Regions & Mayoral Engagement

Nicolle Konai is the Investment and Partnerships Manager for the Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA). She coordinates the programme’s effort to structure new commercial models in key Latin American cities and supports partners on finance aspects, as well as leads the investor engagement effort in the region by developing a strategy to mobilize capital for e-bus projects.

Prior to joining C40, Nicolle worked in investment and portfolio management at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). She also worked at the World Bank and has experience in finance, operations, and capital mobilization.

Based in São Paulo, Brazil, Nicolle holds a Master’s in Finance and Economics from FGV São Paulo and a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University (New York) and the University of Tokyo.

Idrissa serves as a City Adviser for Waste in Senegal, assisting the municipality of Dakar in identifying and implementing crucial waste-related initiatives aimed at reducing current and future emissions from the solid waste sector.

Before joining C40, he worked at Practical Action as a climate resilience adviser. He also served as the Project Manager for “Improving Human Health and Livelihood through Reducing Open Burning of Waste in Senegal,” a project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in partnership with the national waste management agency (SONAGED) and a local research institute (EPT).

Idrissa is also a specialist in urban resilience with a broad focus on disaster risk reduction, urban planning, environmental issues, and waste management. Over the past three years, he has contributed to the work of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance in West Africa, engaging in research, knowledge management, advocacy, and project implementation, particularly in the city of Thies, Senegal.

Idrissa holds a Master’s degree in development economics with a specialization in sustainable development from CERDI (Centre d’Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International) at the University of Clermont Auvergne in France.

Vrilly Rondonuwu serves as City Adviser for Jakarta, Indonesia. In this role, she is one of the key parts of the Regional and Mayoral Engagement team to engage the city in the implementation of the climate action plan and the fulfilment of C40’s Leadership Standards, including supporting C40 as required during the transition of city administrations, representing C40, and liaising with external partners working with the city on relevant issues.

Vrilly has over ten years’ experience, both in the government and non-government environment from project planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Her extensive professional work on climate started with assisting the Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation in the year of 2009, working with various people and organizations.

Before joining C40, Vrilly worked as a consultant in the fields of environment, resource efficiency, and climate change at various international organizations e.g., as a short-term consultant to support the coordination and data collection for the ASEAN Resource Panel at UNESCAP; as a national short-term consultant at World Bank Indonesia for the Climate Change Institutional Assessment project; as an RECP policy expert and networking coordinator at ICPC for the RECP Indonesia project supported by UNIDO; on the coordination desk on behalf of the Foundation for Sustainable Development as part of the Consumer Information Programme for SCP–UNEP; and as a technical officer/policy adviser at GTZ for their Climate Change programme.

She completed her Master’s of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling at Jakarta Theology Seminary, and earned a BSc in Quality Performance Management and Information Technology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, USA.

Hajar serves as the C40 Community Resilience Adviser for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Prior to joining C40, she served as a Town Planning Officer at the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur, where she managed the Local Agenda 21 portfolio, focusing on community empowerment projects.

Hajar also brings extensive experience in local plan and strategy development from her time at a leading local urban planning and design consultancy in Kuala Lumpur.

Hajar graduated with a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Huey is Head of Implementation, Climate Action Implementation – Southeast Asia for UKAID’s UCAP CAI Programme, where she oversees climate action mainstreaming and implementation at Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Quezon City.

Prior to joining C40, her experience included leading the implementation of urban sustainability initiatives, including facilitating the entry of Kuala Lumpur into C40 at the highly successful National Transformation Program (NTP) of the Malaysian Government, where systemic transformation is materialized through co-creation of solutions and relentless recursive implementation efforts. She has also supported the development of Kuala Lumpur’s Climate Action Plan 2050, as well as developing C40’s ESEAO 2022-2024 Regional Business Plan. She led the advocacy work with the Government of Malaysia in accelerating EV adoption in Malaysia through 30 catalytic incentives, proposed to be financed through targeted fuel subsidy rationalization, which has seen a 300% increase in EV adoption as an outcome.

Huey completed her MSc Sustainable Cities in King’s College London on a UK Government Chevening Scholarship and holds a Bachelor of Science (Psychology and Genetics) from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a YSEALI Professional Fellow alumni and is fluent in 6 Asian & European languages, contributing greatly to cross-cultural understanding, which is crucial for team and stakeholder influencing.

Grace is an experienced strategic leader with a 16-year track record spanning African local government operations and the US private sector. While working at County Government of Machakos (Kenya), she designed and executed sustainable development programmes across multiple departments and stakeholders. She set up the Machakos Climate Change Unit and supported the department in drafting the Climate Act, finance and climate change policies, and securing funding for the financial locally-led Climate Action Program. 

Grace holds a Doctor of Business Administration from California Southern University and has a certification in Monitoring and Evaluation. Grace is also passionate about empowering the girl child and actively volunteers in her community, providing mentorship to support young girls. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, hiking, and cooking.

Marian Urizar Zamora is the Senior Programme Officer of the Urban Climate Action Programme, Climate Action Implementation (UCAP CAI) for the LATAM region and is based in Mexico City. In this role, she supports the implementation and coordination of the CAI programme across the region: Bogotá, Guadalajara, Lima, Medellín and Mexico City.

Prior to joining C40, Marian spent several years working in international urban development and public policy. She coordinated the sustainable urban development portfolio and co-led the UK – Mexico Future Cities Programme of the Mexico Prosperity Fund for the British Embassy in Mexico City (UK FCDO).

In the private sector, Marian worked in the electric mobility and tech industry, where she conducted public policy and public affairs work, managed policy-led projects and supported the consolidation of a regional policy team. Marian has also worked as a consultant for clients, including the Inter-American Development Bank and UN Habitat.

Marian holds an MSc in Cities and Global Development from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a BA in International Relations from Tecnológico de Monterrey (México). She also holds PRINCE2 certifications in project management.

Anja serves as C40’s Senior Manager of Engagement and European Public Affairs.

Her role focuses on implementing the C40 advocacy plan for the European Union, delivering the European elements of C40’s mission-driven focus on ending fossil fuels, and addressing the impacts and injustices of climate breakdown.

Based in Brussels, she creates linkages with EU policies and initiatives and keeps relations with EU institutions and other Brussels-based stakeholders. She also supports the C40 cities in the European region to lead EU advocacy work and raise ambition for other cities to take bold and ambitious climate action.

Before joining C40, Anja worked for more than 10 years for a Brussels-based city network on a variety of European-funded projects and initiatives on sustainable urban development, especially on funding, innovative finance and procurement, and urban food.

Anja has a Master’s degree in European studies and environmental management from Sussex University. Originally from Italy, she also speaks English, French and German.

Devashree Ragde is Manager for Climate Governance and Finance in the South and West Asia team in Mumbai. She supports the Climate Budgeting activities of Mumbai city and provides cross-cutting support in Climate and Infrastructure finance.

She has pursued urban planning from the College of Engineering, Pune and holds an M.Sc. in Urban Policy and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Devashree previously worked at Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy on revenue enhancement projects and policy-making for urban local bodies of Odisha. Prior to that, her work experience included project management for Pondicherry’s integrated solid waste management project, research on the Pune Smart Cities Mission at Flame University and planning Chiplun Municipal Council’s Septage Management project at PAS Project, CEPT University.

She also has independent consulting experience with Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Pvt Ltd on government scheme delivery and design. Devashree has been editor-in-chief of the National Organisation for Students of Planning (NOSPlan) in India. In her free time, she enjoys working out at the gym, travelling, reading and is an active Toastmaster.

Shivani serves as C40 Senior Manager Waste and Methane based in Ahmedabad, India.

Shivani is an environmentalist with experience in Industry and Government Departments such as the Climate Change Department of the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat Urban Development Mission. She was a part of the first Gujarat State Action Plan on Climate Change development team and has worked on NGT (National Green Tribunal) and NITI Aayog projects pertaining to the Urban Development Department viz., River Action Plan, Composite Water Management Index, etc. Worked with Smart and Amrut mission cities of Gujarat to monitor project progress, reforms, and other innovative initiatives. She has worked on projects by the Climate Change Department of the Government. of Gujarat, such as the calculation and report preparation of lifestyle-based carbon footprints.

