Aaron Kiely is responsible for the development and implementation of C40’s new flagship Global Youth Initiative, working with C40 mayors and young activists to create a Global Youth and Mayors Climate Forum capable of building a shared agenda to drive forward climate solutions, and engaging youth leaders in urban climate action.
Prior to joining C40, Aaron co-led Friends of the Earth’s climate campaign in the UK. He worked to grow and empower a network of 200 activist groups to campaign for socially just climate action both locally and nationally. He was involved in the successful legal challenge to halt expansion of Heathrow airport, and has campaigned on air pollution and fracking. He played a leading role in organising the largest ever UK climate demonstration ahead of the Paris climate talks in 2015.
Previously Aaron was elected to represent 1 million students of African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean descent at the National Union of Students UK. Aaron organised inspiring and successful campaigns that dramatically increased the number of Black representatives in the student movement, effectively challenged racism and halted deportations of international students. Aaron also has experience in local government where he has served as an elected representative.
Aaron has a BSc in Sociology and Social Policy from London Metropolitan University.
Abigail is C40’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Manager. She is responsible for C40’s work in developing ED&I strategy through C40’s programmes and workstreams and monitoring its progress within C40’s internal workforce and culture.
Prior to C40, she served on a special assignment as Programme Specialist for the G20 EMPOWER & Women20. Both groups focus on women’s advocacy under the G20 Indonesia 2022 Presidency.
An advocate for women’s rights, she founded Girls Can Lead in her early 20s; a social initiative established to catalyze the growth of leadership skills among young women in Indonesia, especially those living in rural and conflict-prone areas. Through her work with GCL, she was chosen by the US State Department to join the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative Academic Fellowship in Illinois and Washington D.C., USA.
Abigail obtained her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University College London as a Chevening Scholar and spend one semester during her Bachelor’s degree as a Temasek Scholar exchange student at the National University of Singapore.
Abigail is currently based in Bali, Indonesia. In her spare time, she enjoys practising yoga, playing tennis & badminton, walking by the beach, as well as collecting books to satisfy her needs as an avid reader.
Adam is the Head of Climate Data and Analytics in the Business Planning and Reporting team.
He is responsible for leading our analysis of KPI data like emissions, mode share and air quality and working with colleagues to acquire and analyse new data in critical areas like resilience, equity and health benefits.
Having cerebral palsy, Adam is passionate about equality. He has co-chaired the National Disability Summit for the UK National Health Service (NHS), one of the biggest employers in the world. Subsequently, he is now part of C40’s initiatives around Inclusive Climate Action.
Adam was previously a Mathematician and Statistician for the NHS, Founder and Research Director at Numeration Systems and a Hydrogeologist for the Environment Agency in England.
In addition to environmental data, he has 20 years of experience with health and equity data, producing peer-reviewed publications and presentations to audiences such as Yale and Public Health England. For example, he designed architecture to collate data to remodel health systems and preventative interventions to optimise system cost, emissions and patient outcomes.
Adam is based in Cornwall on the south coast of the UK. As well as enjoying the coast most weekends, Adam watches local rugby and the local music scene. Both his kids are now at university, giving him time to pursue these and new interests.
Agathe is Deputy Director of International Advocacy.
Before this, Agathe was City Diplomacy Manager, where she served to engage C40 members in the C40 City Diplomacy Strategy and support C40’s engagement and participation in intergovernmental climate, urban and development policy-making processes.
Agathe works closely with the Head of City Diplomacy to drive strategic and effective engagement of the C40 network in global climate policy dialogue and to maximise its impact in the global political stage. Prior to joining C40, Agathe managed low-carbon development projects for an international local government network and supported the network’s global climate advocacy strategy and engagement in the UNFCCC process.
Agathe has an interdisciplinary background in climate science, international climate policy and urban planning. Her experience includes research and consulting for international organizations, NGOs, consultancies, local governments and research institutes in Europe, the US, Brazil and Bangladesh. Agathe holds a MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University and joint Master degrees in European Affairs and Urban Sustainable Development from Sciences Po Lille and Lille University of Science and Technology.
