Anand Patwardhan
(Co-chair)
Anand is the co-chair of the ARA Secretariat. He is a Professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has been a coordinating lead author for the IPCC, and a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environmental Facility. He currently serves as co-chair of the Science Committee of the World Adaptation Science Program (WASP). He is co-Chair of the Executive Committee of the Global Energy Assessment, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Programme of Research on Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PRO-VIA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Bruce Currie-Alder
Bruce Currie-Alder leads the climate team at Canada’s International Development Research Centre. IDRC invests in evidence to catalyze adaptation and resilience to enable poor and marginalized communities in the global South to be more resilient to climate change in the near and longer term. Bruce previously led the Collaborative Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) and served as IDRC’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
David Mfitumukiza
David is a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He has over 15 years’ experience in environment and natural resources management including working as District Local Government Environment Officer. His work covers climate change action research for policy, practice and capacity development including serving as an Adaptation Specialist and Chief of Party for the USAID/Uganda Education and Research Programme on adaptation. He leads the locally-led adaptation program of the LDC Consortium on Climate Change. He also leads the Decentralised Climate Finance Mechanism Working Group for Uganda under the LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience.
Jenny Frankel-Reed
Jenny Frankel-Reed is a senior program officer, climate adaptation, with the Agricultural Development Team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her experience includes adaptation strategy and program management, climate information and analysis for vulnerability assessment and planning, and applied research partnerships that bridge disciplines and geographies. Jenny is passionate about co-development in research and technology projects, inspired by her work with regional organizations around the world and NASA. She has previously worked for various bilateral and multilateral development organizations and provided technical assistance to climate programs in 20 countries and regions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Judy Omumbo
Judy is a vector-borne disease epidemiologist & climate change enthusiast. At SFA, she manages a pan-African fellowship programme that supports Africa postdoctoral researchers to grow in research leadership in their home countries and conduct research and innovation that addresses African priorities for sustainable development. Judy also serves on various international scientific and technical advisory capacities including the WMO Research Board, co-chair of the COVID Task Team of the joint WMO-WHO collaborative programme and on the board of the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP).
Lucilene Danciguer
Lucilene Danciguer is an experienced facilitator of participatory and multi-stakeholder processes, expertly guiding groups through change and development. For over twenty years, Lucilene has consulted on environmental and social projects, environmental education, sustainability and local development with various public, private and non-profit organizations throughout Brazil. Co-founder of GAIA Social and Humphey Fellow, she is currently an advisor to a number of programs and NGOs, senior consultant at Reos Partners, director of Sustainable Fashion Collaboration, and facilitator of the Sustainable Amazon Forum.
María del Pilar Bueno Rubial
Dr. Pilar Bueno Rubial is a Senior Researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina. She is a member of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee (2017-2021) and former co-chair (2018-2019). She negotiated adaptation for Argentina at the UNFCCC and was leading coordinator of the G77 and China on adaptation (2016-2018). She leads the Project Argentina 1.5ºC, as well as the Center of Studies in Environmental Policies of the National University of Rosario (UNR) and the Department of Environment and Development of the National University of La Plata. She is former Secretary of Climate Change in Argentina and current Academic Coordinator of the Diploma in Political Management of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNR).
Rosalind West
(Co-chair)
Dr Rosalind West is co-chair of the ARA Secretariat and the lead advisor on weather and climate science at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. She heads the climate science team in the Research & Evidence Division where she is responsible for the department’s portfolio of research programmes on adaptation and resilience, including the Future Climate for Africa programme. Rosalind has a background in climate model development, with a DPhil in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Saleemul Huq
Professor Saleemul Huq is the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) since 2009 and Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) in London. He is also Senior Advisor on Locally Led Action, Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) and Advisor of Climate Change Programme at Brac. He has been named among the “World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy for 2019” for making a positive difference by The Apolitical, a London-based public servants’ networking group.
International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Wei-Sen Li
Dr. Wei-Sen Li is the Executive Director of APEC Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building Center (EPCC) and the Secretary General of National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR). He has a wealth of experiences in the development and implementation of disaster risk reduction and management systems at domestic and regional levels. His working scopes include building capacity through engaging public-private partnership to better prepare for and respond to emergencies and natural disasters in the Asia Pacific region. Currently, he leads international collaborations and conducts research on large-scale urban disasters and disaster risk management.
National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction
Sheela Patel
Sheela Patel is the founder director of the Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), an NGO that has been working since 1984 to support community organisations of the urban poor in their efforts to access secure housing and basic amenities and seek their right to the city. Patel is widely recognised – nationally and internationally – for seeking urgent attention to the issues of urban poverty, housing and infrastructure onto the radar of governments, bilateral and international agencies, foundations and other organizations. She is a founder of Slum Dwellers International, a transnational social movement of the urban poor, whose board she previously chaired.
Jian Liu
Dr Jian Liu is the Director of the Science Division at United Nations Environment and has over 30 years of professional experience in science and policy, in the specific domains of ecosystems management, agriculture, environment and climate change at national, regional and global levels, in particular in developing countries.