Many talented individuals are actively contributing to making the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C24) a key moment on the calendar for sustainable urban development. This includes the Conference Advisory Committee, comprising influential voices from academia, business, and civil society.
The Conference Advisory Committee is at the heart of ensuring the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C24) becomes a catalyst for city climate action worldwide. Composed of leaders across academia, business, and civil society, the committee is united by the goal of facilitating a space that accelerates city climate action through equitable cross-sector co-production of knowledge and the empowerment of cities and local governments to act on climate, sustainability, and biodiversity. Through being involved in every aspect of the planning of this conference, from reviewing session abstracts to connecting organizations and communities, the following people are ensuring I4C24 drives research, knowledge, and innovation to accelerate city climate action.
Aaron Addison,
Executive Director,
World Geospatial Industry
Council (WGIC) Secretariat
Adam Elman,
Head of Sustainability,
Google Europe
Adriana Campelo,
Assistant Secretary-General and
Deputy Executive Director,
UN Women, UNDRR
Aklilu Fikresilassie,
Director, Thriving Resilient Cities, WRI Africa
Alain Bourque,
Executive Director, Ouranos
Aromar Revi,
Director, Indian Institute for Human Settlements
Bruce Stiftel,
Professor Emeritus, School of City & Regional Planning, Georgia Tech, P4CA / UCCRN
David Dodman,
Director, International Institute for Environment and Development
Debra Roberts,
Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Twente
Diana Urge-Vorsatz,
Vice-Chair, IPCC and Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University
Elena Crete,
Head of the Climate & Energy Program, UNSDSN
Elsa Lefevre,
UrbanShift Global Advocacy Lead, UNEP
Giorgia Rambelli,
Director, Urban Transitions Mission
Giulia Melica,
Project leader, Scientific support to the Global Covenant of Mayors, European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Giles Sioen,
Co-Lead, Research & Innovation, Future Earth, Research Associate, National Institute for Environmental Studies
Greg Munro,
Director, Cities Alliance
Harriet Bulkeley,
Senior Fellow in the Global Policy Institute, Prof. Dept. of Geography, Deputy Executive Dean, Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, Durham University
Helen Watts,
Executive Director, Student Energy
Helinah Cardoso,
Director Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) in the Americas,
Support to GCoM in the Americas
Indy Johar,
Co-founder Project 00 & Dark Matter Labs
Jayne Engle,
PHD, Adjunct Professor, McGill University School of Urban Planning
Joanna Masic,
Lead Urban Specialist and Global Lead for Cities and Climate Change
World Bank
Jorn Verbeeck,
Net Zero Urban Program & Decarbonization Innovation Exchange Lead, Global Decarbonization Center, KPMG
Kirsten Dunlop,
CEO, Climate-KIC
Luis Neves,
CEO, Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative,
(GeSI)
Massamba Thioye,
Project Executive, UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub
Nicola Tollin,
Professor in Urban Resilience,
University of Southern Denmark,
Chairholder and coordinator of the UNESCO Chair on Urban Resilience
Paula Kirk,
Director, Global Climate and Sustainability Leader, Arup
Pourya Salehi,
Head, Urban Research, Innovation, and Development Team,
ICLEI World Secretariat and Co-Chair, GCoM Research and Innovation Technical Working Group
Pooja Mahapatra,
Global Lead – Climate & Nature, Fugro
Savina Carluccio,
Executive Director,
International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI)
Seth Schultz,
CEO, Resilience Rising
Sheela Patel,
Director of the Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres, Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres
Shin Koseki,
UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape & Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Design School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, Université de Montréal
Şiir Kılkış
Vice-Chair, Working Group III, IPCC
Susannah Smetana Kagan,
Science to Policy Director, Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN)
Ursula Eicker,
Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Communities,
Concordia University Montréal
William Solecki,
Professor of Geography, Hunter College; Director Institute for Sustainable Cities,
City University of New York (CUNY); Co-Director, Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN)
Winston Chow,
Co-Chair, Working Group II, IPCC and Associate Professor of Urban Climate and Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow at the College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University
Xuemei Bai,
Distinguished Professor, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society,
ANU College of Science, Fenner School of Environment and Society
Benjamin Jance IV,
Head of Research and Innovation,
Global Covenant of Mayors
Lea Ranalder,
Associate Programme Management Officer,
UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)
