Cities and States Taskforce

Sachin Bhoite is the Director of Climate Resilience at C40, leading its climate resilience work through its networks and programmes on water, heat and urban nature. C40 supports cities to develop, deliver and share solutions to tackle urban heat, flooding, water security; especially accelerating nature-based solutions.

Prior to C40, Sachin worked at Arup delivering resilience programmes, urban master plans and thought leadership. He was born in India and is currently based in London.

Hastings Chikoko is the CEO of Cities Africa. Prior to this, he served as the Senior Director of Cities at Big Win Philanthropy. He was also the Managing Director of Regions and Mayoral Engagement & Regional Director for Africa at C40 Cities. He serves on the Advisory Boards for the African Centre for Cities and for the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative. He chairs the Advisory Group for the African Cities Research Consortium at University of Manchester; and was Chair of the Advisory Group for the Global Diet and Activity Research Network at the University of Cambridge.

He was one of the Board of Directors at the World Green Building Council and also sat on the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Environment Facility – GEF (Sustainable Cities and Urban Systems). He has also served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Clean Air, and on Global Board of Wetlands International.

Kristie Wilson-de Groot is a Climate and Nature Leader at Ingka Group (IKEA), focused on aligning long-term capital with solutions for the many. Kristie has held sustainability, risk and investment roles with institutional investors including Prosus/Naspers and APG Asset Management.

Her career spans five continents, including seven years in Africa, shaping her conviction that capital must deliver both returns and durable systems. Kristie is active in global initiatives advancing inclusive capital. She holds degrees from Rice University, the University of Arizona, alongside coursework from Cambridge University and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Braulio Eduardo Morera is Head of Strategy and Resilience Solutions at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate, where he leads initiatives on water and food systems. He provides strategic leadership and technical expertise on systems resilience, with a focus on stakeholder engagement and project development. With a background in design and social sciences, his work sits at the intersection of water, cities, climate and value chains.

Previously, he served as Director of the 50L Home Secretariat at WBCSD and Director of Strategy Delivery at 100 Resilient Cities (pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation), where he supported cities globally in developing resilience strategies and accessing financing. He began his career at Arup, where he spent over a decade leading community development, urban design and infrastructure projects worldwide and co-developing the City Resilience Index.

An global award winning architect and climate policy specialist in the sustainable design and development field. She is the founder of Egypt’s leading Green Building Consultancy ECONSULT. Sarah is the first architect to become A UNFCCC Global Ambassador with the High Level Climate Champions. In 2025 she was elected to the Board of Governors for the Supreme Council of Women, where she is the head of the environmental and Climate Financing Committee.

Sarah is the recipient of the Vital Voices award for greater MENA and GreenTech Entrepreneur recipient 2024. ECOnsult has the highest portfolio of green certified projects by a local architect & the first Carbon Neutral project in the region and first Net Zero building in Egypt. in 2020 she founded MuBun a company that upcycles scrap waste wood into furniture.

Co-Chair of Cities and States Taskforce

Laura is an Associate Director in Arup’s Climate & Sustainability Services Portfolio, based in London. She leads Arup’s London-based team of multidisciplinary Carbon and Climate Change specialists. Laura has a long track record supporting government and non-profit partners internationally to frame their climate change challenges and develop transformative responses. She specialises particularly in climate adaptation and resilience, grounded in a deep understanding of climate risk.

Laura has worked in Arup’s Climate and Sustainability teams in the UK and United States, and on projects across Europe, the Americas, Middle East and East Asia. She is a Chartered Environmentalist and was named one of the Top 50 Women in Sustainability by the Women’s Engineering Society.

Co-Chair of Cities and States Taskforce

Mehrnaz is the Strategic Advisor of Global Coalitions and Portfolio Impact at The Earthshot Prize, where she leads strategic partnerships and coalition-building to help scale and replicate finalist solutions globally.

A global urbanist and climate justice leader, Mehrnaz brings over a decade of experience advising mayors, governments, and global organisations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe on scaling and financing solutions at the intersection of climate, society, and economy.

Mehrnaz, is also the Founder of Okhtapus, the first global replication platform focused on scaling resilient solutions from reef to roof. Prior to this, she led programmes on Urban Climate Finance and Inclusive Climate Action including an UNFCCC award winning programme at C40 Cities, working with over 100 mayors and megacities to advance a financing and implementation of a just transition. Trained as an architect, She holds board and advisory roles with the World Health Organization, World Resources Institute, Google, and the Museum of Architecture.

Associate Professor Cathy Oke OAM is Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities and Melbourne Enterprise Principal Fellow in Informed Cities within the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. She has over 25 years professional, political and academic experience in urban sustainability and city leadership, with a focus on the nexus of policy, practice and research for cities’ climate and biodiversity action.

Cathy is a member of the Advisory and Editorial Board of Journal for City Climate Policy and Economy; is a senior advisor on research and innovation to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Innovate4Cities Program; and a Lead Author for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. Cathy was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to local government and the environment by the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia in January 2023.