Shivani has worked in academics as a visiting faculty member at Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU), Gandhinagar, The M.S. University of Baroda and Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. 

Shivani holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Visva-Bharti Central University, Santiniketan, West Bengal and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the M.S. University of Baroda.

Based out of Chennai, Karthik is an aspiring policy professional with a penchant for data. He specialises in research, data and communication and has 7 years of experience as a development professional working on multiple issues, mainly climate change, healthcare, education and livelihoods. Before joining C40, he worked with organisations such as The Barefoot College, Habitat Forum (INHAF), TRIF, Ministry of Home Affairs, NITI Aayog and the District Administration of Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. 

He has a bachelor’s degree in Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He is also an alumnus of the SBI Youth for India Fellowship and The Aspirational District Fellowship. In his free time, he is an avid automotive enthusiast, photographer and amateur Kirie artist.

As C40’s Regional Director for Africa, Dorah leads C40’s work in the African region through cooperative engagements with city leaders and teams to accelerate the implementation of their climate change programmes.

Dorah is a sustainability enthusiast with over 26 years of experience in areas such as environmental sustainability, international diplomacy, government (local, regional and national) as well as industry associations.

She was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the South African Paper and Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisations Alliance (PRO Alliance), tasked with conceptualising and implementing joint extended producer responsibility programmes with and on behalf of member PROs. Her other executive role was Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council of South Africa, where she led the green transformation of the built environment sector through numerous green building certification tools and programmes. She also served as the chairperson of the World Green Building Council’s Africa Regional Network, with a key role of coordinating, consolidating, and stimulating the development of Green Building Councils across the African Continent.

Dorah also held the position of Head of Sustainability at the City of Tshwane, where she conceptualised and implemented groundbreaking city sustainability programmes. Dorah’s tenure at the National Environment allowed her to develop and refine her environmental diplomacy skills through her leadership roles in the then United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development processes, which included the Rio+20 in 2012. Dorah is proud to have led the development of the environment sector green economy response programme, including the establishment of the national green fund.

Nidhi Shashidhara serves as the US Federal Affairs Officer for C40 Cities, supporting the organisation’s work to help US cities harness federal funding to advance local climate action. Working closely with our partners, Climate Mayors and USDN, Nidhi will support mayors in hosting workshops in their cities to bring together community, business, and other local leaders to advance shared priorities and secure as much funding as possible.

Prior to joining C40, Nidhi served as the Development Associate for the Institute for Sustainable Communities where she helped lead their own efforts to secure federal, philanthropic and corporate funding to support local climate action in the US, China, India, Bangladesh, and the Mekong region. She started her career working as a congressional campaign fundraiser working with progressive and pro-climate candidates on their DC and national-level fundraising. Nidhi is also an Aspen Institute Future Climate Leader.

She is a Jacksonville, FL native but is based in Arlington, Virginia where she will soon graduate with a Masters in Sustainable Urban Planning from George Washington University. She also holds a Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Global Development Studies from Mercer University.

Shilpa serves as Manager of Climate Implementation at C40 and supports the cities in the South and West Asia region in implementing climate action plans and scaling up non-C40 engagements. Her role also encompasses supporting engagement, mainly with Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Prior to joining C40, Shilpa worked with organisations such as Palladium Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), South Asia, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) supporting pivotal government initiatives focused on urban governance, innovation, and climate at the central and the local body level. With MoHUA and NIUA, she was part of the prestigious India Smart Cities Fellowship Programme, where she worked on various innovative initiatives for the Smart Cities Mission and supported the local urban bodies in the cities for climate action through the Climate Centre for Cities. Shilpa helped set the baseline for preparing the climate action plan for Pune city with GCoM. She also spearheaded and implemented various locally-led sustainable and climate initiatives with Palladium Consulting India for Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Additionally, she has also volunteered with non-governmental organisations in the education and climate sectors.

Shilpa holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Anna University, Chennai, and a postgraduate degree in Advanced Construction Management from National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR), Pune. Outside of work, she enjoys taking early morning strolls, reading books, practising dance routines, exploring new smoothie recipes, and dabbling with some amateur painting.

Felipe works as a Regions Delivery Officer in the Regions and Mayoral Engagement department, supporting the core global team on a day-to-day basis with the coordination of various activities, including cross-regional analysis and delivery tracking, as well as sharing regional information globally and vice-versa, helping the organisation to achieve its annual goals. Still at C40, Felipe also worked as a Research Officer in the Climate Finance, Knowledge and Partnerships department, supporting C40’s research team to develop and coordinate projects on different themes, such as healthy and efficient buildings, clean and renewable energy transition, and sustainable urban design and mobility.

Among other relevant previous experiences, Felipe served as a Regional Low Carbon Analyst at ICLEI, supporting the implementation and coordination of international cooperation projects related to sustainable urban development for local governments in South America. His work involved elaborating municipal GHG inventories, climate action plans and energy transition roadmaps.

Felipe holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Brazil) and an MSc in Environmental Management with emphasis on climate change from Kingston University (London), fully funded by Chevening Scholarships, the UK government’s global awards programme.

Mahesh is an experienced professional with over 19 years of expertise in urban development, climate change and resilience, urban water and sanitation, and municipal finance. His key clients include ADB, WB, IFC, GIZ, EU’s IUC-India, The Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, and BMGF.
Mahesh has previously served as the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the Global Resilient Cities Network for Pune and as a technical advisor for GIZ India. He has worked as a Program Head of Urban Development at WRI India, leading the team in developing Climate Action Plans for tier-II cities.

He was a special invitee to the Subcommittee on ‘Action Plan on Circular Economy in Recycle and Reuse of Treated Municipal Sewage’, representing GIZ for NITI AYOG. He led several policy and strategy mandates, such as preparing a toolkit for developing SWM projects on PPP for ADB and DEA, preparing Pune’s Resilience Strategy as part of the 100 Resilient Cities Program, preparing the State Industrial Policy for Maharashtra—2013, developing guidelines for the State Bus Transport Fund, and preparing an updated template for implementing CSP for GIZ and MoHUA.

He was involved in the review and updation of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) for Surat, Panaji, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Gangtok, Kochi, and Vadodara are cities in India under the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCOM) program.

After his civil engineering degree, Mahesh has an MTech in Town Planning. He has also pursued an Executive Program in Business Management (EPBM-22) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C).

Apart from work, he likes to spend time with his family and loves to play cricket over weekends.

Armada Eras Pratama is the Contracts Manager for C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in Southeast Asia.

Based in Malang (East Java), Indonesia, Eras is a graduate of Brawijaya University Malang, where he majored in International Relations with a specific focus on Global Political Economy.

Previously, Eras worked at UNDP Indonesia for over three years and has accumulated more than six years of experience in the field of procurement and holds CIPS 3 certification (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply).

In his leisure time, Eras enjoys engaging in adrenaline sports, reading books, and travelling.

Patricia is a Technical Adviser supporting African cities to identify and implement climate actions as part of a regional sectoral programme on solid waste management to reduce methane emissions. She supports city teams through training, cross-city knowledge sharing, technical advice, and one-on-one support to design relevant sectoral actions, help identify and exploit opportunities, and overcome barriers to delivery.

Before joining C40, Patricia was a Chief Environment Officer at the Nairobi City County Government. She was responsible for the circular economy transition led by the National Ministry of Environment and Forestry, championed the Waste Wise Cities Campaign by UN-Habitat and environmental safeguarding of the Kenya Integrated Slum Improvement Project by the World Bank as well as the Urban Fabric Initiative by the French Development Agency.

She represented Nairobi in various professional networks, including the Connective Cities platform, African Clean Cities Platform, African Circular Economy Network, ICLEI- Africa Circular Cities Initiative and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Community.

Patricia has also consulted on waste management with Aranca UK Ltd. and Roland Berger.

Previously, she was the project coordinator at the JICA Study Team on Nairobi’s ISWM.

She has extensive experience in climate action and sustainable waste management.

Patricia holds a BSc. in Environmental Health from Moi University and an MSc. in Health Systems Management from Kenya Methodist University. She is also a DANIDA fellow in Water Sector Governance and Operations from Denmark Technical University and Copenhagen University.

