her monograph with Cambridge University Press Companies and Climate Change: Theory and Law in the United Kingdom (April 2021). She is currently a member of the Compliance Committee (Facilitative Branch) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, nominated by GRULAC states, and a Director of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center.

Lisa received her B.A. from McGill University, her LL.B. from University College London, her LL.M. from University of London and her PhD from the University of Leicester. In 2018 she was a postdoctoral Global Leaders Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University, and 2019 she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in Canada. Prior to academia, she was in private practice for eight years, as an associate in the commercial department of CMS Cameron McKenna in London (now CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP), and was a legal advisor to The Bahamian Government in the Paris Agreement negotiations.

Derik Broekhoff

Derik is a Senior Scientist with the Stockholm Environment Institute, where his work focuses on the effective design and implementation of environmental market mechanisms, and assessing subnational and local climate mitigation policies. Prior to joining SEI, Derik was Vice President for Policy at the Climate Action Reserve in Los Angeles, where he oversaw development of the Reserve’s voluntary carbon offset program and its transition into California’s regulatory cap-and-trade program. Before that, he served on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative team at the World Resources Institute, where he managed work on the design of emissions trading programs and greenhouse gas accounting standards. Derik has a Master of Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Bachelor of International Relations from Stanford University.

Edward Collin

Edward has led InfluenceMap’s research on lobbying and corporate influence (LobbyMap) since 2017, having joined the company in 2015. Working with a team of dedicated analysts, Ed manages InfluenceMap’s system for tracking and assessing the climate change lobbying of world’s largest 400 industrial companies and their key trade associations. He represents the LobbyMap to InfluenceMap’s key stakeholders in the finance, corporate, civil society and policymaker sectors. Before InfluenceMap, Ed completed a Masters at the London School of Economics.

Maurits Dolman

Maurits is a lawyer with the international firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP since 1985. He practiced antitrust law in Brussels and London since 1986 with a focus on innovation, and became involved in climate matters almost a decade ago.  He is Special Legal Advisor to UNEP-FI, provides pro bono advice to various climate NGOs and climate technology startups, and is engaged in sustainable policy advocacy in various jurisdictions.  He has written on EU, UK, and US antitrust policy and sustainability, sustainable fiduciary duties, and climate litigation, and is active in the Net Zero Lawyers’ Alliance. Maurits has a Master of Laws from Leiden University, The Netherlands, and an LL.M. from Columbia University New York. He is a member of the bars of New York and Rotterdam (The Netherlands), and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of England and Wales.

Dr. Joni Jupesta

Since 2023, Dr Joni Jupesta rejoined UNU-IAS based in Tokyo, Japan as Research Fellow and Academic Associate. He started his academic career firstly at UNU-IAS as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2010-2013) and later became Visiting Research Fellow (2013-2016). From 2020 to 2023, he was Senior Researcher in System Analysis Group at the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) in Kyoto, Japan where he focused on mid- and long-term net-zero GHG emissions through Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR), Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), and Low Energy Demand (LED) across sectors. Dr Jupesta gained industry experience as Senior Manager on corporate GHG emissions at Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food Company based in Jakarta, Indonesia (2013-2020).

He graduated his PhD in Management Science and Technology from Tohoku University in 2010, and MBA in International Industrial Management from Esslingen University of Applied Science in 2006. He had received several awards for his research work, such as the Green Talent Award 2012 from the German government and the Mitra Award 2013 from the Asia Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN-GCR), among others. Dr Jupesta is in Editorial Board Member of Carbon Capture Science and Technology (Elsevier) and Data and Policy (Cambridge University Press) journals. In 2023 he was elected as Task Force Bureau Member on National GHG Inventories of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for its 7th cycle (2023-2030). Previously he served as Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report on WG III Climate Change Mitigation (2018-2022). Since 2023 he became Technical Expert in GHG inventory of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also served as the Member of Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and Scope 3 Sectoral Development Group (S3SDG) Verra.