Lin O’Grady has more than 30 years of experience, working internationally in the transport and municipal infrastructure sectors, for both the public and private sectors. She is an Associate Director and a Deputy Head in EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group (SIG). Lin started her career as an ODI (Overseas Development Institute) fellow in Southern Africa and went after this to work for the Department for International Development (DFID). She then worked in the private sector, in transport consultancy in both South and East Africa, followed by the European Commissions’ TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) programme.

Latterly, at EBRD, she has been involved increasingly in climate finance and, as such, is one of the architects of EBRD Green Cities, which is an ever-growing facility, mobilising EUR 7 billion, to date, to tackle environmental challenges through investments and policy reforms in cities across the Bank’s countries of operation. Lin has a BA in Economics and an MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering.

Mauricio Rodas served as Mayor of Quito, Ecuador (2014–2019), where he led the construction of the country’s first Metro line — completed on schedule, within budget, and recognized as an international best practice. He hosted the UN Habitat III Conference and held leadership roles in C40, UCLG, and the Global Covenant of Mayors. Currently a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

Rodas serves on the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration and is the Executive Secretary of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, convening mayors and global leaders to unlock new financial mechanisms for sustainable urban infrastructure. He advises cities across five continents through his firm, Meridio Consulting.

Since joining Howden, Wadeisor Rukato’s work with cities has been anchored in the Global Risk and Resilience Fellowship, a Howden‑led initiative that embeds insurance expertise within city leadership to address climate‑driven shocks and stresses. Through this work, she has supported cities to identify priority resilience challenges, collaborate with Chief Resilience Officers and partners, and explore innovative risk management and financing approaches that translate complex climate risk into tangible urban action.

Her broader professional experience spans urban resilience, climate risk, research and international development, informed by work across Africa, Europe and Asia. Wadeisor brings a systems‑focused, inclusive perspective to strengthening cities’ capacity to adapt, protect vulnerable communities and build long‑term resilience.

Jagan Shah works at the intersection of urban policy, planning and governance. He led India’s National Institute of Urban Affairs, co-created the Smart Cities Mission, and advised the UK government, the World Bank and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. He has led the preparation of the Draft Master Plan for Delhi 2041, policies for Land Pooling and Transit Oriented Development, and the Indian government’s Value Capture Finance framework.

His current work focuses on integrated transport development and planning for Himalayan cities. He serves on the Board of Directors of Institute for Transportation & Development Policy in New York and the Advisory board of Oorvani Foundation in Bengaluru.

Tina Sæteraas Stoum is Chief of Regional Programme at UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub, leading cross-country development programming and analysis across Europe, Central Asia, and the Western Balkans. Passionate about sustainable urban living and placing people at the center of green transitions, she previously led the EU-funded Mayors for Economic Growth programme — partnering with 400+ municipalities across the region to unlock inclusive and green local economic development.

With two decades of international development experience spanning field roles across Africa, Asia, and Europe, Tina brings expertise in the practical implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, systems thinking, and public-private partnerships. She is currently a candidate in the Brown University and EI Executive MBA programme.

Elaine holds a leadership role as Research Director at the Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore, with key portfolios in urban resilience, climate change, ageing, health, and social research. She holds appointments on the esteemed Resilient Cities Network (RCN) Global Steering Committee, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Singapore Executive Committee and as Jury of The Bay Awards.

Elaine also held key positions at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, as Director, Strategic Research and Director, Architecture & Urban Design Excellence, where she established the President’s Design Award and the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, both which have received high-profile recognition. In 2024, Elaine established the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Network to amplify its global impact. Through her work, she strives to drive innovation and excellence in urban development and research.

Rogier van den Berg is Global Director of WRI’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, which partners with cities to provide them with the tools, knowledge and capacity to be vibrant, low-carbon and nature positive places that foster thriving communities. With close to 600 experts the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is a leading force in urban transformative change. Prior to joining WRI in 2020, Rogier lived in Nairobi, Kenya and led UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab program, which he helped establish in 2014.

Rogier was also a founding partner of the architecture and urban planning firm Zandbelt&vandenBerg, served as Head of the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture’s Master in Urbanism and was lecturer at Delft University of Technology. He holds an Executive Master’s degree in International Negotiation and Policymaking (INP) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and a Master of Science in Architecture from Delft University of Technology. Rogier is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

As World Bank Director, Sameh oversees all lending, technical assistance, and partnerships in agriculture, climate change, environment, and water in Europe and Central Asia. Previously, he served as Urban, Resilience and Land Global Director. He holds a PhD in urban planning from Harvard University with 30 years’ experience.

He is widely published on cities, housing, land, infrastructure, finance, and SDGs. He serves as Harvard Alumni Association director, GSD Alumni Council co-chair, and member of World Economic Forum Cities Council, World Resources Institute Ross Center for Cities’ Board, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Urban Council, GSD Dean Leadership Council, and Urban SDGs Finance Commission.