Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors
Susan Aitken
Susan Aitken was elected as Leader of Glasgow City Council in 2017, forming a Scottish National Party (SNP) led City Government in the first change of political administration in Glasgow in 40 years. She was first elected as a councillor for the Langside ward (where she lives with her husband) in 2012, following a career in public policy and communications in the third sector and the Scottish Parliament, and as a freelance writer and editor specialising in social care issues. Susan was reappointed to a second term as Council Leader following the 2022 Scottish Local Government elections.
Under her leadership, Glasgow has hosted the UN Climate Summit COP26, which led to the formation of the Glasgow Climate Pact. As leader of the host city, Susan was ideally placed to help give voice to the critical role of local and subnational leadership and urban peer networks on the climate agenda. Across COP27 and COP28, Susan has continued to connect Glasgow with key global partners and as a board member of the 3Ci network, has helped make the shared case to national government and the private markets for support in the decarbonisation of UK cities. In addition, Susan’s leadership has seen Glasgow awarded Global Green City status by the Global Forum on Human Settlements; named host of the inaugural UCI World Cycling Championships during its year as 2023 European Capital of Sport; and secured host status for the World Indoor Athletics Championships in 2024.
Susan was awarded Scottish Local Politician of the Year for her work to end historic gender pay discrimination and deliver compensation for thousands of women Council workers. She was also awarded Scottish Council Leader of the Year for her leadership on climate issues, including plans to limit private car use in the core of Glasgow city centre. Susan was selected as one of 40 global city leaders for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Class of 2023.
Daniel Stander
Daniel is a special advisor to the United Nations on matters of risk analytics and finance. Over the last 20 years, Daniel has worked on every continent, advising public and private entities on a variety of complex risks, including natural hazards, pandemics and cyber attacks. He is a pioneer of #ResilienceFinance, helping capital find responsible investments in the face of climate and other extremes. He also supported the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wildlife Fund in a pioneering initiative to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
From 2006-2020, Daniel held a variety of leadership positions at Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world’s leading catastrophe risk modelling company. Most recently, he was Global Managing Director at RMS, leading among other things the firm’s relationships with all levels of government. In 2018, Mayor Francis Suarez presented Daniel with a City of Miami Proclamation recognizing his commitment to raise awareness, foster cooperation, and deliver resilience to urban economies and communities in the face of sea level rise and the threat of extreme events.
Prior to RMS, Daniel was part of the group strategy and development function at an 80,000-employee, £10-billion, global healthcare group, serving 30 million customers in over 190 countries. He also has considerable start-up experience, having been part of the founding team of an award-winning fintech. He continues to advise tech companies, including Agritask, whose precision agronomics platform is improving economic resilience, protecting livelihoods and increasing food security.
Daniel holds a Master’s from the University of Oxford. He also studied for a master’s degree at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and is a graduate of the Center of Creative Leadership. A frequent keynote speaker, Daniel is often quoted in the Financial Times, the BBC and other tier one media.
Eduardo Paes
Eduardo Paes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from PUC-Rio University. He has dedicated his career to public service, beginning in 1993 when, at the age of 23, he was appointed Supervisor of the Jacarepaguá and Barra districts. He was twice elected to the City Council and twice to the Federal Congress.
In October 2008, he was elected Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. In 2012, he was reelected in the first round for a second term.
As mayor, Mr. Paes oversaw a cycle of great events in Rio de Janeiro, from the Rio+20 Conference in 2012, through the 2014 FIFA World Cup to the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, which accelerated major transportation, infrastructure and urban renewal projects in the city.
Between 2017 and 2020, he worked as a consultant in the Urban Planning Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and as Vice President for Latin America of BYD Company Ltd., focusing on the management of metropolitan regions.
In 2020, he was elected mayor of the city for a third term, taking office on January 1st, 2021 with a commitment to leading the city’s recovery from a fiscal crisis and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
From 2013 to 2016 Mayor Paes served as Chair of the C40 cities Climate Leadership Group, succeeding Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. In 2023 he joined the Board of the Resilient Cities Network and co-chairs the Urban SDG Finance Commission.
