Jenny is the Campaigns Manager for Resilience at C40 Cities, where she develops and implements global campaigns and relevant activities across key resilience themes, including water, heat, and nature. Her mission is to help cities adapt to the growing impacts of the climate crisis by translating complex resilience challenges into compelling campaigns that drive city action and political ambition.
Jen has over nine years of experience in campaigns, advocacy, communications, and policy within the international development and climate sectors, having worked previously at organisations such as the Resilient Water Accelerator, WaterAid, Amnesty International, and various smaller refugee organisations. Her work in water security and climate resilience, particularly in the Global South, has equipped her with a solid understanding of and passion for addressing the world’s most pressing climate challenges.
Growing up in South Africa, she witnessed firsthand how the impacts of the climate crisis, including environmental degradation, pollution, water scarcity and food insecurity, adversely affect human rights and undermine efforts to protect them. Telling stories of these issues and their solutions is what drives her.
She holds a Master’s in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford, and an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. You’ll find her running or cycling in the mountains in her spare time.
Carolina serves as Special Advisor for CHAMP National Engagement within the C40 x GCoM Joint Program.
Before joining C40, Carolina held the post of Deputy Mayor for the Environment during Mayor Claudia Lopez’s term as Mayor of Bogotá, between 2020 and 2023. She has worked on environmental and climate issues for over twenty years on the national, local and multilateral levels. She holds a degree in political science and public administration from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico and a graduate degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Luis Sáenz serves as Head of Finance Advocacy and Policy for the C40-GCoM Joint Programme. Based in London, he coordinates the finance advocacy strategy across the Climate Finance, City Diplomacy and CHAMP global teams.
Luis is an architect and geographer and, for the past 15 years, has worked in urban planning and policy, mainly in Latin America and particularly in Colombia. He holds an MSc in Urban Development Planning (’17) and an MSc in Public Administration (’23) from UCL, the former after receiving the Chevening scholarship.
Before C40, he served as Senior Researcher for the Council on Urban Initiatives (UCL/LSE Cities), and worked as a Senior Advisor for the Mayor of Bogotá on international urban policy and sustainable development. Earlier, he was the Director of the ‘Como Vamos’ Cities Network in Colombia and worked for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a Housing and Urban Development Specialist in Bogotá, Central America, and Washington D.C.
Coen is the Director of Political Strategy Operations, Campaigns and Partnerships. Prior to joining C40 he worked for the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs in Yemen, Nepal, Zambia and Armenia, supporting democratisation and governance processes. His work included supporting political parties, parliaments, local, regional and national governments, as well as the political representation and inclusion of marginalized communities. He also served at several INGOs across the Middle East, the Balkans, North and West Africa and Europe. Before that, he worked in local and national politics in the Netherlands, including serving as chief of staff to several politicians and as campaign manager for a political party.
He is based in Amsterdam, where he lives with his family.
Veronica Sabino has joined C40 as the Campaigns Project Manager in the Inclusion and Global Leadership department. She has extensive experience in project design, management and coordination, working in multicultural and complex global environments. She is based in London.
Prior to C40, Veronica worked at Amnesty International for 8 years, providing project management support across several departments. In her last role as Senior Executive Coordinator, she was responsible for coordinating, advising and enabling the strategic and operational agenda of the Secretary General and Leadership Team, as well as advancing critical projects of organisational priority.
Originally a sinologist with a background in Chinese language and culture, Veronica holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies, with a focus on international relations and human rights.
Connor serves as Project Officer in C40’s Inclusive Climate Action team. In this role, he is responsible for supporting the Global Green New Deal pilot cities in technical assistance activities, knowledge production, coordination, procurement, and funder reporting.
Prior to this, Connor worked at the Rainforest Foundation UK for two years supporting Real Time Monitoring projects in Central Africa and Peru. The projects aimed to equip indigenous forest peoples with technology to monitor illegal extractive activities taking place on their lands. Prior to this, Connor worked as part of the operations team at the recycling company TerraCycle.
Connor holds an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from UCL, joining the already quite big UCL alumni group we have at C40. The course focused on urban planning in the Global South and included a research project in Freetown, examining the cycles of risk experienced by communities living in informal settlements.