Patricia is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kanupriya is Senior Manager, Engagement and Communications for South and West Asia. She works with different teams across C40 to plan and implement activities in the South and West Asia region.

Before Joining C40, Kanupriya worked at Edelman, a global PR firm, where she was the lead for Microsoft India. She comes with an extensive tech and corporate communications background. A few of her notable projects include Satya Nadella’s India Visit (2023), Cybershikshaa expansion, a Tech for Good initiative by Microsoft, and Brad Smith’s India Visit (2022). Some of her past clients include Qualcomm, Airbnb, smallcase, FDC, and ITC Hotels. She graduated from Delhi University and enjoys reading, visiting the various monuments peppered in Delhi, cooking and writing in her spare time.

Sabareesh serves as the Manager of Climate Action Implementation at C40. Prior to this, he was a Senior Associate with the Climate Resilience practice of the World Resources Institute (WRI), where his primary task was to integrate adaptation and resilience strategies into various development initiatives while also working towards bolstering India’s preparedness to access climate-related funding opportunities.

His professional interests lie at the intersection of urban resilience, climate action financing, and setting up GHG Inventories. Sabareesh has accumulated substantial experience collaborating with esteemed multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, IFC, and numerous Indian state governments. His contributions have notably involved conducting in-depth sectoral analyses on urban management, finance, and urban governance reform initiatives. Sabareesh is also actively mentoring the United Nations SDSN (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) Youth Local Pathways Fellowship Program on a global scale. Moreover, he is a dedicated member of the Global Shaper’s Community, an initiative facilitated by the World Economic Forum, where he collaborates with a network of young professionals on various global initiatives.

Sabareesh holds a bachelor’s in Architecture from the Faculty of Built Environment and Sustainable Habitat, Sathyabama University and a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University. He also holds an executive MBA specialising in Business Analytics from NMIMS.

Dhiraj Santdasani serves as C40’s Technical Advisor, Waste and Methane, leading the delivery of the Global Methane Hub project in India and exploring avenues to expand our waste work in the region. He is a passionate environmentalist, dedicated to working in climate action planning. Before joining C40, he served as an Associate at NITI Aayog, the Indian government’s top policy think tank, for four years leading flagship projects focused on knowledge creation and capacity building, such as the Waste-Wise Cities report, Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management handbook, and a best practice report on Urban Sanitation business models in India. Additionally, he worked with the team responsible for designing the Circular Economy Mission at NITI Aayog, and also collaborated with stakeholders to establish the Circular Economy Committee for Solid and Liquid Waste under this mission. Dhiraj has represented India at several international youth forums. Dhiraj holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering & Project Management from the University of Leeds, UK, as the recipient of the university’s Dean International Scholarship and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Construction from CEPT University in Ahmedabad.
Dhiraj loves playing cricket, swimming, and cooking a variety of pasta dishes.

Hanie is the C40 City Adviser for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Before joining C40, she worked with a design association and was leading the James Dyson Foundation in Southeast Asia. To enhance engineering education provision, she has established relevant networking with science, technology, and education ministries, government agencies, engineering bodies, and universities. She collaborated with different non-governmental organisations in Southeast Asia to support engineering education, medical research, and the local community.

Hanie has over a decade of project management experience and specialises in strategic planning, resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement, enabling her to drive projects from conception to successful implementation.

She holds a Masters Degree in Design Technology from Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Dipti serves as C40 Senior Manager for Waste and Methane in Mumbai. Her experience includes liaising with city focal points for the programme as well as expert sectoral teams (within the cities and C40) to coordinate contributions toward programmatic goals and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Dipti works closely with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, political personnel, and other stakeholders. She also manages a work plan focused on reducing methane emissions by providing solutions for the management of organic waste.

Dipti has over seven years of prior working experience in the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) sector in various cities of India. Additionally, she has worked on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, and Urban Infrastructure Planning and Environmental Due Diligence in her previous engagements at TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd. (TCE), Mumbai. Prior to this, she has worked with All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), GIZ-India and Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC).

Dipti holds a Masters (M.Plan) in Environmental Planning from Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, and a Bachelor’s (B.E) in Environmental Engineering from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. She has also completed a GRI Certified Training Course on Reporting with the GRI Standards 2021 Update and other professional courses on Environmental Management.

Hazirah serves as the Senior Manager of Engagement and Partnerships for East, Southeast Asia and Oceania. She is responsible for supporting C40 Vice Chairs in their leadership and assisting mayors across the region to amplify their voices and raise their profile across various platforms. This also includes building stronger partnerships in the region and engaging with various key stakeholders, crucial to member cities’ delivery of their climate action and advocacy priorities.

Hazirah was a city official at Kuala Lumpur City Hall, who assisted Mayors and Executive Directors as Special Officer. She has been highly involved with city networking for Kuala Lumpur City Hall since 2014 and was the focal point for international relations in the Mayor’s Office. Prior to joining C40, she was the Head of the Service Competency Unit, where she provided training and examinations for newly recruited city officials. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature (majoring in Linguistics) from the International Islamic University Malaysia and a Master’s from the University of Seoul in Urban and Administrative Planning.

Thulani is C40’s Senior Manager for Water Security, Partnership and Implementation in Africa. In this role, he works closely with C40’s regional leaders and cities to drive strategic water security goals.

Prior to joining C40, Thulani served as a technical advisor at WaterAid, providing expertise on programme management and implementation of community-led WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in Southern Africa, as well as supporting strategic private-sector partnerships. He has a background in civil engineering, where he has led the technical design and construction of urban grey and blue infrastructure and water management in municipalities, mining and the consumer goods industries.

Thulani holds a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering and an MBA from the University of Pretoria. When not working, he enjoys golfing and farming.

Laura Isabel Berdugo Cañon serves as C40’s Project & Events Officer for The Climate Pledge Zero Emission Freight Partnership in Latin America. Laura is a Colombian internationalist from Rosario University who is deeply passionate about fighting climate change. With five years of experience working in various public, private, and international organizations, she has developed expertise in organizing events, creating communication materials, and managing projects. She began her career in The British Embassy in Colombia, where she played a significant role in designing and implementing programs. Notably, she made important contributions to programs such as the Newton Fund, The Prosperity Fund and the International Climate Fund. Recently, she dedicated over two years to the CCADI project in Transforma, overseeing budget management and leading efforts to promote gender and social inclusion in Green Finance.

Elizabeth is an experienced urban professional with extensive experience managing and financing medium-large scale urban development projects and programs in the private and public sectors. Her most recent experience was at the Nairobi County Council, where she provided technical assistance on program management of the restoration of public spaces within Nairobi CBD. Prior to that, she worked at KPMG, where she provided technical assistance to support municipalities under the investment attraction for sustainable economic development program to develop and implement investment promotion strategies that draw in investment from the public and private sectors. In this role, she played an instrumental part in leading a team to set up bankable climate-resilient value chains.

Elizabeth is currently undertaking an Executive Master’s degree in cities at the London School of Economics and Political Science and recently participated in a fellowship for Sustainable Infrastructure and Development Finance- at Schulich Business School. In her spare time, she also loves to hike and cook.

Claudia is an economist from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, with a specialization in international business and a Master’s degree candidate in sustainable development projects. She has 20 years of experience in the financial sector in Colombia, working in entities such as Bancóldex and Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional. In the last 5 years, she has worked in consulting projects with IDB, WRI, CFF, and the TUMI initiative in the electrification of bus fleets in different cities. Claudia also worked in the ZEBRA team in the transition to zero-emission buses in Medellín as a financial consultant for 3 years. 

Gabriela is the Senior Manager for C40’s Zero Emission Freight programme in Latin America. She holds more than 10 years of experience working with local governments in Mexico, mostly on sustainable urban development, metropolitan governance, and urban mobility policies with a strong focus on gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming.

Prior to C40s, she led the “TUMI E-Bus Mission” Initiative at the World Resources Institute (WRI Mexico), working closely with Mexican and Colombian cities. Her work contributed to scale e-buses adoption from an inclusive approach, focusing on the social and health benefits for workers and users. Prior to this, as Research and Gender Policy Manager for the Metropolitan Institute of Planning and Development Management of the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (IMEPLAN), she led and coordinated the mainstreaming of social inclusion, gender and diversity criteria for the metropolitan planning instruments of nine municipalities.