Eduardo Paes is married and has two children. He is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
Niels Holm-Nielsen
Niels Holm-Nielsen is the Practice Manager for the Global Unit for Disaster and Climate Risk Management at the World Bank, and Head of the Secretariat for the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
He oversees a team that works to influence investment at scale for disaster and climate risk management globally. Prior to taking up his current position, Niels was the World Bank’s Global Technical Lead for Resilience and Disaster Risk Management (DRM), supporting team leads and managers to deliver the highest possible technical quality of DRM services to our clients.
He has worked in more than 50 countries and led the creation and implementation of a series of global technical assistance and knowledge service partnerships, including risk reduction for education facilities as well as the City Resilience Program.
He joined the World Bank in 2006 as Junior Professional Officer in Middle East and North Africa region after working for the Inter-American Development Bank for five years. He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.
Maimunah Mohd Sharif
Maimunah Mohd Sharif has served as the 1st Female Mayor of Kuala Lumpur since August 15, 2024, and holds the position of Malaysia’s Special Envoy for Sustainable Urbanisation. Additionally, she is a member of the International Advisory Committee to the COP29 Presidency on urbanisation and climate change.
Previously, Mme Maimunah was the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) from 2018 to 2024. Before her tenure with the United Nations, she made history as the 1st woman President of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council and subsequently as the Mayor of the Penang Island City Council in Malaysia.
A professional town planner, Mme Maimunah is an Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planners’ Institute in the United Kingdom. She is also an Honorary Fellow of United Cities & Local Governments (UCLG), where she previously served as Vice President of UCLG Asia Pacific. Additionally, she is a Fellow of the King’s Foundation in the United Kingdom, contributing her expertise in urban regeneration, and serves on the Jury Panel of the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew World Cities Prize, The Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities (Shanghai Award) and also Seoul Smart City Award.
Gareth Morgan
Gareth Morgan has been the Executive Director of Future Planning and Resilience in the City of Cape Town since July 2022. He leads a portfolio of functions that help the organization plan for the future and to be prepared for shocks and stresses. Prior to his current role he was the Director of Resilience. He led the development of the first Cape Town Resilience Strategy in partnership with 100 Resilient Cities and held leadership positions in the portfolio responses of the City to both the recent regional drought (2017-2018) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022). He was a senior member of the team that won the 2020 Global Public Service Award in the COVID Rapid Responders category from the Apolitical organisation.
In the early part of his career, he was a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly (NA) for nine years, serving predominantly on the Portfolio Committee of Environmental Affairs. Whilst in Parliament, he was for one year the Parliamentary Counsellor to the Leader of the Opposition, and for two years he was a whip of the NA. His legislative interests included energy, water and the green economy.
He is an Archbishop Tutu Fellow and an Aspen Global Fellow. He was a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship, which took him to Oxford University where he read for a MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a MSc in Environmental Change and Management. He is also a graduate of the University of Natal were read for B. Comm and Honours in Political Science. In 2020 he was a finalist in the Mail & Guardian’s Greening the Future Awards.
Qiyun Woo
Qiyun Woo is a Singaporean climate communicator and environmentalist passionate about communicating climate science through compelling visuals. Woo is best known for her work with The Weird and Wild, an Instagram page that produces accessible environmental content to advocate, educate, and engage communities and young people on climate change.
Her science communication work has been featured in mainstream publications (The Straits Times, L’Officiel, GRAZIA), exhibitions (with TheGreats.Co, Lendlease), and in collaborations with global brands (Mercedes-Benz, Casetify, Stojo, Decathlon, WWF).
Beyond commercial projects, she works with fellow environmentalists locally and regionally to advocate for pro-environmental policies, rallied the public to engage in climate policy, and worked on campaigns to raise awareness about environmental issues. Qiyun currently serves as the Senior Communications Manager for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II Technical Support Unit based at the Singapore Management University. In this cycle, the Working Group is also leading on the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.
