As vice-president of Programs and Partnerships, Santiago Alba-Corral provides leadership, vision and strategic direction for IDRC’s research programming and partnerships. He oversees the development and implementation of program strategies and priorities in a manner that encourages sound stewardship of public funds and resources and contributes to the effective achievement of IDRC’s Strategy 2030. Prior to his role as vice-president, Alba-Corral was the director of IDRC’s Climate-Resilient Food Systems program, overseeing research to build equitable, inclusive, healthy and sustainable food systems in the Global South. Previously, he was the senior director of international development at CARE Canada and served as the technical and research director at Action contre la Faim in Montreal. He holds an Executive Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, a master's degree in international agriculture and rural development from Cornell University in the United States and a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture engineering from the University of La Rioja in Spain.

Dr Karishma Ansaram is Lecturer in Climate Finance and Investment with University of Edinburgh with a research focus on enhancing access to climate finance for the local community. She brings her experience on IFI reforms and climate finance policy through her former role with ICPH and UN High Level Champions.

Dr. Atela is the Executive Director of ARIN with over 15 years of expertise in climate policy, research, and governance. He has advised the African Union, led major climate programs, and contributed to global research. A PhD holder from Leeds, he shapes Africa’s climate innovation and transparency efforts.

Rui Lopes is a Climate Change Associate at UNIDO, where he supports strategic programming on adaptation with the Adaptation Fund and the GEF. A certified Climate Adaptation Finance Expert (Frankfurt School), he previously worked for the UK Government and Climate Analytics. He holds master’s degrees from Sciences Po and the University of Barcelona, focused on the climate–development interface.

Saskia works at the Frankfurt School -UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, where she designs, delivers and manages programmes and trainings on Climate and Sustainable Finance. With an academic background in International Relations, she has since specialised in Sustainability, Climate Policy and NDC Finance and contributes to the education of finance professionals through capacity building programmes.

Dr. Kendrick Hardaway is a Lecturer in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses on evaluating adoption pathways for emerging technologies that are environmentally sustainable and applying risk analysis methods to ensure climate resilience of our infrastructure systems. Dr. Tom Logan currently serves as the Technical Director at Urban Intelligence and a Rutherford Discovery Fellow at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses on developing innovative methods to help cities and communities become more resilient, sustainable, healthy, and equitable in the face of climate change and natural hazards.

Paul Watkiss is director of a small climate research consultancy in the UK. He has over 25 years of experience on the policy, economics and financing of climate adaptation. He is the lead author on the UNEP Adaptation Finance Gap report and has extensive expertise in the costs and benefits of adaptation and investment planning. Blanche Butera is a climate change adaptation specialist at PWA where she applies her expertise in designing and undertaking multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on relevant aspects of climate change adaptation. Blanche is a project coordinator for a CLARE funded project, called ECONOGENESIS and a lead author for a number of UNEP Adaptation Gap reports - finance chapter.

I bring over 30 years of experience in international development, with a career dedicated to advancing equity, resilience, and inclusive growth. At Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), I support Southern-led research, currently through the FCDO–IDRC Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) program. My recent work has examined global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the integration of climate and gender equity into policy and practice. Previously I led IDRC’s flagship Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) program, which generated groundbreaking evidence on women’s economic empowerment and its transformative effects on households, communities, and economies. Earlier in his career, he worked at the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, and the University of Sussex. I have published on social policy, labor migration, inequality, and the aid industry.