Gabriela holds a Master’s in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from ITESO University (Guadalajara, Mexico). She was a fellow of the first program on “Leadership, Urban Mobility and Gender: Women Leading the Change in Latin America”. She is a passionate book reader and loves literature of women writers, food, design and listening to music.

Anantha serves as theC40 Head of Mobility, in India, supporting electrification of freight and passenger transport, and inclusive climate action in cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks.

Anantha has almost 15 years of experience in sustainable transport, air quality, electric mobility, public transport, multi-modal integration, non-motorized transport, shared mobility, climate action and policy. She has actively worked with diverse stakeholders involving government, private organisations, academic institutions and international organisations on various climate change and sustainable transport projects. Prior to joining C40, she worked with the World Bank as a consultant, where she supported the development of transport sector implementation strategies for clean air management projects. She previously worked as a Research Scientist with the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy in the climate environment and sustainability sector, supporting energy, environment, and sustainability projects.

Anantha holds a PhD in Engineering specialising in sustainable mobility – urban public transport systems sustainability assessment from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISC) and a Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) in Transportation Engineering.

Gabriel Lewenstein serves as Senior Manager for North American Communications and Public Affairs at C40. In this capacity, he works with mayors and cities to use communications tools to advance climate action. This includes liaising with mayoral communications teams, identifying opportunities for action and leadership, and highlighting case studies and stories on climate leadership by cities.

Before joining C40, Gabriel worked in city and state government, serving as Chief of Staff to a state legislator, where he managed a legislative portfolio addressing environmental issues, criminal justice reform, and LGBTQ rights. Prior to that, Gabriel worked at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, coordinating with cities around the globe to highlight and advance the creation of sustainable cities.

Gabriel graduated from Tufts University with a degree in International Relations and a focus on urban environmental issues. He is passionate about creating sustainable, equitable, and vibrant cities. In his spare time, he enjoys puns, board games, and baking, and has a lifelong passion for elephants.

Gabriel Tenenbaum is C40 Head of Zero Emission Vehicles for Latin America and holds ten years of experience working with urban mobility in the region. He holds a Master’s degree in Transport Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in Generalist Engineering from École Centrale de Lyon, France.

Prior to C40, Gabriel worked as Head of Strategic Projects at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Transport Department from 2021 to 2023, leading the development and delivery of strategic projects to reformulate the governance of the public transport system in the city, such as the tenders for the transit Ticketing System and the BRT system revamp.

Before City Hall in Rio, Gabriel worked at C40 for two years, serving as Programme Manager for the ZEBRA Partnership with the aim of accelerating the introduction of zero-emission buses in Latin America and at ITDP Brazil for five years, coordinating the public transport portfolio and support for sustainable mobility projects.

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.

Gloriela is the C40 Manager of US Health, Climate, and Equity. In this role, she collaborates with six US cities working on initiatives at the intersection of public health, climate change, and social equity to facilitate peer learning and co-create public-facing deliverables to amplify implementation lessons.

Before joining C40, she co-led and co-designed evaluations of social service programs and provided technical assistance to improve service delivery for low-income people at MDRC as a qualitative social policy researcher. Her work experience covers multiple institutions, including public housing authorities, community colleges, financial counselling centres, and philanthropic organizations. She also served as the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advocacy Council Chair working with organizational leadership and employees to set and advance goals towards improved workplace practices and equity-centred research methods.

Gloriela has a degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor in Public Policy with a focus on Environmental Justice and Health Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Outside work, she loves dancing, practising yoga and mindfulness, walking in nature with friends and family, and being anywhere in her beloved Puerto Rico.

Pedro Bastos is the Policy Manager for Zero Emission Vehicles at C40. His primary focus is the Laneshift program, which aims to reimagine medium- and heavy-duty shipping vehicles and optimize their travel routes for environmental sustainability in six cities across Latin America: Rio, Curitiba, Mexico City, Quito, Bogotá, and Medellín.

Pedro is an urban planner with extensive experience in transportation, zero-emission technologies, and public policies. Over the last decade, he has worked at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and completed successful consultancy projects for both the public and private sectors. Pedro holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Public Administration, as well as a Master’s and PhD in Urban Planning from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Suriya serves as Contracts and Procurement Manager for C40’s UCAP CAI Programme. Before joining C40, Suriya was Grant Coordinator for the Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre Malaysia, coordinating budgets and teams across South East Asia for the EU-funded Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN project. Working towards collective actions and enhanced cooperation among non-state actors to improve sustainable peatland management. Prior to that, Suriya was the Project Development Officer at the USAID-funded Malaysia Reform Initiative, encouraging civic participation in Malaysia’s democracy and governance.

She previously worked in construction consultancy in Malaysia and Singapore, specialising in public sector projects. At Arcadis, Suriya provided cost and contract management for public sector housing in Singapore. Suriya holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Survey from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Ragene (or Jean) is the Inclusive Climate Action and Engagement Senior Manager for the UKAID CAI Programme in Southeast Asia. In this role, she facilitates the adoption of inclusive, fair, and just approaches and transformational action of cities in the region.

Prior to C40, Jean served as an urban researcher and development consultant. She has worked on urban informality, the climate-migration nexus, women and gender in climate adaptation, local economic development, and disaster rehabilitation with various UN agencies (including UN Women, IOM, UN-Habitat, and UNDP) and other international groups. Jean has published and presented various works about urban affairs, including feminist cities, urban inequality, care in cities, and public life and spaces.

Jean completed her MA in International Planning and Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster, London, as a Chevening scholar. She has represented the Philippines in professional fellowships and regional workshops and serves as a mentor for aspiring planners and young scholars.

Jean enjoys music, gardening, and cultural crafts.

Rendro serves as Regional Senior Programme Manager in SEA for C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme. Rendro works closely with the Head of Implementation, C40 City Advisers and other team members, and external consultants to develop and deliver the varied technical assistance programmes and training to enable and support C40 cities in Southeast Asia to implement their climate action plans.

Before joining C40 in 2023, Rendro spent nine years working at Green Building Council Indonesia, leading the team to carry out market transformation regarding green buildings, and reducing GHG emissions in buildings. Rendro holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics Engineering from Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Xian Zhou serves as the Regional Officer in C40’s China office. In this role, she helps coordinate and facilitate the delivery of the Central East Asia regional team covering member cities across the specified regions.

Xian has rich experience in working in a multi-cultural and cross-functional environment, including diplomatic missions and representative offices of foreign government agencies in China. Before joining C40, Xian worked as a Senior Immigration Officer for the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, where she built cooperative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to develop trust and mutual understanding of relevant policies and procedures. Before that, she worked for Lesotho Embassy to China focusing on partnership development and executive support. Xian also planned and managed high-profile events at China World Trade Center. Xian holds a Master’s Degree from Beijing Institute of Technology.

Jophillene serves as C40’s City Advisor, Climate Change Mitigation for Dar es salaam City in Tanzania. His role involves engaging city officials in implementing the Climate Action Plan, focusing on Mitigation/GHG reducing actions and fulfilment of C40 Leadership Standards.

Prior to C40, he worked with Climate Action Network (CAN) Tanzania striving to engage the private sector, marginalized groups, civil society organizations, the national government and relevant stakeholders to advocate for climate actions in Tanzania. Recently, as a member of several National technical committees, Jophillene ensured reflection and alignment of climate change related international frameworks while developing the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) 2021-2026; National Five Years Development Plan 2021-2026; the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the Bagamoyo District Renewable Energy Action Plan (2020-2025).

For more than 11 years, Jophillene worked with various organizations in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Togo, Namibia, DRC, Djibouti and Zimbabwe to articulate social and environmental sustainability aspects. Jophillene holds a MSc. (Environmental Science and Engineering) from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology and a BSc. (Wildlife Science and Conservation) from the University of Dar es salaam.

Based in Bengaluru, India, Sanjana is the Manager, Engagement and Climate Implementation with C40’s South and West Asia Team. Before this, Sanjana worked as the Regional Officer for South and West Asia, where she led some key strategic projects.