Takeshi Kuramochi

Takeshi Kuramochi is a senior climate policy research at NewClimate Institute. With more than 15 years of research experience, he leads projects analysing greenhouse emission scenarios for major emitting economies as well as subnational and non-state actors. Takeshi has published more than thirty peer-reviewed articles and numerous other research reports. Since 2016, Takeshi contributes to the annual UNEP Emissions Gap Reports as a lead author on the chapter assessing G20 countries’ progress on emission reductions. Externally, Takeshi serves as a member of Science Base Targets initiative’s Scientific Advisory Group.

Prior to NewClimate, Takeshi worked as a senior climate policy researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan, where he carried out extensive research on Japan’s climate and energy policies as well as on the international negotiations for the post-2020 climate regime. Between 2006 and 2011 Takeshi worked as a researcher on carbon capture and storage technologies at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University (the Netherlands), where he is currently a visiting researcher.

Takeshi holds an M.Sc. (environmental sciences) and a Ph.D. (energy system analysis) degrees from Utrecht University, and a B.Eng. degree in chemical engineering and biotechnology from the University of Tokyo, Japan. A full list of his publications can be found on Google Scholar.

Kennedy Liti Mbeva

Kennedy is currently a PhD candidate at the School of Social and Political Sciences, and the Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne. He is also the Co-Convenor of the African Research & Impact Network (ARIN). Kennedy’s research examines the role of trade policy in global climate governance. Kennedy has previously worked in public policy research and served in international climate diplomacy.

Malango Mughogho

Malango Mughogho is the founder and MD of ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance, which exists to solve the critical sustainability issues facing stakeholders in the finance and financing sectors, both large and small.  ZeniZeni views finance as an integral part of any economy and a key tool in delivering sustainable growth and development. Using a unique targeted and integrated approach, ZeniZeni provides a targeted range of services and solutions to governments, financial institutions, development banks, funds and NGOs that help them harness finance to deliver sustainable development. She has over 20 years’ experience in the field of finance in Africa, including 4 years leading sustainable finance work at an international NGO, 6 years in sustainability consulting and 10 years in corporate and development finance. Her expertise spans strategy, policy, programming, financing and advocacy.

Mariana Nicolletti

Mariana is a Senior Research Manager at C40 Cities, where she leads climate mitigation research projects related to clean energy transition, building retrofits and 15-minute Cities. Prior to working with C40, she served as Regional Manager for Low Carbon and Resilience at ICLEI South America and, before, she worked for ten years leading mitigation and adaptation projects in applied research at the Center for Sustainability Studies of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGVces) in collaboration with national and local governments, as well as large companies and civil society in Brazil. She has also coordinated programs on water management, nature-based solutions and sustainable value chains. A cross-cutting theme that Mariana has been researching and embedding in projects and actions is climate justice; it was a central focus in her PhD research on climate change adaptation as transformational policies in cities. She holds a PhD in Public Administration and Government from FGV EAESP and Robert Gordon University, and a Master of Social Psychology from the University of São Paulo.

Jessica Omukuti

Jessica Omukuti is a Research Fellow on Inclusive Net Zero for the Oxford Net Zero Initiative and is based at the Institute of Science Innovation and Society (InSIS). Her research critically examines whether and how the net zero concept enables greater equity and justice in climate action by state and non-state actors in emerging economies and developing countries.  She was a member of the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Expert Group (UNHLEG) on Credibility and Accountability of Net Zero by Non-State Actors. She has previously worked in both research and practice related to the governance of climate change in developing countries and emerging economies. She has a PhD in climate justice and climate finance from the University of Reading (2020), an MSc in Climate Change and Development from the University of Sussex and a BSc in Meteorology from the University of Nairobi.

