ADVISORY BOARD
JEFFREY D. SACHS
Professor at Columbia University
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by the New York Times, “probably the most important economist in the world,” and by Time Magazine “the world’s best known economist.” A recent survey by The Economist Magazine ranked Professor Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade. Professor Sachs is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on economic development, global macroeconomics, and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, overcoming macroeconomic instability, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to more than 125 countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more than thirty years he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy, in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He was among the outside advisors to Pope John Paul II on the encyclical Centesimus Annus and in recent years has worked closely with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on the issues of sustainable development. Professor Sachs is the Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) which launched in 2012, bringing together scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society and the private sector to support and promote sustainable development problem-solving at local, national and global levels. The design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an important part of its work.
AROMAR REVI
Director at Indian Institute for Human Settlements
Aromar Revi is the Director of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) – India’s first prospective National University for Research and Innovation to address challenges of urbanization through an integrated program of education, research, consulting and advisory services. He has been a senior advisor to various ministries of the Government of India, consulted with a wide range of UN, multilateral, bilateral development and private sector institutions and works on economic, environmental and social change at global, regional and urban scales. Aromar has led over a hundred major research, consulting and implementation assignments in India and abroad; helped structure, design, and review development investments in excess of $4 billion; worked on three of the world’s ten largest cities, with communities across twenty-five of India’s twenty-eight states apart from multiple international projects in half a dozen countries. He is one of South Asia’s leading disaster mitigation and management experts and has led emergency teams to assess, plan and execute recovery and rehabilitation programs for ten major earthquake, cyclone, surge and flood events affecting over five million people. Aromar is considered a leading expert on Global Environmental Change, especially on Climate Change adaptation and mitigation. He was one of the coordinating lead authors for the Urban Areas section of the IPCC 5th Assessment report in 2014 and for 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C that assesses the feasibility of mitigation and adaptation options and defines potential implementation pathways and investment needs to implement the Paris Climate Agreement. He also serves as a member of the Global Advisory Board for the Global Assessment of Risk report (2011). He works on the dynamics of macro-governance and on long-range futures for India and South Asia. He is currently involved in developing India 2050, a dynamic long-range national economy-resource-demographic model for India.
JOHN THWAITES
Chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and ClimateWorks Australia
John Thwaites is a Professorial Fellow, Monash University, and Chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and ClimateWorks Australia.
John is also Chair of Melbourne Water and the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust. He has been Chair of the Australian Building Codes Board, President of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and a director of the Australian Green Building Council.
John is the Chair of the National Sustainable Development Council, which has developed the Transforming Australia: SDGs Progress Report 2018. He was previously Chair of the National Sustainability Council an independent Council appointed by the Australian Government, which produced the Sustainable Australia Report in 2013.
He is a Co-Chair of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (“SDSN”) launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations to provide expert advice and support to the development and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2013, John was named as one of the 100 Global Sustainability Leaders by ABC Carbon Express. In 2015, he was awarded the “Planning Champion” award by the Planning Institute of Australia and in 2016 was awarded the Richard J Evans Award for excellence in recognition of outstanding contributions to planning in Victoria.
John Thwaites was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. During this period he held various Ministerial portfolios including Health, Planning, Environment, Water and was Victoria’s first Minister for Climate Change. In these portfolios he was responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. In the Planning portfolio he instigated Rescode and Melbourne 2030.
Prior to being elected to Parliament, he was a barrister and Mayor of South Melbourne.
He has degrees in Law (Honours) and Science from Monash University. He is a Fellow Australian Institute of Company Directors.
MEET THE TEAM
PHIL EKE-OKOCHA
Salisbury, MD, USA
Project Leader
Nnaemeka Phil Eke-okocha is the Project Lead of the Local Pathways Fellowship at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth (SDSN Youth).Phil holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and development studies and a Masters’s degree in Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action from the University of Siena. He is a member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. Trained in conflict management and humanitarian action, his work examines the role of climate change in fueling conflict, food insecurity, and migration.