She joined C40 after working as a Research Analyst with McKinsey for the Asia-Australia region where she worked with clients in technology, sustainability and public policy. She completed an integrated Masters in Development Studies, focusing on urban and environment, from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Chennai, India. She has also volunteered at her local FridaysforFuture chapter for over four years, as part of the youth climate movement, supporting local and global climate advocacy efforts. In her free time, she enjoys watching her comfort shows, reading, painting and occasionally, cooking.

Charlton serves as Technical Adviser for C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in Southeast Asia. In this role, he provides expert assistance in refining climate actions that are appropriate to the local context of each participating C40 city in Southeast Asia. Before joining C40, he was the Technical Expert of the Austrian scientific association, GrAT Center for Appropriate Technology, leading professionals in the Philippines and Thailand in energy, water, and waste audits for an EU-funded sustainable tourism project.

He has supported local and regional governments in the Philippines by holding national consultancy positions for ICLEI and RTI International, spearheading the development of an energy efficiency and conservation planning guidebook while building capacities of local authorities and formulating inclusive innovation case studies, respectively. Previously, he worked for a UNFCCC-registered waste-to-energy project to report potential, tradable carbon credits and co-supervise the power plant’s operations.

A graduate of a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Mapúa University, Charlton is also a Certified Energy Auditor by the Philippine Department of Energy as well as an ecotourism professional trained by the UN Institute for Training and Research.

Tawanda serves as the Technical Adviser (Waste) for C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in Africa. In this role, he provides technical assistance to the C40 cities of Accra, Addis Ababa, Dar Es Salam, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi and Tshwane in implementing plans in line with the Paris Agreement.

Prior to joining C40, Tawanda worked for the GreenCape Sector Development Agency in South Africa, as an Expert Analyst (Circular Economy). His focus ranged from the development of Decision Support Tools aimed at encouraging municipalities in taking a systems approach for the development of integrated waste management; assisting municipalities and the private sector with navigation of the legislative environment for the development of waste projects; conducting material flow analyses in order to identify opportunities for circular economy interventions. In addition, he facilitated engagements between the City of Cape Town and Producer Responsibility Organisations in an effort to synergise efforts for diversion of waste, and support integration of the informal sector as the Extended Producer Regulations came into effect.

His experience also included working on the Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo), aimed at supporting the development of biogas projects by linking European technology providers with emerging and developing markets – focusing on Argentina, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia and South Africa.

Tawanda holds an M.Sc and B.Sc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, where he focused on biodiesel production, and Fischer-Tropsch process for chemical production from syngas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen).

Fantu is C40 City Advisor for Addis Ababa, based in Addis Ababa.

Prior to joining C40, Fantu worked as Climate Change mainstreaming Team Leader and Senior Ecosystem/Biodiversity Researcher, Environmental pollution researcher and Project Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at Addis Ababa Environmental Protection Authority. In these roles, she coordinated the mainstreaming activities of climate change adaptation and mitigation actions into the city sector’s action plan, and delivered training for city officials in different departments and sectors.

Fantu is a focal person for C40’s air quality technical assistance programme, performing different researches on biodiversity and Environmental pollution. She has published research on the assessment of heavy metal accumulation capacity of selected plant species for phytoremediation along the little Akaki River, case of Addis Ababa. Fantu has worked on additional research to be published on impacts of climate variability on vegetable production nexus climate-smart agricultural technologies long the little Akaki river of Addis Ababa.

Fantu also served as Reform Officer at Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute and as a high school teacher in a private school in Addis Ababa. Fantu holds an MSc in Environmental and Climate Change Management from Civil Service University, a BSc in Biology from Addis Ababa University and a Diploma from Kotebe College of Teachers Education.

Jess Kavonic is C40’s Head of Implementation for Africa. In this role, she supports the African region cities in accelerating the implementation of the most impactful climate actions, and in facilitating learning from their peers across other C40 cities. She works closely with teams across C40 as well as other city and climate organisations in the region to ensure cities have access to the most relevant and effective technical assistance. Jess oversees all C40 led delivery programmes offering technical assistance in the region, working with the CSN, CAI, CAPI, Climate Finance and the Business teams.

With an MSc degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from the University of Cape Town, her work with local governments started at the City of Cape Town and later with ICLEI Africa where she spent seven years as part of the Climate Change, Energy and Resilience workstream.

She has a background in atmospheric science with more specialised knowledge of climate change and its relationship with a sustainable approach to development. In particular, Jess has managed an array of climate adaptation programmes in African cities, working to improve urban human well-being, build climate resilience, strengthen local sustainability and protect the urban natural asset base in cities through influencing development policies and planning systems.

Lorena is the City Adviser for Lima, Peru, as part of C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme. Her role is to liaise with strategic city officials and map the city’s political priorities and needs for climate action implementation; to identify and coordinate the most appropriate C40 programmes, networks and projects to support local climate action implementation; and, to support the rollout of the regional sectoral programme, including identification of priority projects, engagement with political and technical level.

Prior to joining C40, Lorena worked in the Ministry of Environment of Peru’s public administration as a legal specialist on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Previously, Lorena has worked within the energy and the environmental regulator sectors, as a researcher of the climate emergency implementation in the United Kingdom local councils, and as a Fellowship Coordinator at Student Energy. She is a Professor of Sustainable Development and academic researcher at top universities in Peru, and co-founder of the Peru Young Energy Professionals network.

Lorena is a lawyer specialising in environmental law and natural resources from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration in Energy, Technology and Climate Policy from the University College London, UK and a Sustainable Environmental Management Certificate from the University of California, USA.

Kessica is the C40 City Adviser for Quezon City. In this role, she supports the city’s implementation of priority climate actions, helping to mainstream the actions into local governance, policies and structures. She has almost a decade of experience in managing disaster risk reduction and climate action projects. Throughout her career in the development sector, Kessica has focused on enhancing the resilience of cities and municipalities through inclusive and community-based approaches to capacity building, policy formulation, and network building.

Prior to joining C40, she worked for an international think tank and consultancy firm managing projects on design thinking and design sprint for international NGOs and international financial institutions. She also worked previously in the education department of the Philippine national government as part of the team that crafts disaster, climate resilience, and education in emergencies policies for the basic education sector. While working for local and international NGOs, she championed for the rights of children and persons with disability to be included in resilience planning and implementation.

Kessica graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration at the University of the Philippines – Diliman. She also completed a programme on Executive Masters on Disaster Risk and Crisis Management at the Asian Institute of Management.

Khodani has extensive experience in climate change, low carbon transitions, policy advocacy and just transition in sectors such as mining, energy, manufacturing and cities. Prior to joining C40, Khodani worked for an international climate change consulting firm, where she managed energy access projects and was part of a technical team developing low carbon strategies for organisations. Khodani led the delivery of a just transition strategy as part of a global net zero mining roadmap.

Khodani coordinated the WWF’s One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), where she led the recruitment of African cities to participate in the challenge and to report on the CDP platform. She developed a youth engagement program as part of the OPCC, aimed at amplifying youth voices in African cities on issues related to climate change.

Khodani is passionate about integrating social inclusion and just transition in climate change work and amplifying youth voices on issues around climate change. She is a former co-chair and active member of Resilient40, a network of African youth working on climate change. She holds a Master’s degree in Climate Change and Development from the University of Sussex.

Khodani enjoys reading, home gardening, exploring indigenous foods and travelling. She has travelled Africa by reading books from each country and is currently on a mission to visit each country physically.

Njenga serves as City Advisor for Nairobi, Kenya. In his role, as part of C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme, he is responsible for engaging city officials, to ensure the implementation of the Climate Action Plan and the fulfilment of C40’s Leadership Standards.

Njenga is a spatial planner, with a passion for supporting African cities to build resilience against the effects of a rapidly changing climate. Prior to joining C40 Cities, he worked as a Project Manager, at a Nairobi based project management and consultancy firm, where he was responsible for leading the firm’s activities across Sustainable Cities, Industrial Parks and Climate Change. He has also contributed to efforts by the Kenya Forest Service, to develop a park management and resilience strategy for the Nairobi Arboretum and participated in the formation of the Nairobi Arboretum Conservancy Community Forest Association.  

Njenga holds a Master’s degree in City Planning and Real Estate Development from the University of Glasgow and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration from United States International University – Africa.