Irene Suárez Pérez

Irene led the nature team at Climate Champions and, prior to that, held the position of Lead for Nature-Based Solutions for the United Nations Secretary-General in preparation for the Climate Action Summit. She also led the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) at the UNFCCC negotiations for the Katowice rule book where she had previously led negotiations on adaptation and loss and damage for the Paris Agreement. She also was lead UNFCCC negotiator for Costa Rica, whilst she was senior climate advisor for The Nature Conservancy work on climate change. She is an economist by training and specialized in development studies in The Netherlands. She is the mother of Javier and loves being in nature and trekking.

Dr Yixian Sun

Yixian Sun is a Lecturer in International Development at the University of Bath, specializing in China’s role in global environmental and climate governance. He previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale and holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Yixian is the author of Certifying China (MIT Press, 2022) and has published in leading journals on environmental policy and politics.

Thomas Tayler

Tom leads Aviva Investors’ advocacy with policymakers and regulators on climate change and finance as a member of our Sustainable Finance Centre for Excellence. His work prioritises engagement to seek correction of market failures and management of systemic risks, with particular focus on the need for reform of the international financial architecture to embed climate and sustainability at its heart.  He supports the work of Aviva Investors and the wider Aviva group on sustainable finance with a particular focus on market and regulatory reform, including contributing to the work of the UN High Level Climate Champions, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), the EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, the UK Green Finance Taskforce, and the UN Global Investors for Sustainable Development Tom has worked with policymakers, peers and NGOs on key policy reforms and thought leadership in sustainable finance over the past 7 years. Prior to joining Aviva Investors, he held positions at Allen & Overy LLP, the Department of the Treasury Solicitor, Beachcroft LLP and the University of Law. Tom is a qualified solicitor with an MA (Oxon) in Jurisprudence from the Queen’s College Oxford.

Natalie Unterstell

Natalie Unterstell is on a mission to build a net-zero and deforestation-free world. She is the President of Talanoa think tank in Brazil and also serves as the Chair to the Green Climate Fund’s Accreditation Panel. Natalie has served as the Head of Sustainable Development for the Brazilian Presidency, Head of Climate Change and Forests at the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, and as a climate and forests negotiator at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is the founder of multiple think tanks and policy advocacy groups focused on climate leadership, and she serves as advisor to various initiatives. She received a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Unterstell also holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Fundaçao Getulio Vargas in Brazil and is an expert in Climate Adaptation Finance certified by the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany.

Virginia Vilariño

Virginia has a degree in Environmental Sciences, with Specialization in Chemical Sciences and Environment, Specialization in Policies and Instruments of Environmental Management and Master in Project Evaluation. She is Climate and Energy Manager at the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Argentina (CEADS). CEADS is the local chapter of the WBCSD, a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. Since 2004, she has been leading programs and initiatives to promote climate action in the business sector, both individually and collaboratively among sectors and actors, through business-led solutions across renewable energy, circular economy, sustainable food system, natural climate solutions and SDGs. Most recently, her work is focused on promoting carbon disclosure and science based targets among companies in the region, in alliance with CDP Latin America. Currently she is Lead Author of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on Climate Change Mitigation and previously was Lead Author of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and the Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5°C above Pre-industrial Levels. She is a member of the Climate Policy Working Group of the WBCSD. She participates in the expanded round-table of the National Climate Change Cabinet in Argentina, promoting business engagement in climate policy. She is a Member of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Private Sector Engagement in Climate Policy Processes in Latin America, facilitated by the EUROCLIMA+ Program, GIZ, the Regional Platform of Low Emission Resilient Development Strategies (LEDS LAC) and INCAE Business School. She acted as Expert Member of ISO Working group on GHG management in the value chain and been engaged in the development or pilot testing of GHG Protocol standards for agriculture and land sector. She also presents seminars and is a visiting lecturer at various academic institutions.