Woo holds a degree in environmental science from the National University of Singapore and spent the last 4.5 years working in sustainability consulting, supporting companies on their decarbonization journey before joining the IPCC.
Vito G. Dellerba
As Managing Director, Sustainability CDPQ, Vito Dellerba transforms the various sustainability themes into business opportunities. He is a reference for the various asset class teams for establishing and implementing value creation action plans specific to sustainable investing.
Mr. Dellerba has nearly 20 years of fixed income experience. Prior to serving in his current role, he worked for a year as Vice- President and Head of Sustainable Investing at Otéra Capital, CDPQ’s real estate lending subsidiary, and previously managed a $4 billion quasi sovereign investment portfolio for 8 years in CDPQ’s fixed income division. Before joining CDPQ in 2015, he spent 10 years at Cordiant Capital, an emerging market private debt fund manager, where he rapidly progressed to the senior role of Deputy Chief Investment Officer.
Mr. Dellerba has a Bachelor of Finance from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montréal and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Johnson Graduate School of Business at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is also a CFA charterholder. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund and is involved in the SDG Urban Finance Commission, a group that studies sustainable urban finance.
Jo da Silva
Jo da Silva has earned global recognition as an engineer who has led pioneering research and delivered projects globally that result in more sustainable and resilient communities, cities, and infrastructure. Her current role at Arup is Global Director, Sustainable Development and Officer to the Arup Group Board leading business transformation in response to the climate, biodiversity and equity crises.
Her previous work encompasses design of numerous buildings, infrastructure, and urban regeneration projects globally for public and private sector clients. She has also worked in humanitarian crisis and post-disaster contexts, for non-governmental and UN agencies. Prior to her current role, Jo spent a decade focussing on improving human development outcomes in Africa, S/SE Asia and Latin America working with clients ranging from multi-lateral development banks to philanthropic foundations to city governments and community-based organisations.
She is an honorary Fellow at Sidney Sussex, Cambridge, and has honorary doctorates in humanitarian engineering from Coventry University and built environment from Southbank University. She was awarded the Gold Medal by the Institution of Structural Engineers in 2017 and has been recognised as a Royal Designer for Industry for sustainable design. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to engineering and international development.
Our Global Steering Committee
The Global Steering Committee (GSC) has a clear mandate to set principles and policy that are directly driven by and responsive to the needs of the network’s member cities.
The GSC comprises of up to ten Chief Resilience Officers from across the five regions of our network:
- Africa (AFR)
- Asia-Pacific (APAC)
- Europe and the Middle East (EME)
- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
- North America (NAM)
Each region holds up to two seats in the GSC.
The GSC is co-chaired by two CROs representing different regions.
Dr. Folayinka Dania (GSC Co-Chair)
Dr Folayinka Dania is the Chief Resilience Officer for Lagos State and the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Resilience Office (LASRO). She coordinates the implementation of the Lagos Resilience Strategy in collaboration with other State Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies with the goal of ensuring that the State continues to thrive, adapt and grow sustainably.
Beck Dawson
Beck Dawson is the Chief Resilience Officer for metropolitan Sydney, hosted by the City of Sydney Council as part of R-Cities. Known as “the person paid to worry for Sydney,” Beck champions urban resilience and systems thinking for cities. Since 2015, Beck has led the development and implementation of the Resilient Sydney Strategy, working with governments, business, and the community to build collaboration and investment for a stronger, more connected, and more resilient city.
Kamlesh Yagnik
Kamlesh Yagnik has over three decades’ experience in business and consulting. His areas of interest include citywide surveillance, e-Governance, and energy management. As President of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he represented micro-, small, medium, and large enterprises working in flood-prone areas of South Gujarat, India. An Energy Engineer by training, with a degree from India’s leading technological institute IIT, Mumbai, Kamlesh is Director of two companies working in the areas of energy, climate change, and information technology.
Moges Tedasse
Moges Tadesse, PhD, is an academician, researcher and development practitioner. He served as a manager, coordinator, planner, integrator and resource mobilizer in NGOs. As an academician and researcher in higher institutions has trained graduate and post graduate students and undertaken a number of problem solving researches, and published significant articles. He also served as development practitioner at different tires in government institutions and currently working as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) in the City of Addis Ababa.