Neema is a Programme Officer in Africa. She supports seven cities in different countries in delivering C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme at the regional level. She has over eight years of rich experience in administration, procurement, logistics, grants administration, coordinating multiple stakeholders and programmes, and providing organisational support.

Before joining C40, Neema was part of the Family Health International -FHI 360, supporting the delivery of a governance programme with a focus on strengthening civil societies globally (SCS Global). She worked on several projects addressing climate change and disaster response, which included enhancing civil society effectiveness, strengthening civic advocacy, promoting independent media and access to information, as well as integrated participatory approaches to social inclusion, transparency and accountability in all sectors.

Neema has worked closely with the government of Kenya, donors and development partners in different international NGOs in Kenya.

As Regions and Engagement Officer, Kiana supports the daily management of C40’s cross-regional work by way of stakeholder engagement, communications, and data analysis.

Before joining C40, she worked as a Graduate Consultant on environmental, social, and governance projects, with clients including the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce. She also worked in public affairs and communications as a trainee for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where she helped manage the annual OECD Forum.

Kiana holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of Toronto, including a year at Sciences Po Paris. 

Benjamin serves as C40 Senior Manager for Climate Implementation. He is an architect, urban regional planner and urban designer by training with close to a decade of experience working in the fields of spatial planning and policy, mobility, physical infrastructure and environmental management with a strong focus on stakeholder engagement.

Prior to joining C40, Benjamin worked with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Delhi, and Dutch consultancy firm Royal Haskoning DHV (RHDHV) with practical experience of working with governments across four continents (India, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa).

While at NIUA, he worked on the preparation of the Master Plan of Delhi 2041, and with RHDHV he worked on the Revised Master Plan of Bengaluru 2031, and greenfield urban extension master plans for Surat, Aurangabad.

Benjamin enjoys preparing maps using creative cartographic methods and research writing with a focus on deep ethnography; he is also a trained musician and plays the keyboard, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, ukelele, and melodica during his free time.

Nikhil serves as Senior Manager, Climate Implementation, and works closely with the C40 Regions and Mayoral Engagement team. He supports Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Amman cities with their C40 engagements and overall other strategic regional initiatives. 

Nikhil has prior work experience focused on climate and low-emission development strategies. He joined C40 from ICLEI, South Asia, where he was involved in GHG emission inventories, climate risk and vulnerability assessments, low emission development strategies, climate action planning, integrated water management, on-ground implementation of pilot projects and stakeholder engagements. Prior to this, he also worked with Ambuja Cements Ltd as an Environmental Engineer and with the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) as a Research Engineer.

Nikhil holds a Master of Technology (M.Tech) in Environmental Engineering from Mumbai University, and he completed a number of professional courses on environmental management.

As the Deputy Regional Director for South and West Asia, Raina is supporting C40’s efforts in strengthening climate leadership of member cities in the region including delivery of ambitious climate action plans and implementation of high impact actions.

Prior to joining C40, Raina worked with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), India where she supported the Government of India in the development and implementation of the national ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework. In her previous roles, she worked with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Raina has more than 12 years of experience in policy research, capacity building, advocacy and engagement for mainstreaming city-level climate actions. She holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, with specialisation in the environment, and is based in New Delhi.

Kate Johnson serves as the Head of US Federal Affairs at C40 Cities. In this role she works with C40 member cities and partners to advance US federal policy that supports cities in achieving their climate goals and support C40’s overall engagement with partners in Washington DC.

Prior to joining C40, Kate served for eight years at the Washington D.C. Department of Energy and Environment where she led an interdisciplinary team charged with achieving D.C.s goal to be carbon neutral and climate resilient.

Prior to her government service, Kate worked for the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy where she launched a program focused on affordable housing and helped to create the City Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Earlier in her career, Kate held a variety of roles advocating for national climate policy at the Sierra Club and Environment America. Kate holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jing serves as the Sectoral Policy Senior Manager of Regions and Mayoral Engagement team at C40. In this role, she will work closely with C40 China member cities and national and local level research institutions, and oversee pioneer sectoral action development to deliver the C40 China Regional strategy linked to the C40 Business Plan.

Before joining C40, Jing served as assistant secretary-general at a Chinese national industrial association, China Association of Building Energy Efficiency (CABEE). Her focus areas include policy research, analysis, advice, and development for building energy efficiency, green-eco district, and low-carbon city. She also fully supported C40 China Buildings Programme during that period. Before CABEE, Jing performed as a joint postdoc fellow of Tsinghua University and LBNL; her research focuses include climate policy and sustainable development. Before and during the postdoc, Jing also worked at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Jing is a registered Associate Researcher with a PhD in Management Science and Engineering and an MSc in Construction and Project Management, both from Beijing Jiaotong University.

Zarina serves as Head of Implementation in Africa, within the Regions & Mayoral Engagement Team, and leads in the region the C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme. In this role she works with seven C40 African cities to develop ambitious and robust long-term climate action plans that are compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Prior to this, Zarina worked as a C40 City Adviser to Durban, where she supported the City to develop their Climate Action Plan. Before joining C40, Zarina worked at the National Business Initiative (NBI) South Africa as a project manager for climate change mitigation, where she managed work on the CDP climate change and water programmes in South Africa. She also worked with companies to build capacity and provide best practice guidance on greenhouse gas reporting. Previously, Zarina also worked as a Programme Officer for environmental, water and energy projects at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), where she managed a low-carbon cities project, focusing on the City of Durban.

Zarina holds an MSc in Environmental Science and a BSc Honours in Environmental Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Wenwen Chen serves as Operations Manager, China Office. In this role, she is responsible for managing the Corporate Services deliverables within China.

Prior to joining C40, Wenwen worked as a Program Operation Manager for Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. Before that, Wenwen served as Vice Director for the International Cooperation Department of the Dragon Design Foundation, where she led the Sino-EU collaborations and activities on sustainable design and green technology. She also worked for the first local Fair Trade organisation in China earlier in her career.

Wenwen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture and Ecology from South China Agriculture University and an International MBA from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, including one semester exchange programme at ESSEC Business School.

Ms. Ying Gao is the Head of Regional Coordination and Partnerships, China. She will take the lead to engage with Chinese cities, support the development and delivery of our China strategy and coordinate from both operation and city engagement perspective to build cross-team synergy to support C40 cities in China. Ying has over ten years of experience in the field of sustainable development, on government partnership development, project management and organizational operation. Prior to joining C40, she worked at Ellen Macarthur Foundation to lead the food initiative in China. She also worked for Chinese Foundation – the Qiaonyu Foundation as well as WWF China where she supported the CEO and Chief Conservation Officer in strategic partnerships development, strategy development, social impact investment, projects management and provided trainings on project management for both internal and external colleagues. She holds a Master’s degree from ESC Rennes School of Business. She is also a member of Conservation Coaches Network.

Yuping Qiu is a Programme Officer, C40 China Buildings Programme, supporting the development and implementation of ambitious citywide building energy efficiency initiatives. Prior to joining C40, Yuping worked as an Advisor at the Danish Energy Agency, part of the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, where she focused on collaboration with the Chinese government supporting UN sustainability goals. Based in the Department for Global Cooperation, Yuping was in charge of energy policy monitoring, report drafting and policy analysis. In addition, she brings experience from the Royal Danish Embassy in China, where she worked with consular affairs. Yuping holds a master’s degree in International Studies from Aarhus University, Denmark.

Simon Sambou serves as C40’s City Adviser for Dakar. In this role, he is responsible for providing technical assistance in updating the city’s climate action plan to deliver mitigation and adaptation outcomes and inclusive low-carbon development in line to the Paris Agreement.

Simon has previously worked as a lecturer at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (ISE) and Climate Action Facilitator at the Group of Action and Initiative for an Alternative Development (GAIA). He was responsible for carbon assessment and monitoring at the Project for Sustainable and participatory management of traditional alternative energies (PROGEDE 2). Simon has also worked with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as a Program Officer coordinating the USAID’s Learning Agenda Project “Climate Information Services Research Initiative (CISRI)” in Senegal where he worked closely with local municipalities and as Climate Change Technical Advisor for the development of Green Climate Fund program. He holds a Masters degree in Geography, a MSc degree and PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD).