Ahmed Mokgopo serves as Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager at C40. In this role, Ahmed supports the development and implementation of C40’s Global Youth and Mayors Forum.
Before joining C40, Ahmed worked as a Campaigns Specialist at 350.org where he led the South Africa teams fossil fuel finance and divestment campaigns. There, he managed 350.org’s efforts in urging the City of Cape Town to commit to divest from fossil fuels. Following Cape Town’s announcement to divest from fossil fuels in 2017, Ahmed headed up the development and implementation of a public finance campaign advocating for South African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to commit to policy that would exclude fossil fuel financing. The campaign enhanced 350’s visibility amongst senior public finance officials through media, public mobilisation and direct engagement. Through this campaign, 350.org became a key partner in stopping the development of the Thabametsi coal fired power plant which was officially cancelled in November 2020.
Before 350.org, Ahmed was a research assistant at Itad an international development consultancy where he supported a global programme evaluating the role of markets in poverty reduction. Ahmed holds a Master’s in Globalisation, Business and Development from the University of Sussex and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Aida (they/she) is the Senior Manager for the Thriving Cities Initiative at C40. In this role, they support Barcelona’s and Glasgow’s efforts to foster new models that reduce harmful consumption while focusing on well-being and equity.
Aida has over a decade of experience working across sectors, cities and disciplines to address barriers that prevent people and communities from thriving. They have worked as an urban planner, community organizer, researcher and facilitator focusing on how cities can proactively address housing insecurity, unsustainable consumption, and barriers to transportation. They hold a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies (Urban Planning) and Ecological Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics.
Aida is of Persian and Kurdish ancestry on their mother’s side, and of Iberian ancestry (primarily Catalan) on their father’s side. They enjoy travelling by train and bike, growing food, getting lost in dystopian sci-fi, and learning about places, people, languages and traditions.
Akshatha serves as the C40 Inclusive Climate Action City Advisor for Bengaluru. She is an architect and a landscape architect by training, a designer at heart, and enjoys solving problems with a social lens.
Akshatha is passionate about building inclusive partnerships between communities, donors, and not-for-profit organisations to achieve long-term social impact. Over the last eight years, as a development sector professional, Akshatha has successfully developed and implemented community programs and mobilised funding for organisations that work across sectors such as women empowerment, healthcare, education, and the environment. Her core competencies are partnership development, program development and management, strategic planning, impact monitoring and evaluation, and community engagement.
Akshatha enjoys practising simple yoga, reading, and gardening every day. She is fascinated by butterflies and elephants. Akshatha enjoys travelling, and as an ardent foodie, desserts are her go-to meal.
Alejandro is an architect and urban planner with relevant experience setting resilience plans for vulnerable communities. As C40’s Water Programme Officer, Alejandro is responsible for coordinating and managing the second phase of the Water Safe Cities Project delivery, which aims to reduce water-related climate risk.
Prior to joining C40, he lectured on slum upgrading strategies and developed several urban regeneration schemes in the Global South. His most recent work was setting up a Mobility Plan for Medellín city (Colombia), seeking to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport in street design.
Alejandro studied architecture at two regional universities: Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Colombia) and Universidad Catolica (Chile). Afterwards, he won a Chevening scholarship targeted at local leaders that allowed him to study for a Master’s degree in International Planning and Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster (United Kingdom).
Alejandro enjoys sketching urban landscapes, practising yoga and visiting local markets.
Alessio Baù serves as C40’s Head of Campaigns. He is a campaign and communications expert focused on public engagement, grassroots organising, digital media, creative content and social innovation, with experience both in the public and private sectors. He is also a C40 LGBTQIA+ staff representative.
Prior to joining C40, Alessio worked as Social Media Editor-in-Chief for the City of Milan, as Content Strategist and Campaign Manager for the Airbnb Policy & Communications team, and as a consultant for agencies, firms, electoral campaigns, and non-governmental organisations.
Alessio has a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities (University of Padova) and a first-level Master’s in Plants, Social Innovation & Design (University of Florence). He is a published author with a background in journalism, a board member of the Milan LGBTQIA+ association and passionate about rooftop gardening and train travel.
