Rebecca works in the Political Strategy and Leadership Support department and is the C40 Steering Committee Senior Manager responsible for supporting the Office of the C40 Chair by managing the processes of the Steering Committee. Prior to this, Rebecca was the Deputy Managing Director of the political organisation STRING, bringing together European cities and regions for sustainable infrastructure and sustainability. She has also worked for the Swedish/Danish cross-border cooperation the Oresund Committee and has experience in transport planning, strategy and stakeholder management from Newcastle City Council in the UK.
Rebecca’s academic background is in political science, and she has a Master’s degree from Lund University in Sweden and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Northumbria in the UK.
Ujen is the Senior Executive Assistant to the Executive Director. Based in Johannesburg, Ujen manages access to the Executive, and provides a diverse range of highly skilled and confidential support to the Executive, and Political Strategy and Leadership team.
Prior to joining C40, Ujen managed the Executive Office of Democracy Works Foundation. At Action Aid International, Ujen was part of the Executive Office working in Governance and Leadership Development.
Ujen has an Honours Degree in Social Development Studies and presently completing his Masters Degree in Development Studies.
Zermina is the Head of Communications and Press Secretary to C40 Chair London Mayor Sadiq Khan and is part of the Political Strategy and Leadership team. She works closely with the Communications and Events team and is based in London, UK.
Zermina is a key connection point between C40 and the London Mayor’s Office, where she leads on developing and executing the Chair’s communications strategy. She leads on opportunities to further the reach and influence of the C40 Chair, raising his profile as a climate leader locally, nationally, and globally, showcasing the positive impact of his work as Chair and as Mayor of London.
Prior to joining C40, Zermina led environment communications on the Economic Development, Housing, Land and Environment team at London’s City Hall. Here, amongst other things, she led the communications strategy for the expansion of the world’s first 24 hour Ultra Low Emission Zone, the Mayor’s presence at COP26 and the launch of the Mayor’s climate campaign.
Prior to City Hall, Zermina worked in the communications team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Zermina holds an undergraduate degree in Law from City University London.
Alessio Baù 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 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.
Uma is the Head of Diplomacy in the C40 Chair’s Office and is part of the Political Strategy and Leadership team. She is based in London, UK.
Uma is a key connection point between C40 and the London Mayor’s Office where she works on developing the Chair’s diplomacy strategy and manages all diplomacy-related communications between the Chair’s staff and C40 teams. Uma works in close collaboration with C40’s diplomacy team to build strong relationships with international city networks, the UN Secretary General’s Office and the UNFCCC on behalf of the Chair.
Prior to joining C40 in 2022, Uma was Deputy Director of Parliamentary Affairs for the Leader of the Opposition in the UK and is experienced in high-level political advisory, having worked in Government and as Senior Advisor to the current Mayor of London. She has also led national political campaigns including for general and local elections. Uma holds a Master of Science degree in Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics.
Julieta is C40’s Executive Office Project Manager for the C40 Inc Board, its Finance and Audit Committee and the UK Board, working on the C40 Internal Communications strategy and various special projects requiring coordination from the Executive Office. Julieta initially joined C40 supporting the 2022 C40 World Mayors Summit delivery and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Her work experience is related to sustainability, working for the City of Buenos Aires with a special focus on healthy mobility, city development and the implementation of cooperation projects with international organisations and strategic stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
She holds a degree in International Relations (USAL – Buenos Aires) and is working on a Master’s Degree in Urban Economics (UTDT – Buenos Aires).
Neo serves as the Executive Director’s Office (EDO) Coordinator at C40. In this position she is responsible for the day-to-day team operations within the EDO and Governance department, ensuring all necessary infrastructure is in place to share information efficiently within the team as well as with C40 colleagues and stakeholders. Neo also supports the coordination of C40 Board and Steering Committee processes, strategic funder engagement, and coordinates all internal communications.
Before joining C40, Neo worked for GenderCC Southern Africa (Women for Climate Justice) and interned at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Southern Africa. In her respective roles, she supported and coordinated various research and advocacy activities focused on affordable medicine access and the gender-climate change nexus.