Emma Watson

Emma is Head of Standards at the Science Based Targets initiative. Emma oversees the Standards Team that develops and maintains SBTi’s cross-sector standards. This includes near-term science-based targets, the Corporate Net-Zero Standard, and the emerging Net-Zero for Financial Institutions and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Standards. Emma led the development of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard – the first standard for setting corporate net-zero targets in line with climate science.  Prior to joining the SBTi, Emma was the lead for science-based targets at Accenture’s Carbon Intelligence – a service which she developed and brought to market.  Emma has extensive knowledge of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standards and co-authored the UK Green Building Council’s Guide to Scope 3 Reporting in Commercial Real Estate.  Emma has an MSc in Carbon Management and BSc with Honours in Environmental Science, both from the University of Edinburgh and is based in London.

Marco Billi

Marco Billi is a professor at the Department of Rural Management and Innovation of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Chile. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from the Universitá Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Italy, and a Master’s degree in Systemic Analysis Applied to Society from the University of Chile. He obtained his PhD in Political Processes and Institutions from the Adolfo Ibáñez University, Chile. He is an interdisciplinary researcher with experience in both academic research and consulting in Chile, Latin America and Europe. He is a researcher at the CR2 Climate and Resilience Science Center, Chile, and is currently the Technical Leader of the Technical Secretariat of the Race to Resilience campaign, hosted at the CR2. His research focuses on risk analysis, resilience building, governance and the science-policy interface, with a particular focus on climate change and water, energy and food security. He was a contributing author to Chile’s 4th National Communication to the UNFCCC and an expert reviewer for the IPCC report “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”.

Lydia Dai

Lydia is a Masters candidate in Environmental Systems and Policy at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a BSc in Environmental Science from University College London, UK. Her focus is climate adaptation and resilience, nature, and adaptation finance. She has 3 years of experience in international climate policy as a Party delegate, youth leader, and working with the adaptation division of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Her research work spans the science-policy interface, with a focus on assessing climate impacts on water availability and global climate finance to catalyze holistic approaches at the water-food nexus in climate adaptation projects.

Juan Carlos Varela

Sociologist and candidate for a Master's degree in Applied Systems Analysis for Society at the University of Chile, he focuses on climate resilience and socio-ecological studies. He works as a metrics analyst for the Race to Resilience campaign at the CR2 Climate and Resilience Science Center, Chile. He also works on science-policy interface studies and future scenarios at the Nucleus of Transdisciplinary Systemic Studies (NEST-R3), contributing both in research and teaching.

Carla Lanyon

Carla Lanyon is an Engineer in Renewable Natural Resources from the University of Chile, with a specialization in resilience and socio-ecological systems acquired at the Stockholm Resilience Centre of Stockholm University. Currently, she works as a researcher at the Energy Center of the University of Chile and collaborates with Línea Ciudades of the Center for Climate and Resilience Science (CR2) and the Nucleus of Transdisciplinary Systemic Studies (NEST-R3). Carla has a solid track record in inter and transdisciplinary approaches oriented to energy transition, biodiversity and climate change. Her experience includes the use of participatory and qualitative methodologies, working directly with indigenous and rural communities, as well as with state and private organizations. Her main areas of interest include climate justice, fair energy transition, socio-ecological transformations, gender perspective and co-production of knowledge.

Paz Cardenas

Paz holds a degree in Sociology from the University of Chile, with cultural studies at the University of Barcelona. She is currently studying the 4Cities: Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Urban Studies, a joint program of 6 European universities. She specializes in organizational sociology, with a focus on socio-natural disasters and resilience to climate change. She is an expert in qualitative and quantitative research methods, epistemology, and has extensive experience in higher education research. Passionate about scientific dissemination and audiovisual media. Advocate of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to knowledge creation and problem solving.

Pilar Moraga

Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. She is a lawyer from the same university, with a master's degree and doctorate in Law from the University of Lille 2, France. She is currently Director of the CR2 Climate and Resilience Science Center and the Environmental Law Center; she is also an associate researcher at the Solar Energy Center, SERC-Chile. She has numerous publications on environmental law, climate change and energy.

Eugenia Gayo

Assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Chile since 2023. She is a biologist from the University of Concepción and holds a PhD in Biological Sciences with a major in Ecology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her research focuses on historical ecology, addressing different dimensions on the articulation of dynamics and feedbacks between biophysical and social systems at different spatial and temporal scales (from thousands of years to decades). She has participated as an expert evaluator for the AR5 and AR6 reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and acted as Chile's delegate to the IPCC between 2022 and 2023.