Ahmed K. AbuLaban
Ahmed holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from BirZeit University in Palestine. He was a fellow in the Humphrey International Fellowship Program through the US State Department at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in 2004-2005. This prestigious program is built to accommodate mid-career professionals obtain further training and academic work in Public Administration.
Ahmed has extensive experience in local government policy, city management, project management, crisis management, sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities programs,. He has a serious commitment to continued personal and professional development by attending and participating in local, regional and international workshops and conferences. He also has a long history with volunteer work and social activism.
Guzmán Robaina
Guzmán Robaina (Montevideo): Member of the Executive Resilience Unit at the Secretary of Planning of the Government of Montevideo. He oversees the design, development, and implementation of the City Resilience Strategy and the Integral Risk Management Strategy of Montevideo (2020-2024). He holds a degree in International Relations
Norlang Marcel García Arróliga
Norlang Marcel García Arróliga graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) with a degree in economics science. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Policy, as well as a Higher Education course in Disaster Risk Management from Colombia National University. Additionally, the Kobe Institute of Urban Research conducted studies on Reconstruction Plans after Disasters in the Japanese city of Kobe. He has 21 years’ experience in project coordination in public policy about Disasters Risk Reduction. At the National Center for Disaster Prevention, he served as the deputy director of economic and social studies. He was Director General of Mexico City’s Resilience Agency. He presently serves as the Resilience General Director at Secretariat of Integral Risk Management and Civil Protection in Mexico City.
Kathy Oldham
Kathy has been Greater Manchester’s Chief Resilience Officer since 2017, providing strategic leadership for the city region’s approach to resilience. Kathy heads up a specialist unit within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority delivering disaster risk reduction and emergency response services for Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities. She has led the development of Greater Manchester’s Resilience Strategy and provides a strategic advice function to the multi-agency Greater Manchester Resilience Forum partnership.
Kathy recently led a successful bid for Greater Manchester to become a pilot in the national Stronger LRFs Programme designed to test ways of implementing the UK Government Resilience Framework. She also leads Greater Manchester’s participation in the international Resilient Cities Network, UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative, within which Greater Manchester has been recognised as a Resilience Hub, and the Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN). She has been appointed as a Commissioner for the National Preparedness Commission.
With over 15 years’ experience in resilience, Kathryn has been engaged in drafting national, British, European and International Standards on resilience. Kathy holds a medical degree and has previously held a wide range of positions in local government.
Patricia Gomez
Patricia Gómez, Ph.D., PE, CEM, GBE, LEED AP, serves as interim Chief Resilience Officer for Miami-Dade County. Dr. Gómez has over 20 years of experience working on engineering, management, resilience, and sustainability-related programs in both the public sector and private industries. She began her career with Miami-Dade County as an Engineer with the Department of Environmental Resources Management and worked at the Water and Sewer Department before her role with the Office of Sustainability and now the Office of Resilience.
She led the development of the County’s Climate Action Strategy, Building Efficiency 305 voluntary Program, and installation of solar systems in County facilities. Dr. Gomez holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Florida International University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad America. Dr. Gómez is a Professional Engineer in the State of Florida and holds numerous accreditations in engineering, energy, and sustainability fields.
Katia Tynan
Katia is the Manager of Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction and acting Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Vancouver.
In this role she co-authored and oversees the implementation of the Resilient Vancouver. She manages complex cross-departmental projects and holds a resilience advisory role on various processes and plans. Since 2017, Katia has led the City’s Resilient Neighbourhoods Program, partnering with community-based organizations to identify and build on the services and networks that enable communities to thrive day-to-day, and build capacity to respond to and recover from emergencies like extreme heat or earthquakes.
Before joining the City of Vancouver, Katia worked in the non-profit sector as a program manager and community developer. She holds a master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from Royal Roads University, a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and is a certified Strategic Foresight Practitioner through Institute for the Future.
Our Network
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