As Senior Manager of Executive Engagement & Strategic Projects, Alice spends half her time managing projects on behalf of the Executive Office and half her time managing C40’s Global Leadership Board. Alice’s current projects include managing C40’s Award programs, C40’s Opportunity Fund, mayoral briefings, and Global Leadership Partners strategy, as well as supporting strategic funder liaison and the delivery of priority global milestones.
Prior to her current role, Alice worked as a Strategic Projects Manager, Stakeholder Engagement Office and Intern in the Executive Office. During this time, Alice led the successful 2022 C40-Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards programme as well as coordinating other projects such as C40’s COVID-19 response, the Future is Public Transport campaign launch, Board and Steering Committee processes and the delivery of the 2019 C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen.
Alice graduated from the University of Manchester in 2019, having studied Geography and spending a year studying at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She is currently studying at UCL Bartlett for a MSc in Urban Planning Masters.
Alice manages C40’s Land Use Planning network, which is responsible for providing support to cities to develop sustainable land use and urban planning policies.
Prior to joining C40, Alice worked as a chief land use planner with National Land Commission Kenya. She was responsible for monitoring the implementation of the National Land Use Policy, coordinating collation of data for drafting responses to questions raised by the Kenyan Parliamentary Committee on Land, and providing technical assistance to county governments in developing sustainable urban plans. Alice has also worked in local government, responsible for development permitting and advising real estate developers, and previously as an urban planner with a consultancy firm, where she was the head of the research and community engagement unit. Alice is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Alicia serves as Digital and Social Media Manager for C40. In this role, she is responsible for taking C40’s presence on social media and digital platforms to the next level, and increasing the visibility of both C40, and our cities’ work.
Alicia helps to further strengthen C40 as one of the leading voices in the global climate conversation, and connects our organisation with audiences around the world through creative and engaging content on new and existing platforms.
Before joining C40, Alicia worked as a journalist for newspapers across the UK, covering live news and producing content for digital and social media platforms.
Alicia holds a BA in Journalism Studies from the University of Sheffield, UK, and is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).
As Senior Manager in the External Engagement team, Alina is the C40 project lead for Urban 20, an initiative which brings cities together to elevate urban voices in the G20 ecosystem and beyond. Since leading the project in 2022, Alina has worked closely with Jakarta City Hall, Ahmedabad Municipality, and the city halls of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, as well as the G20 Indonesia, G20 India and G20 Brazil Presidencies. Before joining the U20 team, she managed the Cities Race to Zero campaign, a programme for cities committed to delivering climate action run by a coalition of not-for-profit partners.
Previously, Alina was Programme Coordinator with the Europe Programme at Chatham House, a leading international affairs think tank, where she supported the development and management of complex research projects. Her specific focus was on multi-partner initiatives. Among these, a project exploring the intersection of democracy and technology and a youth engagement project working to increase young people’s understanding of key policy issues across Europe and Africa. Alina also has previous professional experience in Brussels, including at the Strategy unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and at the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, a regional civil society organisation.
Alina graduated from King’s College London with a degree in European Studies and holds an MSc in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh.
Alisa is Deputy Director of Ports and Shipping, working to connect port cities, ports, and related public and private sector stakeholders in sharing knowledge and developing and implementing policies and solutions that improve public health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from ports and supply chains. Alisa has extensive experience working with engineering consultancies, power utilities, technology companies, and government agencies in the energy and maritime sectors.
Over the past 5 years, Alisa championed and managed a port efficiency programme for the US Department of Energy’s Better Communities Alliance and supported the technical and advisory teams on the 2050 Masterplan for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Alisa also spent a part of her career in Southeast and South Asia with an international electric utility, where she was responsible for leadership, project direction, business planning and development of critical power and infrastructure projects.
She is also a co-founder of SolarSkyrise, a clean technology company that tackles the emissions challenge of large buildings and transforms the value of urban renewables.
Alisa holds a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from Boston University, and an Executive Master in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California.
Alissa serves as the Deputy Regional Director for East, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, supporting regional initiatives and maintaining strong relationships with C40 member cities.
Prior to her current role, she worked as the Senior Manager for Climate Action Planning as well as the City Adviser for Kuala Lumpur, where she facilitated the development of a Paris Agreement compatible Climate Action Plan for the city.