Paulina Aldunce

Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources at the University of Chile. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on the management of socio-natural disasters, adaptation and transformation to climate change, and art for climate action. She was the lead author of the Special Report “Managing the Risks of Extreme Weather Events and Disasters to Enhance Adaptation to Climate Change” (SREX) and the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and editor of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the IPCC.

Anahi Urquiza

Professor of the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Social Work at the University of Chile. She is a Social Anthropologist and holds a Master's degree in Anthropology and Development from the same university, and a PhD in Sociology from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and from the Environment and Society Program at the Rachel Carson Center, Germany. She is an expert in systems theory. Her areas of research focus on the relationship between environment and society, especially water vulnerability, energy transitions, inter- and transdisciplinarity, governance and resilience to climate change. Currently, she is Director of Innovation at the University of Chile and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

Laura Gallardo

Professor at the Department of Geophysics of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Chile. She obtained a PhD in Chemical Meteorology from Stockholm University, Sweden. She was an expert advisor at the National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA) between 1997 and 2001. Between 2001 and 2012 she was an associate researcher at the Center for Mathematical Modeling. Her lines of research are atmospheric modeling and data assimilation, air quality in megacities, and short-lived climate forcing. She was the first director of CR2, between 2013 and 2019. She was lead author of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is currently Vice-President of Group II of the IPCC.

Roxana Borquez

Professor at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Chile. She is an engineer in Natural Resources, and holds a Master's degree in Management and Public Policy from the same university. She has a PhD in Geography and Policy Studies from King's College London, United Kingdom. She has experience as a researcher and consultant, working with national and international teams. Her research has focused on knowledge co-production, the science-policy-society interface and governance in areas such as adaptation and resilience to climate change, water, glaciers and energy. She was a contributing author to the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

Susana Bustos

Industrial Civil Engineer from the University of Chile, Project Management funded with European funds from ESADE Business School. She has recently trained and participated in the preparation of proposals for Horizon Europe at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. She is currently responsible for coordinating and supervising the fulfillment of objectives and tasks of the management team. Additionally, she supports the board of directors in the strategic management of the center, is responsible for strengthening ties with actors from the public-private sector and academia, and for the creation of new relationships with strategic actors at national and international level. She is currently a member of the board of directors of the Foundation for Technology Transfer – UNTEC.

Nicole Aspee

Nicolle Aspee is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, UK. She holds an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from The Bartlett Development Planning Unit at University College London, UK, and a BSc in Geography from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. With extensive experience in climate change adaptation and sustainability strategies across multiple sectors and levels, Nicolle is exploring transdisciplinary approaches to address complex challenges at the science-policy interface.

Priscilla Berríos

Priscilla Berríos holds a Master in Business Administration from High Point University in the United States and a BSc in Environmental Engineering from Valparaíso University in Chile. She has 17 years of professional experience in the direction, management and operation of projects in areas such as health in the USA, and in health, education and environment in Chile. Her trajectory can be summarized in the management of projects as well as the development and launching of units and interdisciplinary teams and centers for different organizations in Chile.

She is currently the Project Manager of the Race to Resilience's Technical Secretariat, hosted by Centre for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2 in Chile where she coordinates the technical secretariat's work. She also works in the General Direction of Institutional Development and Quality Assurance of Valparaíso University in Chile, is part of the Hub for Transdisciplinary Systemic Studies (NEST-R3) and is a volunteer in climate action organizations.

Emilie Beauchamp

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Ana Maria Loboguerrero

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Anand Patwardhan

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Md Nurul Alam

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Tariq Al-Olaimy

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Jia Li

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Jennifer Shaw

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Shehnaaz Moosa

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Marta Olazabal

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Revathi Sharma

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Karl Schultz

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Patricia villarroel

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