Neo holds a BA Honours degree in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Earl is a Global Leadership and Campaigns Officer at C40, where he serves a dual role, helping to coordinate the effective and strategic delivery of C40’s global leadership work as well as supporting the campaigns team on various global leadership campaigns.
He has been actively working in the field of urban sustainability for more than six years. Prior to joining C40, Earl was a Senior Programme 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 such as UN-Habitat and ITU, designing and organising capacity building programmes for city officials alongside institutions such as the Seoul Human Resource Development Center and Metropolis, managing knowledge products, and helping to organise feasibility study projects and project implementation programs. Earl was also responsible for managing, engaging, and expanding WeGO’s global network of members and partners, producing various publications, delivering presentations and moderating discussions in international forums.
Earl completed a Master’s degree in Regional and Urban Planning Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Management at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Emily Russell serves as C40’s Director of Development. Emily develops strategies to sustain and grow institutional funding from foundation and government entities, leading C40’s efforts to cultivate impactful partnerships for program delivery. Before joining C40, Emily was the Director of Foundations and Grants at American Forests, and she has previously held positions at African Wildlife Foundation and TechnoServe. She is also involved with an urban analytics start-up in Washington, DC, where she is based. Emily has a BA in International Relations and French from the College of William and Mary and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Georgetown University.
As Strategic Projects Manager, Alice manages and coordinates a number of cross team projects on behalf of the Governance and Executive Director’s Office. Projects include Chair and strategic funder priorities such as C40’s rapid response strategy, C40’s global leadership board and strategy, mayoral convenings, internal communications and strategic funder engagement.
Prior to her role as Strategic Projects Manager, Alice worked as a Stakeholder Engagement Officer and Intern in the Executive Director’s Office. During this time, Alice coordinated projects including C40’s COVID-19 response, the Future is Public Transport campaign launch, supported on Board and Steering Committee processes and supported 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.
As the Governance and Executive Director’s Team Editor, Peggy’s role is to ensure that C40 produces the highest standards of materials for C40 leadership, partners and funders. Prior to C40, Peggy held a wide variety of roles in refugee-related non-profits in the UK and Greece, where she brought her experience in freelance writing and editing in the legal and academic fields to the humanitarian sector. Peggy has an MA in Latin American Studies (with an emphasis on indigenous rights and human rights) and is about to complete an MA in Convergent Journalism. She is currently learning German and the art of ceramics.
Sarah serves as Researcher to the Executive Director, supporting the Executive Director with research projects, speeches, articles and blogs. Sarah joined C40 after completing an MSc in Sustainable Resource Economics, Transitions and Policy at University College London. Her dissertation focussed on city-level energy projects. She also holds a BA in Middle Eastern Languages from the University of Manchester, and has lived and worked in a number of global cities including Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Alexandria. In her spare time Sarah enjoys hiking and reading.
As Director of the Executive Office, Pauline is responsible for liaising with the Bloomberg Philanthropies environment team on projects and activities related to C40 and Michael Bloomberg’s position as C40 Board President.
Pauline initially joined C40 as Project Manager for the Women4Climate Tech Challenge, a global competition designed to promote and support innovation and climate solutions from women in the tech community. She started her career in e-commerce, where she worked as a localisation and operations manager for six years, before taking part in the On Purpose leadership programme to transition her career into the environmental impact sector.
She since worked with sustainability leader and carpet manufacturer Interface, designing and implementing circular solutions to reduce waste, and developed a new portfolio of services for the innovation foundation Nesta.
Prior to joining C40, Ilona worked for over eight years in foreign diplomatic Missions, most recently as the research officer at the Permanent Mission of Fiji to the United Nations. As a part of the Fiji delegation to the United Nations she was tasked with assisting the Ambassador and diplomatic staff on issues such as peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs, human rights and sustainable development. She also assisted in the coordination of official visits of the President, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Fiji during the annual UN General Assembly. Her experience has left her with a thorough knowledge of the work being done by the United Nations, its many organs as well as different Non and Inter-Governmental Organizations. In addition to her professional experience Ilona has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from Hunter College and a Master of Science in Global Affairs with a concentration in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance from New York University.
