Tazrina is a researcher and advocate focusing on gender equality and disaster resilience in the Pacific. Her work supports evidence-based policy recommendations and amplifies the voices of marginalized women in climate adaptation and disaster management.

Vanessa empowers adolescent girls through education, advocacy, and skills training. As head of the organisation, she supports the cap youth mentors to lead the ‘Let Girls be Girls’ campaign and the Lapaha Youth Hub, creating spaces for Tongan youth to address climate challenges.

Carolyn is the Regional Representative for the Shifting the Power Coalition, driving inclusive approaches to address the climate crisis and frequent disasters in the Pacific. She convenes 13 women-led organizations to promote Pacific women-led climate and humanitarian action, ensuring diverse voices shape resilience efforts across the region.

Virginia supports young women’s leadership in disaster planning and humanitarian coordination, focusing on climate change impacts and community resilience. Her work fosters innovative, culturally sensitive approaches to advance sustainable development and social inclusion across the Pacific.

Flora leads the Women I TokTok Tugeta network and the Women Wetem Weta program, empowering women, including those with disabilities, to enhance disaster preparedness and community resilience.

Vida Asah-Ayeh is a PhD candidate at the University of Ghana and project coordinator for the HABVIA-Ga Mashie site under the mentorship of Ama de-Graft Aikins, the HABVIA-Ga Mashie site lead and a social psychologist whose research focuses on chronic care interventions, community health development and creative health communication in African and diaspora African settings.

Beth (she/they) is an Associate Professor in the department of Geography, Planning and Environment at East Carolina University in the so-called US. Beth’s work utilizes feminist political ecology frameworks to enrich our understanding of how gender and its intersecting power relations shape the capacity to adapt to ongoing climatic threats.

Muthise Bulani is a junior scientist working on ethical considerations of climate change and heath research with Thandi Kapwata, a climate change and health specialist at the South African Medical Research Council and site lead of HABVIA study in Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, is the AXA Chair in Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Epidemiology at the University of Cape Town. She explores the intersection of NCDs, in populations with a high HIV burden, and the impact of a heating climate and NCD risk in vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa as co-lead investigator for the Heat Adaptation benefits for Vulnerable groups In Africa (HABVIA) study.

Charlotte Ray is a post-doctoral research assistant at Bristol University. Her research brings together human geography, international development, livelihoods, displacement, food security, qualitative methodology and household energy systems in the global South. In particular she is focused on the complex cross-border social, cultural and historical ties that influence the availability of and access to resources (especially natural resources) for both hosts and refugees.

Monica Swahn is the Dean and Professor Health Promotion and Physical Education Wellstar College of Health and Human Services Kennesaw State University, USA. Her research is at the intersection of health risk behaviors and disparities among adolescents and young adults, primarily focusing on the structural drivers of alcohol, violence and HIV/AIDS in the United States and globally.

A passionate leadership practitioner and researcher on sustainable consumption, nature-based climate adaptation, and local policy solutions. With 20 years in development, Dr Bista specializes in organizational and change management, team leadership, program development, proposal writing, donor relations, grants management, partnerships, and government coordination. https://www.linkedin.com/in/samjhana-bista-phd-60102347/

Maereg T. Adhanom specializes in environmental management and has extensive experience in post-war rebuilding, rehabilitation, development, and peacebuilding. He is a World Vision Canada team lead for Food Systems and Climate Change, and his research interests include the impact of armed conflicts and natural disasters on the environment and livelihoods.

Tazrina Chowdhury is a researcher and advocate focusing on gender equality and disaster resilience in the Pacific. Her work supports evidence-based policy recommendations and amplifies the voices of marginalized women in climate adaptation and disaster management. Flora Vano champions women’s leadership in disaster risk reduction and crisis response. She leads the Women I TokTok Tugeta network and the Women Wetem Weta program, empowering women, including those with disabilities, to enhance disaster preparedness and community resilience. A passionate advocate for gender equality, Flora amplifies marginalized women’s voices across Vanuatu and beyond. Virginia Tome advocates for gender equality and youth empowerment in the Solomon Islands. She supports young women’s leadership in disaster planning and humanitarian coordination, focusing on climate change impacts and community resilience. Her work fosters innovative, culturally sensitive approaches to advance sustainable development and social inclusion across the Pacific. Vanessa Heleta empowers adolescent girls through education, advocacy, and skills training. As head of the organisation, she supports the capacity building of staff and youth mentors to lead the ‘Let Girls be Girls’ campaign and the Lapaha Youth Hub, creating spaces for Tongan youth to address intersecting disasters such as climate change and economic security. In 2022, Vanessa led her team of young women to conduct rapid responses assessments following the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption. Carolyn Kitione is the Shifting the Power Coalition’s Regional Representative. Her work with the Coalition puts her in the centre of the efforts to drive an inclusive approach in a region that faces multiple challenges including the climate crisis and more frequent disasters. As the Regional Representative, she convenes the 13 women-led organisations of the Shifting the Power Coalition to promote Pacific women-led climate and humanitarian action.

Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, is the AXA Chair in Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Epidemiology. She explores the impact of a heating climate and NCD risk in vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa as co-lead investigator for the Heat Adaptation benefits for Vulnerable groups In Africa (HABVIA) study. Vida Asah-Ayeh is a PhD candidate at the University of Ghana and project coordinator for the HABVIA-Ga Mashie site under the mentorship of Ama de-Graft Aikins, the HABVIA-Ga Mashie site lead and a social psychologist whose research focuses on chronic care interventions, community health development and creative health communication in African and diaspora African settings. Monica Swahn is the Dean and Professor Health Promotion and Physical Education Wellstar College of Health and Human Services Kennesaw State University, USA. Her research is at the intersection of health risk behaviors and disparities among adolescents and young adults, primarily focusing on the structural drivers of alcohol, violence and HIV/AIDS in the United States and globally. Charlotte Ray is a post-doctoral research assistant at Bristol University. Her research brings together human geography, international development, livelihoods, displacement, food security, qualitative methodology and household energy systems in the global South. In particular she is focused on the complex cross-border social, cultural and historical ties that influence the availability of and access to resources (especially natural resources) for both hosts and refugees. Beth (she/they) is an Associate Professor in the department of Geography, Planning and Environment at East Carolina University in the so-called US. Beth’s work utilizes feminist political ecology frameworks to enrich our understanding of how gender and its intersecting power relations shape the capacity to adapt to ongoing climatic threats. Muthise Bulani is a junior scientist working on ethical considerations of climate change and heath research with Thandi Kapwata, a climate change and health specialist at the South African Medical Research Council and site lead of HABVIA study in Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province of South Africa.