Director, Division for Sustainable Development, UN-DESA

Nikhil Seth is currently the Director of the Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and he was also Head of the Rio+20 Secretariat.

As Head of the Rio+20 Secretariat, he spearheaded the preparations for the UNCSD Conference in Rio.

During his career with the United Nations since 1993, Mr. Seth has served as Special Assistant and Chief of Office to the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Chief of the Policy Coordination Branch in the Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, as Secretary of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Second Committee of the General Assembly, and as Director of the DESA Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, where he guided the ECOSOC's work in implementing several new key mandates, including its Annual Ministerial Review and Development Cooperation Forum.

Before joining the UN Secretariat, he was a delegate to the UN in the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and involved with various UN conferences and summits including the Rio Summit on Environment and Development, the Copenhagen Summit on Social Development, the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development, the Mauritius Conference on Small Island Developing States, the Millennium Summit, World Summit on Sustainable Development and the UN World Summit.

He joined the Indian diplomatic service in 1980 and his diplomatic assignments included Geneva, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Chief, Outreach and Communications Branch, Division for Sustainable Development, UN-DESA

Nikhil Chandavarkar is Chief of the Outreach and Communication Branch, Division for Sustainable Development, at the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, with responsibility for dialoguing and developing partnerships with various constituencies, particularly major groups of society and the media, on sustainable development issues including the Post 2015 Development Agenda, the sustainable development goals (SDGs), green economy, climate change, education for sustainable development and related policy matters. He led outreach and communications for the Rio+20 Conference and the 2014 Conference on Small Island Development States, and oversees the knowledge platforms for partnerships emerging from both conferences. Nikhil holds a Ph. D in economics from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., where he was also a teaching fellow. Since joining the United Nations in 1979, he has served in Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay and in management positions in New York. He has advised governments in a variety of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, on human development and sustainable development policies.

Team Leader (Sustainable Energy), Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN DESA

Minoru Takada is Senior Policy Advisor on Energy in the Strategic Planning Unit of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. He is the focal point for coordinating the activities of the Sustainable Energy for All High-Level Group. Previously, Mr. Takada was Head of the Sustainable Energy Programme, Environment and Energy Group of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. In this capacity, he was involved in policy and strategy development to expand access to modern energy services for the poor. He was also the UNDP’s lead focal point for technology transfer discussions in relation to climate change and has significant field experience in Angola and Ghana, where his work focused on energy and environment issues, as well as youth mobilization and community development projects. Mr. Takada has written widely on renewable energy applications and energy and development. He obtained a PhD in renewable energy applications from Mie University in Japan, and Masters in Nuclear Engineering from the Hokkaido University, Japan.

Vice President, University of Chalmers, UNESCO Chair in Education for Sustainable Development

John Holmberg is professor in Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers University of Technology, where he holds the position of vice president. He also holds an UNESCO-chair in Education in sustainable development. He is member of UNESCO expert panel for the UN decade for ESD and member of the steering committee for the Global University Partnership for Environment and Sustainable development (GUPES). He is chairman of the jury for the Gothenburg international award for sustainable development. He is the founder of the Industrial Ecology Master programme and the Challenge Lab at Chalmers. In the early nineties he presented socio-ecological principles (system conditions) for sustainable development along with a back-casting method that has been distributed internationally by The Natural Step’s activities. The last 10 years he has been active in transforming the university in line with its vision “Chalmers for a sustainable future” and in multi-stakeholder partnership to transform west Sweden to a test-bed for sustainability solutions.

Director of Knowledge Services, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

Myung-Kyoon Lee is the Director of Knowledge Services Department at Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) located in the Republic of Korea. As the Director of Knowledge Services, he leads Knowledge Development and Sharing, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development in GGGI. He also supports GGGI’s operation on the ground for green growth by providing technical and management advice. He has been a professor in the faculty of environment at Keimyung University as well as Senior Economist at UNEP Risoe Center for Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, where he managed its “Capacity Development for the CDM (CD4CDM)” programme and led its Climate Change cluster. He previously worked for Korea Energy Economics Institute, LG Economic Research Institute, and Korea Environment Institute. He got B.A. of Economics at Seoul National University in Korea and AM and Ph.D. of Economics at Brown University in USA and has published widely on energy, environment and development issues. He has also served as a lead author of Working Group III of IPCC’s AR5.

