Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya

Minister of Environment, Rwanda

Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya is the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda. Prior to her appointment in November 2019, she served as the  Ambassador of Rwanda in Russia from 2013 and the Rector of the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology- KIST from (2011-2013). Dr. Mujawamariya Jeanne d’Arc also served as Rwanda’s Minister of Gender and Family Promotion (2008-2011); Minister of Education (2006-2008); Minister of State in Charge of Higher Education (2005-2006) and Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research (2003-2005). Minister Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya is a Ph.D. holder in Physical-Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology-IIT Roorkee, India. She is passionate about environmental conservation and efficient natural resources development to achieve sustainable development and green growth for Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation.

Nicolás Galarza Sánchez

Deputy Minister of the Environment, Colombia 

Nicolás Galarza Sánchez is an Internationalist of the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá and holds a Masters of Urban Planning from NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Mr. Galarza Sánchez was a Research Scholar in the Urban Expansion program of the NYU Marron Institute, where he worked with the Nobel Prize laureate, Professor Paul Romer, and the recognized urban planner Shlomo Angel. At NYU, he led various projects in different cities of the region, promoting orderly urban expansion. Galarza has co-authored different publications, including the Urban Expansion Atlas 2016 Edition and the Urban Expansion Atlas of Colombia. Prior to the Marron Institute, Nicolás was an advisor to the High Presidential Counselor for Social Action and the Director of the Strategy for Overcoming Extreme Poverty. From 2019 to 2020, Nicolás served as the Urban Director at the Ministry of Housing, City, and Territory. Currently, Nicolás Galarza is the Deputy Minister of the Environment at the Republic of Colombia and collaborates as an Affiliate Scholar through the Urban Expansion Program with the Marron Institute of NYU.

Vera Revina Sari

Acting Deputy Governor for Spatial Planning and Environment, Jakarta, Indonesia

Vera Revina Sari is the Deputy Governor for Spatial Planning and Environment of Jakarta, Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Regional and City Planning from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), complemented with a Master of Engineering in Urban Engineering from the University of Tokyo. Before becoming the Deputy Governor of Jakarta, she worked as the Head of Bureau for Spatial Planning and Environment of DKI in Jakarta, the Head of Infrastructure and Environment Division of the Regional Planning Board of DKI, and the Head of Spatial Planning Division of Bureau for Spatial Planning and Environment of DKI also in Jakarta.

Susan Aitken

Leader of the Council, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Susan Aitken has been the Leader of Glasgow City Council since May 2017 and is the first SNP Leader of the Council. For her work to deliver equal pay justice for thousands of women in the city, she was awarded the Scottish Local Government Politician of the Year. Under her leadership, Glasgow has been named the host of COP26, a Global Green City, and the European Capital of Sport for 2023. Councillor Aitken has worked in a variety of policy and research roles in the Scottish Parliament and the third sector and as a freelance writer and editor specializing in health and social care policy. She is a graduate of both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

Chief Executive Officer, GEF (Global Environmental Facility)

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez is the CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, the largest multilateral trust fund supporting environmental action in developing countries and the main financing mechanism for multiple United Nations environmental conventions. During his three terms as Minister of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica, he was a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration, ocean conservation, and de-carbonization. He is an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy, multilateral environmental negotiations, and financing for nature. Rodriguez has a legal degree from the Law School of the University of Costa Rica, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Bruno Oberle

Director-General, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

Dr. Bruno Oberle assumed office as Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in July 2020. He brings over 40 years of experience to IUCN when redefining humanity’s relationship with nature is more urgent than ever. Before joining IUCN, Dr. Bruno Oberle served in some of Switzerland’s most prestigious positions related to the environment. Between 2005 and 2015, as State Secretary for the Environment and Director of the Federal Office for the Environment for Switzerland, he represented Switzerland in leading international institutions and negotiations, playing a key role in the Global Environment Facility and in establishing the Green Climate Fund. Dr. Oberle is a leading expert in the fields of sustainable resource management and green economy and has explored and shaped the interface between environmental policy, economic development, and social equity from the perspective of the state regulator, entrepreneur and scientist.

Juergen Voegele

Sameh Naguib Wahba

Global Director, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, World Bank

Sameh Wahba is the Global Director of Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience, and Land Global Practice at the World Bank. The Global Practice, which also covers territorial development, geospatial and results-based-financing issues, has a portfolio of close to $30 billion in commitments in investment projects, program-for-results, and development policy lending, and about 450 staff. He holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University, and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Architectural Engineering from Cairo University.