Isabel is the Manager of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy, an initiative that aims to provide mayors with evidence-based research to drive the urban climate agenda toward an equitable and resilient world well under 1.5°C.
Previously, Isabel served as a Project Officer for the International Diplomacy and North America teams, supporting C40’s diplomatic portfolio and, in parallel, C40’s regional engagement in North America. Prior to this role, Isabel worked in the Business Planning & Reporting team and in the Climate Solutions and Networks team supporting the Food Systems Network.
Prior to joining C40, Isabel worked as a graduate consultant with the DC Sustainable Energy Utility where she helped develop a localised energy efficiency model in Medellin, Colombia. She also worked as a summer Economic Analyst at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City where she conducted research on issues related to energy policy, trade and technology. She has lived in Italy, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala and is currently based in New York City.
Isabel has a Master’s in International Affairs and Economics with a focus in Energy, Resources and Environment from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a bachelor’s in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of Washington.
David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy.
Mr. Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and served as Chair of C40 Cities from 2008 until 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies.
Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and served as Future of Cities Global Fellow at Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 2011 to 2014. He has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo in Environmental Studies, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from York University and is currently Executive in Residence at the University of Victoria. He is the author of ‘Solved, how the great cities of the world are fixing the climate crisis‘, (University of Toronto Press).
David Miller is a Harvard-trained economist and professionally is a lawyer. He and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.
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.
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).
Anna serves as the Director of Governance at C40. Anna supports the Executive Director and oversees relationships with key C40 strategic funders. In particular, she provides support to the Executive Director in managing the Board of Directors, supporting the C40’s Chair’s Office functions and managing the Governance and Fundraising teams. Before joining C40 in 2015, Anna spent seven years living and working in East Asia, including Hong Kong, Beijing, and Chengdu. Prior, Anna worked in the Mayor of London’s Office for the climate change and sustainable transport adviser, and was part of the team who developed London’s first Climate Change Action Plan. Anna holds a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Birmingham, UK and is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.
Birgitte is the C40 Steering Committee Senior Manager responsible for supporting the Office of the C40 Chair by managing the processes of the Steering Committee, including Steering Committee meetings and elections. Prior to this, Birgitte supported the Managing Director of C40 Regions and Mayoral Engagement and managed the Danish Deadline2020 project ‘DK2020’. Before joining C40 Birgitte worked at the Danish green think tank ‘CONCITO’, where she supported the management of CONCITO’s youth platform ‘the Climate Embassy’ and coordinated a cross-disciplinary course for young professionals and university students with a focus on sustainability. Birgitte has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Aarhus University, Denmark and Mannheim University, Germany.
As Senior Manager, U20 & G20 Engagement, Alina is the C40 project lead for Urban 20, an initiative which brings cities together to collectively inform the G20 agenda and negotiations. In 2022, she worked closely with Jakarta City Hall on Jakarta’s Chairship of the Urban 20, and in 2023 she leads on the relationship with the city of Ahmedabad and the G20 India Presidency. Previously, she also worked on C40’s COP26 engagement, the Cities Race to Zero campaign and C40’s EU advocacy strategy.
Prior to joining C40, 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. Among these are a project exploring the future of democratic governance and a youth engagement project working to increase young people’s understanding of and engagement with key political issues. Alina has previous professional experience in Brussels, including at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and at the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, a non-governmental 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.
Ahmed Mokgopo serves as Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager. at C30 In this position, 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.
Mark’s aim as Executive Director is to ensure that C40 Cities is equally focused on science-based climate action and political leadership for climate justice. C40 has grown dramatically in scope and ambition under Mark’s tenure and its 300 staff now support nearly 100 of the world’s leading cities, representing around 700 million residents.
Prior to joining C40 Cities, Mark was a director at pioneering engineering and design firm, Arup; and previous to that role he was a senior adviser to the Mayor of London. Outside of work he can usually be found either up a mountain or proclaiming the discovery of a great new band.
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.
As City Diplomacy Manager, Agathe’s role is 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.