Shuang serves as the Senior Manager of Communications and Strategic Engagement in C40’s China office, to develop the communications function and strengthen the engagement with member cities. In this role, she advocates C40’s impact on external partners and stakeholders, identifies communication opportunities and approaches, leverage two-way communications of cities’ best practices between China and the global audience. Before joining C40, Shuang worked as Program Manager of Giti Group United in Diversity Foundation for 8 years.

She engaged cross-sector leaders to jointly step forward and take on sustainable development challenges through “Innovative Dynamics Education and Action for Sustainability (IDEAS)” leadership programmes with Chinese government, MIT Sloan and Tsinghua University. She also led communication and partnership engagement work from China side for major events hosted by the foundation, identify pathways for the foundation for pre-development of programmes, advocate programme outcomes to relevant government partners. Previously, Shuang worked in the WWF China office for policy research and advocacy, focusing on promoting the Ecological Footprint concept and Green Economy to policymakers as well as wide stakeholders. Shuang holds an MA in International Development from University of East Anglia and a BA from China Agricultural University.

Shruti Narayan is the Managing Director of Regions and Mayoral Engagement. Shruti previously served as C40 Regional Director for South and West Asia. She is based in New Delhi, India, and works closely with city leadership to sustain and scale up C40’s regional efforts.

Before this she was an Upstream Officer with the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC, World Bank Group) Asia Pacific Cities Platform and has also led the IFC’s Green Building programme in South Asia. Shruti has almost 20 years of global work experience specialising in energy efficiency and sustainability. Her work experience also includes Will Alsop Architects in London, Arup in San Francisco and USAID ECOIII in New Delhi, where she has worked with diverse clients such as corporates, developers, institutions, policymakers and donor agencies to identify, design, incorporate and implement sustainable solutions with the goal of reducing resource consumption and maximising efficiency.

In addition, she has also been a faculty member in sustainable design with educational institutions globally, such as Stanford University, USA, California College of Arts, USA, and the School of Planning and Architecture in India.

Stelios Diakoulakis joined C40 in April 2018 and he is based in Athens. He is the Deputy Regional Director for Europe and closely works with the Regional Director in providing support to European member cities regarding their overall participation in C40 activities ensuring they benefit from their membership – both at political and technical level – and also comply with C40 Participation Standards. He is responsible for the delivery of projects of strategic importance for C40 such as the cities’ commitment to ambitious climate targets as well as the development and implementation of Deadline 2020 compliant climate action plans. Prior to joining C40, Stelios worked as Senior EU Policy and International Affairs Advisor to the Mayor of Athens. He has significant experience in European policies and institutions having offered his services for many years in the European Parliament and the Greek Foreign Ministry while he has also worked as a consultant at a private company specialised in the development of strategic regional programs and impact assessments in the EU Cohesion Policy framework. He has studied Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business and holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Reading, UK. He speaks English, French and Greek.

Seneca serves as C40’s Programme Manager, Air Quality and Climate Action Planning. In this role, she works to integrate air quality and air pollution-related health considerations into the C40 Cities climate action planning process. As part of C40’s Air Quality and Climate Action Planning Integration Project, she will be responsible for coordinating the technical air quality impact analyses for seven pilot city projects. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Seneca worked at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as a researcher in the Climate and Air Quality Modelling group, where she worked on projects in both the research and consulting arenas, with a focus on the air quality-climate change linkages that exist within cities and air quality management planning. Previously, Seneca worked as an air quality scientist at the South African Weather Service, where she was responsible for managing data from monitoring networks in South Africa’ nationally declared air quality priority areas and reporting this information to South Africa’s National Department of Environment, Forestries and Fisheries. She was involved in the development and operation of South Africa’s Industrial National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System. Seneca holds an MSc in Atmospheric Science and a BSc Honours in Geography from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Paula serves as City Adviser for Medellín, Colombia, as part of C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme.

Prior to joining C40, Paula worked in the public administration for Medellín City as an Environmental Engineer in the Environment Secretary, working to coordinate International cooperation. Previously, Paula worked within the energy sector, developing small hydroelectric plants in Antioquia, Colombia. Paula has experience with sustainable projects such as: environmental education, carbon footprint calculation and research on the impacts of climate change on high mountain ecosystems water supply in Natural National Park Los Nevados, Colombia.

Paula is an Environmental Engineer from EIA University, holds a Master’s degree in Hydro Science & Engineering from the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany and an Advanced International Training Program “Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation”, Sweden.

Cristina Argudo serves as C40’s Deputy Regional Director in Latin America, after having worked as Vice Chair Engagement Manager and City Adviser in Quito for the development of the city’s Climate Action Plan.

Before C40, Cristina was an environmental analyst in the climate change department of the Secretary of Environment in Quito where she worked very closely with sustainability and climate change city networks, tracking the city´s international commitments and facilitating access to technical assistance programs and finance for the implementation of climate action. Cristina has additional experience in project management and coordination working in international organizations such as the UNDP, and local NGOs.

Cristina holds an MSc in Environment and Development from the University of Edinburgh, a BSc in Biology and Environmental Sciences from Trent University in Canada and a graduate specialization degree in Cities, Climate Change and Leadership at FLACSO University in Ecuador.

Milag San Jose-Ballesteros serves as the Regional Director for East, Southeast Asia and Oceania at C40. In this role, she is responsible for engaging and supporting C40 member cities in the region as well as facilitating collaboration between cities across the global C40 network. Central to this is working with C40 cities across the region towards ambitious commitments and transformative actions to address climate change. Milag has more than 20 years experience working on environmental governance and policy, natural resources management and sustainable development. Prior to joining C40, Milag served as Regional Environmental Governance Specialist with the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where she led programmatic partnerships between national and sub-national environmental agencies, and provided technical support to pilot initiatives covering topics including urban environmental issues, compliance and enforcement mechanisms, climate co-benefits and public participation. In this capacity, she worked with 16 countries across Asia and coordinated engagements with various organizations and partners including the US Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the UN Environment Programme. Prior to this, she previously served as a Senior Program Officer with the US-Asia Environmental Partnership promoting clean technology, and as Executive Director of the Philippine member of Friends of the Earth International. A native of Manila, Philippines, she has been based in Singapore since 2008.

Marie-Josée Houénou is the City Adviser for Abidjan.

Before joining C40, she worked as a senior legal consultant on the implementation of the Nationally-Determined Contribution (NDC) in Côte d’Ivoire focusing on the legal, institutional and financial climate change framework. Prior to that, she supported francophone negotiators during international negotiations – Conference of Parties (COP), related to climate change and biodiversity, in the Francophone Institute for Sustainable Development (IFDD), in Quebec. She has been involved in environmental projects with World Resources Institute as a fellow, with UNESCO, the Ivorian Ministry of Environment, and NGOs.

Passionate about development and empowering communities, she implemented environmental activities related to public sensitization, women and youth engagement, climate change and green initiatives in Africa and other global south countries. These include the Green Pepite Community and the LCOY, local conference of youth on climate change which was accredited by YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

She holds a Master’s degree in International and Comparative Environmental Law, a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and a Bachelor’s degree in business law from Universities of Limoges and Poitiers in France. Marie-Josee is a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship in Public management in University of Madison, and a beneficiary of the international volunteer program of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

Maximus is the City Adviser to Lagos, Nigeria, where he is providing technical assistance to the city in the development and delivery of C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in line with the Paris Agreement.

He has had a long and successful career in Lagos State Government for over 20 years serving in different roles and focusing on climate change, solid waste management, air quality and pollution control, environmental governance and policy, as well as environmental impact assessment. It is under his leadership that Lagos State developed a GHG inventory that is GPC compliant.

Maximus was the first head of Lagos State Climate Change Unit, which successfully implemented climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, including delivering annual Lagos State International Climate Change Summit, which was held for seven consecutive years.

As Head of the Climate Change Unit, Maximus was also responsible for managing relationships with so many climate change programme partners for Lagos State, such as C40, ICLEI, UN Agencies, the World Bank, and civil society groups.

While doing national service, Maximus was a Corper of the year award winner. He is also a Commonwealth Professional Fellow obtained from the Center for Global Eco-Innovation of University of Lancaster. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Nigeria Nsukka and Master’s degree in Environmental Resources Management from University of Lagos. He is a Registered Advertising Practitioner.