With a background in environmental sustainable design consulting, she contributed to optimizing building and masterplan designs for sustainable certification and carbon emission reductions in projects across Malaysia. She notably assisted in the development of Kuala Lumpur’s Carbon Management Plan for council-owned assets. Her experience also includes corporate consulting, including sustainability strategy and reporting for locally listed companies.
Alissa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies as well as a Master of Environments from the University of Melbourne.
Amaia is C40’s Divest/Invest Forum Project Officer, where she works closely with the Head of Sustainable Investment as part of the Climate Finance, Knowledge and Partnerships team. In this role, she supports cities with their commitments to divest financial assets from fossil fuel companies and champion investments in climate solutions.
Prior to joining C40, Amaia was at the Birmingham City Council, with a focus on various international projects with Birmingham’s sister cities and EU-funded projects. She also supported partners within the Commonwealth networks. While at the Council’s leading Brexit Programme, she collaborated closely with the UK Government Home Office.
Amaia is passionate about working with cities and building global relationships with partners, and has rich experience with city governments, NGOs, universities and local authorities.
Amanda Ikert (“Mandy”) serves as Head of Adaptation Implementation at C40. In this position she is responsible for supporting cities as they work to meet their climate change adaptation and water management goals.
Before taking on this role, Mandy served as the City Director for Jakarta at C40 where she worked closely with the Governor and regional government of Jakarta to identify, develop and implement programmes and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining C40, Mandy was a city planner in New York, serving in both NYC’s City Planning and Parks and Recreation departments.
She has a research background in urban and architectural history as well as international environmental programming, including projects with the Asia Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Mandy holds a Master of City Planning and a Master of Science in Architectural Studies from MIT and a BA in History from Wesleyan University.
Amandla serves as the Global Senior Manager, CFO Network for African Cities – an initiative focused on engaging and empowering senior finance officials in C40 Cities’ network to access climate finance, and implement evidence-based budgetary decisions and policy making in public financial management. Amandla is responsible for driving new strategic priorities, partnerships and programming to develop the network.
Amandla is currently based in the United Kingdom and has worked across a wide variety of areas within international development, including environmental sustainability, agribusiness management, private sector development, women’s economic empowerment and innovation in Europe and Africa. Before joining C40 Cities, she was stationed in Nairobi, Kenya and worked as an internal consultant for One Acre Fund. Amandla has also consulted on a Horizon2020 climate change project to set up a twinning programme between European cities and African cities and municipalities to empower climate-vulnerable communities within Africa to develop and sustain nature-based solutions to climate change and inequitable exposure to air pollution. In addition, she has previously held project management positions at UK Research and Innovation and Connected Places Catapult.
Amandla holds an MSc in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Social Policy, Politics and Economics from the University of Birmingham.
As Project Manager, Strategic and Co-Chair Communications, Amelia spends her time supporting the Director of Communications to undertake various activities including working on media outreach, creating and executing communications activities, ensuring the delivery of key communications projects with other C40 teams and providing specific support to the Co-Chair’s communications.
Prior to her current role, Amelia led Communications and Campaigns for a pro-EU organisation based in London and before this worked for the United Nations in Sydney, Australia where her work centred around implementing the Sustainable Development Goals on a city level.
Amelia graduated from the University of Manchester in 2019 with a BA in Geography. During her undergraduate degree she also spent a year studying at the University of Maryland, College Park, United States. Additionally she holds an MA in Gender, Society and Representation from University College London. Her academic research focused primarily on feminist geographies and gendered practices in public and private space.
Amélia Maradas serves as City-Business Engagement Project Officer at C40.
Prior to joining C40, Amélia worked as Innovation Lead with UNLEASH, a global Innovation Program with the mission to build the world’s leading initiative and platform for innovative, implementable, and scalable solutions to the SDGs.
Amélia has experience working with innovation, social entrepreneurship, and youth network mobilisation. She also worked with UNDP Junior Professional Service Center for partnerships, donors, and outreach campaigns.
Amélia holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Sciences Po Bordeaux (France) and graduated from Vrije Universiteit (Netherlands) with an LLM. in Law and Politics of International Security.