Lauren is C40’s Policy Engagement Manager within the Inclusion and Global Leadership team, working with C40’s research and campaigns teams to make C40’s knowledge products more impactful for targeted outreach.
Lauren holds an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Environmental Science, Policy and Management. She conducted a research project on the landscape of Green New Deal advocacy in Europe to inform the Green New Deal Cities knowledge hub of the Global Center for Climate Justice. Her thesis focused on investigating the institutional capacity of a local council in the UK to deliver on the Green New Deal bill that had passed a council vote. Lauren holds a Biology BSc from The University of Sussex.
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.
Kiana is part of C40’s Inclusion & Global Leadership department, where she leads on the development of advocacy messages and engagement plans for cities across the Global South & North. Relatedly, she oversees the diplomacy elements of C40 member cities’ Leadership Standards and looks for city collaboration opportunities (e.g., South-South).
She also manages the Urban 20 (U20) platform and related conferences. As an official G20 engagement group, convened by C40 and UCLG, the U20 produces an agenda of collective, urban priorities which directly inform G20 policy negotiations.
Kiana holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
Earl is a Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager at C40. He manages the ambitious initiatives of C40’s Youth Programme and supports the priority C40 missions, including the Good, Green Jobs mission. He manages the day-to-day operations of the C40 Youth Hub, C40’s platform for engaging youth climate leaders and supports Senior Campaign Managers in the delivery of various priority C40 missions, including by organising events, coordinating work across working groups, tracking progress, developing reports and presentations, managing partnerships and relationships with youth and civil society organisations.
He has been actively working in the field of urban sustainability for more than seven years. Before joining C40, Earl was a Senior Program Officer at the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), where he led the implementation of its global programmes and activities. His work included organising conferences and forums with organisations like UN-Habitat and ITU, designing and organising capacity-building programs for city officials with institutions like the Seoul Human Resource Development Center and Metropolis, managing knowledge products, and helping organise feasibility study projects and project implementation programmes. He was also responsible for managing, engaging, and expanding WeGO’s global network of members and partners, producing various publications, as well as delivering presentations and moderating discussions in international forums.
Earl completed his Master’s in Regional and Urban Planning Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and his Bachelor’s degree in Management from the Ateneo de Manila University.
As Head of Inclusive Climate Action (ICA), Giovanni is responsible for the ICA team’s policy development, research, advocacy and global leadership functions. Giovanni joined C40 in 2021 as Senior Manager for Climate & Migration to establish and deliver the C40-MMC Global Mayors Task Force, in partnership with the Mayors Migration Council (MMC), and other activities related to climate migration and inclusive climate action.
Prior to C40, Giovanni served as Deputy-Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Barcelona, working on the development of the city’s urban resilience strategy, with a strong focus on affordable housing, economic inclusion, migration and inclusive climate action. Before that, he served as an Urban Resilience Specialist for UN-Habitat, supporting the development and implementation of a City Resilience Profiling Tool in several regions across the globe.
Giovanni has a BA in Architecture and Planning from the Polytechnic School of Milan; he holds an MSc in Middle East Politics from the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and a Master in Public and Social Policy from the Pompeu Fabra/Johns Hopkins University.
Claudia Huerta is Senior Advocacy and Political Strategy Advisor at C40. She focuses on urgent leadership priority projects, from Loss and Damage to Data Centres, as well as the operationalisation of the leadership strategy, monitoring and evaluation.
Before joining C40, Claudia worked at the Inter-American Development Bank on the Cities Network program and at L’Oréal in international business development.
Born and raised in New York City, Claudia holds a Master’s in International Affairs from Baruch College.
Donna Hume serves as Director of Political Strategy and Campaigns at C40. Prior to joining the C40, Donna was a Senior Campaigner at Friends of the Earth where she was responsible for leading the organisation’s climate change campaigning. She led a team of people that prevented any fracking taking place in UK for the past 6 years, including by securing moratoriums on fracking in Scotland and Wales, helped secure a commitment to UK coal power phase out by 2025, and worked with Friends of the Earth International on a global campaign to keep fossil fuels in the ground in 30 countries.