Senior Manager, Every Woman Every Child, Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General (EOSG)

Nana Taona Kuo is a development economist and public policy specialist by training, with over 14 years’ experience in Global Health, rural development, HIV and public health, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. She is currently the Senior Manager of the Every Woman Every Child Health Team in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General, United Nations, New York. Every Woman Every Child is a special imitative of UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, launched in 2010, is an unprecedented global movement that mobilizes and intensifies international and national action by governments, the UN, civil society, private sector and multilaterals to save and improve the lives of millions of women and children around the world.

Global Policy Advisor - Effective Development Cooperation, Development Impact Group, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP

Yuko Suzuki Naab is Policy Advisor, Effective Development Cooperation, the Development Impact Team, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. In this capacity, she leads the UNDP portfolio of Effective Development Cooperation globally, and supports the effective functioning of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation as a member of the OECD/UNDP Joint Support Team. She also plays a strategic oversight role in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Secretariat. Yuko has over 15 years of experience in international development, including 10 years of country-level experience in providing advisory, technical and coordination support in the area of effective development cooperation, effective aid management system and mutual accountability framework. Prior to joining to the UNDP/BPPS, she worked as an in-house aid effectiveness technical advisor to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda as well as a Head of the Development Partners Group (DPG) Secretariat in Tanzania.

Business Partnerships Hub Manager, UN Global Compact

Rosedel is the Business Partnerships Hub Manager at theUnited Nations Global Compact and is working to build partnerships between social enterprises and corporations in order to address global challenges. Rosedel specializes in developing projects and managing programs designed to connect social innovators with financing and technical assistance in order to scale impact. Prior to joining the UN Global Compact she served as a consultant for the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). Prior to her work at the GIIN she served as a fellow at The Tony Elumelu Foundation TEF),a Lagos, Nigeria-based foundation focused on catalyzing the competitiveness of the African private sector. At TEF, Rosedel developed the investment strategy for a seed fund providing financing for maternal and child health innovations. Rosedel received her B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Boston University and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where she was a recipient of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Scholarship.

Principal Officer, Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG)

Gerald Pachoud is Principal Officer in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary General. He focuses on formulating strategy and advising the Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Planning on the Secretary-General’s proposal to scale up the UN capacity to engage in transformative partnerships with non-UN actors, in particular the private sector. Between 2009 and 2011, Gerald was Senior Policy Adviser in the Peacebuilding Support Office, where he led strategy development on the role of the private sector in peacebuilding. From 2005 to 2011, Gerald served as the Special Adviser to the Secretary General's Special Representative on business and human rights, Professor John Ruggie. In this role, he was closely involved in the conceptual, political and operational development of the “protect, respect and remedy” framework, and in the drafting of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. Gerald has a BA in international relations and a MA in international law from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute for International Studies.

Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Samoa to the United Nations

Mrs. Strickland-Simonet has been with the Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for more than 14 years. She started in 2001 in the Economic and Aid Division before being posted to the Embassy of Samoa in Belgium as First Secretary from 2002 to 2007. She returned to MFAT in Apia and worked in the Political, International Relations and Protocol Division before taking up her posting in New York in 2011 as the Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Samoa Mission to the United Nations. She was Samoa’s lead negotiator on the SAMOA Pathway negotiations, a member of the Friends of SIDS and Samoa Partnership Committee in preparation for the SIDS Conference in Samoa and currently covers the Financing for Development and Post 2015 negotiations for Samoa, amongst other responsibilities.
She was born and raised in Samoa and holds tertiary qualifications in Economics and Money & Finance, and in Contemporary Diplomacy from Victoria University, New Zealand and the University of Malta, respectively.

