Mehrnaz serves as project manager for the Inclusive Climate Action Programme, as part of C40’s Special Projects team. Prior to C40, she was a Senior Urban Development Specialist at BuroHappold where she led projects with Philanthropic organizations and IFIs including Wellcome Trust, Rockefeller Foundation and the World Bank). Her experience also includes working with mayors and city officials, in particular from Beirut, Tbilisi, Tehran and Belgrade on regional strategies and policies for urban resilience. Mehrnaz has previously served as an urban policy advisor to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and Tehran Municipality.
In 2012, Mehrnaz co-founded, UE:EU, to explore the implications of emergent risks on cities and their inhabitants. Mehrnaz is particularly interested in the nexus of cities, climate change, health and equity. Her research currently focuses on the evolving role of city networks in facilitating science diplomacy and responding to the governance challenges facing planetary health.
Mehrnaz trained as an architect and holds an MPhil in Urban and Environmental Design from University of Cambridge. She was a visiting fellow at Nanjing University in China and has been a regular guest lecturer at a number of universities including, Imperial College London, University of Cambridge and UCL.