BESSY THURANIRA
Nairobi, Kenya
Deputy Project Lead
Bessy Thuranira is the Deputy Project Lead for the Local Pathways Fellowship at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth Initiative. She is a seasoned development practitioner, project manager, and researcher focused on sustainable urban development. As the Deputy Project Lead for LPF, she combines her expertise in advisory, education, research & innovation to drive positive change. Bessy is passionate about liveable urban environments in African cities and advocating for community-based solutions. She holds an MSc. in Development Planning from TU Dortmund University, Germany and UFABC, Brazil and a Bachelor’s in Urban Planning from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
ELIE KALLAB
Ottawa, Canada
Senior Advisor
Elie is a PhD student at University of Ottawa . He is holder of a master in Political Sciences from Sciences Po Aix (Institute of Political Studies) in France and an Executive Master’s degree in Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action from the University of Siena in Italy. He worked in International Education in Australia.Elie has co-authored a chapter in the book titled Harness it: Renewable Energy Technologies and Project Development Models Transforming the Grid which was endorsed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs. He co-authored his new book on Environmental Diplomacy which will be published by Routledge. He has assisted in organizing large-scale conferences and has served as the Representative Liaison Officer for the UN Youth Australia. Elie has represented the Local Pathways Fellowship program at the Vatican Youth Symposium 2019. He is a former speaker at the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations and other events in Italy.
ANA YNESTRILLAS
MEXICO CITY, mexico
Senior Advisor
Ana Ynestrillas is the Project Lead of the Local Pathways Fellowship at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth Initiative. A sustainable cities and innovation advocate, her background combines experience from the public, private and non-profit sectors at the intersection of smart cities, innovation ecosystems and sustainable urban development. Ana previously ran operations at Smart Cities New York where she delivered events that convened global thought leaders to share effective strategies to deploy smart cities technologies. Prior to this, she gained experience in city infrastructure from her time at NYC Department of Environmental Protection and at Efficiency Matters Corporation. She´s passionate about network learning and best practices city exchanges. That is why she works as a Program Associate at the Urban Tech Hub and serves as an advisor to Civ:Lab on connecting local innovators with government, academia, business, and community both within their cities and around the world.
@anaynestrillas | ana.ynestrillas@sdsnyouth.org
ANA CRISTINA GARCIA
WASHINGTON, DC, USA
Project Officer, Partnerships & Fundraising
Ana Cristina García is a Project Officer for the Local Pathways Fellowship at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth Initiative. Ana brings over ten years of experience working in the public and private sectors in areas such as economic development, finance, business analysis, and logistics. Ana holds a Master of Science in Global Affairs from New York University, where she focused on climate justice, international human rights, and urban development with a gender perspective. In addition, Ana holds a Bachelor’s in International Business (Summa cum Laude and Valedictorian) from Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, and a diploma from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Troyes, France. She is passionate about empowering youth and women to reach their full potential.
CEDRIC BAYIHA
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
Project Officer, Communication
Cédric is an experienced communication and marketing professional. He has excellent skills in searching, organising and managing key information. In addition to good writing skills, Cédric has a strong command of digital communications. His sense of listening and ease in dealing with people makes him a comprehensive and friendly collaborator.
He is actively contributing to the partnership intelligence gathering and sharing information as well as building and managing close working relationships with WHO key stakeholders.
AMER QAWASMI
Amman, Jordan
Project Officer, Mentorship
Amer is a Project Officer of the Local Pathways Fellowship at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth initiative. As an environmental activist, he continues to advocate for embracing sustainability and fighting climate change. In his professional career, Amer works as a Sustainability Analyst at Sustainability Excellence, where he focuses on driving businesses and corporates towards a more sustainable future. Previously, he worked on various studies related to climate change, sustainable development, and green economy. Amer holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Joran University of Science and Technology.
ZACHARIA A.
Morocco
Project Officer, Content & Training
Zakaria A. is a Project Officer of the Local Pathways Fellowship at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth initiative. He is an architecture graduate and urbanist with a diverse and enriching experience in urban development in Morocco. He holds an Architecture diploma from the National School of Architecture in Rabat, Morocco and has an interest in advancing sustainable architectural and urban solutions. He pursued the Local Pathways Fellowship at the United Nations - Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth in 2021 as a Fellow, and in 2022 as a Mentor. By joining the Local Pathways Fellowship, Zakaria aims, first and foremost, at learning and sharing knowledge.