Executive Director, The Partnering Initiative

Driven by a passionate belief in the power of collaboration to achieve prosperous, inclusive and sustainable business and society, Darian has for the last 14 years worked collectively with companies, the UN, NGOs, and governments with one aim: to drive the widespread implementation of effective partnerships for sustainable development. To this end, he has pioneered a number of major initiatives including Business Partnership Action to develop in-country partnership platforms which systematically convene and catalyse innovative collaboration across sectors; and the Partnering Alliance a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop a common language and good practice reference standards for adoption in partnerships globally.
In 2013 he served as the private sector representative on the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, for which he co-authored the seminal ‘Roadmap’ publication, setting out a systematic approach to drive the engagement of business as a partner in development at the country level. A former NASA quantum physicist, Darian has published extensively including a range of essential frameworks and tools to support all aspects of partnering, as well as developing a number of partnership training courses.

Senior Manager, Strategy & Development, Rainforest Alliance

José Román Carrera, Senior Manager, Strategy & Development at Rainforest Alliance, has more than a decade of experience in sustainable development including sustainable forest management, community development, and monitoring and evaluation. He currently supports efforts under the ‘Climate, Nature and Communities in Guatemala’ project, a consortium led by Rainforest Alliance, focusing on conserving Guatemala’s natural resources and supporting the country’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Prior to joining the Rainforest Alliance, he was the Director of the Petén Region of Guatemala’s National Council of Protected Areas. He has also worked as a Project Director or Forest Assessor for several Guatemalan NGOs, leading projects related to strengthening community forest concessions, non-timber forest products, and evaluation of sustainable forest management. He holds a M.Sc. in Biodiversity Conservation and Forest Management from CATIE, and a BS in Forestry from Louisiana State University. Mr. Carrera is fluent in English and Spanish.

Managing Director, LINC

Rich is a Managing Director at LINC (Local–International NGOs Collaborate), a US-based company that works with the most promising national and regional development organizations around the world to enhance their role in internationally funded projects. He has over 15 years of experience as an international entrepreneur, consultant and program manager. As an adviser to global, regional and local organizations, Rich has provided strategy consulting, training, program design and management support to community and economic development programs focusing on topics such as strategic planning, organizational management, social enterprise, and corporate social responsibility. He is fluent in Spanish and has worked in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Prior to his focus on development programs, Rich was co-founder and VP of Strategy of a marketing and management consulting firm with offices in the US and Europe. Rich has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, a BS in Economics from Wharton Business School, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Head of Office, United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD

Jong-Soo Yoon is the Head of the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development, administered by the Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). He is the former Vice-Minister of Environment and an environmental expert in sustainable development. With over 20 years at the Ministry of Environment, he has focused on the establishment and delivery of policies through various projects in planning and budget, personnel management and other major tasks. Previous roles include Assistant minister of the Environmental Policy Department, Director General of Water Supply and Sewerage Bureau and Director General of the Waste Circulation Bureau, Director General of Air and Climate change Bureau, among many others. Yoon has also contributed at the international platform on environment as an Environmental Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. He has also played a pivotal role for the successful establishment of the second National Strategy for Sustainable Development (2011-2015). Yoon has a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Seoul University.

Executive Director, Global Island Partnership (GLISPA)

Ms. Kate Brown is the Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership, a platform that enables island leaders and their supporters to take action to build resilient and sustainable island communities. Ms. Brown is a passionate advocate for islands. She is a valued and trusted international partnership and collaboration leader, with a unique ability to connect dots for issues and people. Ms. Brown has extensive experience in all island regions globally, and brings an extensive network of island leaders, blue sky thinkers and people dedicated to supporting islands. She has experience working inside government, non profits and intergovernmentally as well as a keen sense of the most important elements of the international policy setting space relevant to islands as well as what is needed for implementation to happen. A strategic thinker who is able to present clear ideas and set up the right conditions for collaboration to thrive.

Manager, Partnerships, UN Global Compact

Angus Rennie is a Partnerships Manager with the United Nations Global Compact in New York. He coordinates the UN System Private Sector Focal Points Network, a Community of Practice of UN colleagues focused on strengthening the capacity of the UN system to engage the private sector to advance UN issues and goals while promoting responsible and sustainable business. Before joining the Global Compact, Angus practiced law in Canada, and has experience in corporate and commercial law, civil litigation, and international criminal law. Angus has also served as Special Assistant to Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, a Policy Analyst at the Ontario Legislature, and as an advisor and organizer on numerous campaigns and elections.