Laura Jay serves as Regional Director for North America at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. In this role, she works with C40’s 17 cities in the US and Canada to help advance climate actions, from policies to mitigate emissions to strategies for adapting to climate impacts. Previously, Laura served as the Deputy Regional Director for North America as well as the Land Use Planning Network Manager at C40. Prior to joining the C40, Laura served as a Project Manager at Terrapin Bright Green where she consulted to government agencies, developers and non-profits to create more sustainability policies and designs. She has also worked at the U.S. Green Building Council on governance and strategic planning. Laura has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.

Lu serves as Head of the Climate Action Planning China Programme, within the Measurement and Planning Team. In this role, he is responsible for managing the delivery of a programme of technical assistance, guidance and training to C40 cities in China, with the aim of building technical capacity to develop climate action plans that are compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. Prior to joining C40, Lu worked on a PhD project in urban planning at the University of Copenhagen, where he also managed and coordinated international projects and proposals with a focus on sustainability. Lu holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Peking University in Beijing.

Luke Sherlock is responsible for managing the C40 Municipal Buildings Efficiency Network, supporting cities in driving energy efficiency in the buildings they control, as well as managing the C40 China Buildings Programme as part of the Energy and Buildings Technical Assistance Programme. Luke joined C40 from the Aster Group, a social housing provider, where he was the Group Environment Manager responsible for a sustainability plan and Environmental Management System covering more than 27,000 properties. His previous roles included leading the development and implementation of a new sustainability strategy for the Devonshire Group, a diverse privately owned property portfolio, and energy management and sustainability reporting at Burberry, a FTSE 100 company. He holds a Masters degree in Nature, Society & Environmental Policy and a Bachelors degree in Geography, both from the University of Oxford, and is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.

Jingjing Jiang serves as the Sectoral Policy Officer of the C40 China office, within the Regions and Mayoral Engagement Team. In this role, Jingjing mainly works on supporting Chinese cities in developing Green & Thriving Neighborhoods (Net Zero Communities), and she will also supports the team to explore other key sectoral topics in C40 China Region, such as transportation and adaptation.

Jingjing started her journey with C40 in July 2020 and worked as the Project Officer of CAP China Programme for two years, during which she provides a variety of support to Chinese cities of Qingdao and Hangzhou in developing their Climate Action Plans. She also leads the Inclusive Climate Action analysis and events organization for CAP China cities.

Jingjing holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University. Before C40, Jingjing worked as a Brand Consultant with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in China, where she worked on the coordination and implementation of public engagement campaigns about climate change and biodiversity conservation. Jingjing has also worked as a Chinese social media producer with Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), where she facilitated the planning and organization of YPCCC’s side events during COP23 and helped to promote their work in China on social media.

Júlia López Ventura is C40 Cities’ Regional Director for Europe since 2015. Her work focuses on supporting top political decision makers to fight climate change in global megacities, from mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions to adaptation to the already present climate change effects, as well as the regional coordination of city diplomacy work to influence climate policy of supranational actors like the UN or the European Commission. Before joining C40, Júlia worked for over a decade for the city of Barcelona, including the IT International Office, which she headed from 2013-2015. She helped Barcelona develop collaborative relationships with institutions such as the European Comission and the World Bank, and she developed an international urban knowledge transfer strategy by co-leading Barcelona’s candidacy for the first European Innovation Capital (which Barcelona won). Júlia has lectured at several universities, including the Polytechnich University of Catalonia Foundation in Barcelona and the IE Business School in Madrid, with courses on City Strategy and Governance. She is a fluent speaker of English, French, Spanish, Italian and Catalan and holds an MSc in Telecom engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Master’s Degree in Sociology from UOC in Spain.

Ilan serves as Regional Director for Latin America, after having worked as Deputy Regional Director and C40 City Adviser to Rio de Janeiro, helping the city implement its climate action plan in multiple areas and setting the first sustainability office in Latin America. Ilan successfully launched the C40 Clean Energy Network, which now has over 30 cities from various C40 regions.

Ilan previously worked at the China-Brazil Center for Climate Change, where he worked with government agencies, energy companies and NGOs in bilateral projects related to biofuels, clean energy innovation policies, electric vehicles and carbon capture and storage.

Ilan holds a BA in International Relations from PUC-RJ and a Master’s degree in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics.

Jana supports C40 with strengthening its strategic planning and monitoring & evaluation. She managed cities’ membership and oversees the delivery of annual city reporting and support to cities on data management.

Previously at C40, Jana coordinated the Deadline 2020 Programme, including strategic funder relationship around assisting cities with developing inclusive and resilient climate action plans compatible with the 1.5˚C goal of the Paris Agreement. She had also held roles in the C40 Regions and the Global Initiatives teams where she contributed to the delivery of major C40 events, including the past two C40 Mayors Summits, helped produce sectoral Good Practice Guides, assisted with C40 workshops, and strengthened engagement with Chinese cities and partners.

Jana is a double MSc graduate from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po Paris, including a year at the University of California. Before joining C40, Jana worked at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London, where she co-authored the 5th edition of the Global Climate Legislation Study. Jana is proficient in English, French, Spanish, Czech, Russian, and Slovak, and is currently improving her Mandarin Chinese, having held a Confucius Scholarship at Tsinghua University, Beijing.

Irma Carranza serves as Regional Officer. In this position, she provides administrative support to the Director of Initiatives and Regions, the Regional Director of Latin America, and the Regional Director of North America. Before joining C40 Cities, Irma was a partner in the City of Santa Monica’s Cradle to Career Initiative looking at and measuring youth well being. Prior to this, she worked at the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy as an organiser working to bring good jobs into underserved communities. Prior to LAANE, she worked over ten years in several clerical and administrative support roles with the City of Santa Monica, including serving the Civil Engineering and Architecture Division staff. Irma attended Santa Monica College and Los Angeles Trade-Tech.

As the Deputy Regional Director for Africa for C40 Climate Leadership Group, Gifti Nadi works closely with the political and technical leadership and climate ambitions of 12 African cities. Previously at C40, Gifti served as City Diplomacy Manager – Global Campaigns focusing on the lead up to the CitiesIPCC campaign and conference held in March 2018 in Edmonton, Canada. Gifti began her C40 tenure as City Adviser for Addis-Ababa where she primarily worked with the political and operational leadership within city government to facilitate the delivery and public engagement plan of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Gifti has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of capacity building, media and communications, public policy, gender equality, health and rural development. She has worked with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute and Ethiopian Economics Association as part of the Think Tank Initiative’s Policy Engagement and Communications program. Her previous roles also include time at UNDP’s Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) in Nairobi, and at the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) in Washington DC, as the Senior Program Officer for Africa. Gifti holds a Master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland.

Christina is the Regional Officer for East, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Prior to joining C40, Christina was the Operations Manager at Eco-Business (Singapore), where she supported overall operations in the organisation. She also managed events and global innovation challenges on topics surrounding climate change and sustainable development in APAC.

Christina holds a BSc in Life Sciences, specialising in Environmental Biology with a minor in Aquatic Ecology from the National University of Singapore.

Boping is the Regional Director for East Asia (China) of C40. She is responsible for leading C40’s work in China to support Chinese member cities to further advance their climate ambition and lead the transition towards an urban ecological civilization.

Before joining C40, Boping was the China Director of the World Future Council (WFC) and helped WFC to establish and develop its office in China. Previously, she was the Director of Policy and International Strategy of WWF China, leading WWF China’s policy research and advocacy work to influence China’s high-level policy framework for stronger environmental targets in its development policy. Earlier in her career, Boping had experience with both private sector and government programs. She provided consultancy on climate change and renewable energy for investments in China, served for Dexia bank on public and project finance and started her career with the EU-China Natural Forest Management Project under the State Forestry Administration of China, which inspired her to pursue a career in sustainable development.

Bo Sun acts as the Project Manager in the CAP China team, based in Beijing.
Prior to C40, Bo worked in the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in China, where he worked on the implementation and management of Chinese Projects of Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances. He was also involved and coordinated in the national greenhouse gas HFCs phase-down strategy development.
Bo holds a Master of Sociology from Brown University.

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.