Prior to that Donna held a number of other roles at Friends of the Earth: on overseeing campaign strategy and development, and in the political, economic and energy teams. During that time she supported the set-up of the organisation’s air quality campaign, built a 200 organisation strong coalition of businesses and civil society to support clean energy, and led a successful campaign to secure ongoing UK Government support for the solar industry. She has also worked at the Environmental Justice Foundation on a global campaign exposing unethical practices in cotton farming. Donna has a Bachelor’s degree in History from King’s College London.
Caterina Sarfatti is C40’s Managing Director for Political Strategy and Advocacy. As such, she oversees C40’s external engagement teams and drives C40’s work to build public support and social licence for climate action through programmes on equity, just transition and climate justice, global advocacy and campaigns.
She previously served as Director of C40’s Inclusive Climate Action programme, which supports mayors and local administrations to plan, build consensus and deliver bold climate action that is equitable and beneficial for all. The programme deals with the links between the climate crisis and social justice in cities. Before joining C40, Caterina worked for the City of Milan as a policy advisor in the Mayor’s Office. Caterina led EU projects and city diplomacy initiatives on climate, social innovation and social cohesion, migration and inclusion.
Before this, Caterina collaborated with human rights NGOs such as the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in Paris and the Italian Council for Refugees (CIR) in Rome. Caterina is an ad honorem member of the Italian NGO CESVI and a former member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Climate Network Association. She has a degree in Philosophy and a Master’s in Political Theory from Sciences-Po Paris. She is the author of several articles and editorials on climate change, cities and human migrations. In love with the sea, Star Wars and Game of Thrones, she is a committed Inter FC supporter and proud feminist.
Caterina Sarfatti è Amministratrice Delegata all’Inclusione e la Leadership Globale in C40. In quanto tale, dirige la divisione globale di C40 che si occupa di rafforzare il sostegno pubblico e la “desiderabilità sociale” delle politiche sul clima, attraverso programmi su equità, transizione giusta e giustizia climatica, iniziative di advocacy, diplomazia climatica e campagne internazionali.
In precedenza, ha ricoperto il ruolo di Direttrice del programma “Inclusive Climate Action” di C40, che fornisce ai sindaci e alle amministrazioni locali supporto per pianificare e realizzare politiche locali sul clima inclusive ed eque. Il programma affronta i legami tra la crisi climatica e la giustizia sociale nelle città. Prima di entrare in C40, Caterina ha lavorato per il Comune di Milano, come Policy Advisor nel Gabinetto del Sindaco Giuliano Pisapia. Ha guidato progetti europei e iniziative di diplomazia urbana su clima, innovazione sociale, migrazioni e coesione sociale.
All’inizio del suo percorso lavorativo, Caterina ha collaborato con ONG per i diritti umani come la Federazione Internazionale per i Diritti Umani (FIDH) a Parigi e il Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (CIR) a Roma. Caterina è socia ad honorem della ONG italiana CESVI ed ex membro del comitato scientifico dell’associazione Italian Climate Network. Laureata in Filosofia del Diritto, con una specialistica in Teoria politica presso Sciences-Po Paris e un master in Politiche Ambientali Internazionali all’Università La Tuscia, è autrice di diversi articoli ed editoriali sui cambiamenti climatici, le città e le migrazioni umane. Adora il cinema, Star Wars e Game of Thrones, il mare e la sua eterogenea famiglia. Interista fin da piccola, femminista da adulta.
As Climate Politics, Intelligence and Diplomacy Manager, Casimir supports the City Diplomacy team through policy analysis, intelligence sharing, and engagement with external partners, including the International Climate Politics Hub and the 2050 Pathways Platform. Through this work, Casimir helps advance C40’s diplomatic goals of promoting a green and just recovery from COVID-19, enhancing global climate ambition, and building a coalition of cities committed to the principles of the Global Green New Deal. Prior to joining C40, Casimir worked as a Policy Analyst Trainee with the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France, where he devised and piloted a new engagement strategy aimed at better understanding member states’ multilateral aid priorities. Casimir holds joint Master’s degrees in International Security and International Relations from Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
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.
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.