Special Advisor to the US Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

Puneet recently joined Megan Smith - US Chief Technology Officer at the White House, to help debug the world's connectivity deserts. Puneet is focused on expanding affordable access to the Internet in all places where it doesn't exist. In her previous life in the private-sector, she served as a Program Director at Google[x], leading Solve for X - an open moonshot platform to accelerate the progress of individuals and organizations working on breakthrough science and technology projects. Prior to Google she worked as a portfolio analyst at Goldman Sachs, where her role was to identify structurally-advantaged companies that had the potential to stay ahead of emerging global trends and disrupt their industries over the next 15-20 years. She served on the Board of Directors for Colin Powell's non-profit - America's Promise, co-founded an NGO called Freedom's Answer, and co-authored a book on civic activism under the same title. Puneet received her BSc and MSc from Oxford University. She currently lives with her husband in New York City.

Director of Multilateral and NGO, Socrata

As Director of Multilateral & NGO at Socrata, Jeff is responsible for Socrata’s work with multilateral and non-governmental organizations globally, including UNDP, World Bank, Oxfam America, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as having regional responsibility Africa. Jeff has for years been a high-profile expert in the global Open Data space. Prior to joining Socrata, he worked with the World Bank leading groundbreaking Open Data work with countries such as Mexico, Moldova (1st Open Data portal in Eastern Europe/CIS), Nigeria (1st sub-national Open Data portal in Africa), Russia and Rwanda. Jeff was an early thought leader in open technologies. He was Founder & Director of the Open ePolicy Group, a pioneering, global network of government CIOs and industry executives based at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society that published the Roadmap for Open ICT Ecosystems. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where he served as the Editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal.

Associate Director, Monitoring & Accountability for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

Jessica is the Associate Director of the SDSN and head of its New York office. She leads SDSN’s post-2015 monitoring and accountability initiative, which also explores investments and innovations that could help to strengthen national and global monitoring systems. Prior to joining SDSN, Jessica served as a special adviser on the post-2015 agenda within the Office of the President of Liberia, supporting the work of The High Level Panel of Eminent Persons and the development of the Common African Position on the Post-2015 Agenda. For three years prior she was a senior researcher for Save the Children UK, who initially supported her work in Liberia on secondment. She has also worked as a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA). Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Modern History from the University of Oxford and a Masters of Sciences in the Political Economy of Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Global Fellow, Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC)

Brendan Guy is a Global Fellow with NRDC’s International Program. He manages NRDC’s global strategy to build a new architecture for action and accountability on climate change and sustainable development involving all stakeholders. Brendan serves as a founding member of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s learning partnership, and as an advisory board member of the SUSTAINIA100 sustainable solutions competition. Brendan received his masters in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and his undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia.

Advocacy, Outreach and Communications, UN-Habitat

Jeanette is the Head of Press and Media at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, where she oversees press liaison, digital and social media, audiovisual output, editorial and spokesperson’s functions as well as traditional communication.

UN-Habitat was one of the first UN agencies to sign up to IATI publishing and Jeanette has worked on the organisation’s open data project, open.unhabitat.org, since its conception and an updated version of the website was recently released.

UN-Habitat also coordinates the UN Working Group on Transparency – a group that promotes open data publishing within the UN system and supporting UN bodies wishing to publish to IATI by sharing experience and best practice.

Before joining UN-Habitat, Jeanette worked as a radio journalist for the BBC in London and for the British Foreign Office in Nairobi.

Senior Liaison Officer, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

As Senior Liaison Officer at the Permanent Observer office of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the United Nations, Yera Ortiz de Urbina leads IRENA’s engagement with the UN community in matters related to sustainable development and sustainable energy.
Prior to joining IRENA, Yera Ortiz de Urbina was Counsellor in charge of sustainable development at the Delegation of the European Union and the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations. As a career diplomat, she served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Spanish Embassy in Baghdad (Iraq) and Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy in Amman (Jordan). Previously, Ms. Ortiz de Urbina worked as Deputy Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Ortiz de Urbina started her career as Technical Advisor at the European Commission (DG Communication, Information and Culture), supporting the EC’s global engagement with universities and academia.