As associate director of Sustainable Finance, Ipek focuses on the public sector’s role in mobilizing and shifting finance to align with climate goals. Previously, Ipek led research on the co-benefits of economic and climate development in low and middle-income countries and international fora such as the G20. She holds a master’s from the London School of Economics.
Jide Ikeako
Jide leads the Africa program of our Global Energy Transition Initiative, with extensive experience in policy, public-private partnerships, finance and investments. Previously, Jide held executive roles in private equity, led impact investments in the public sector, and was a representative at forums such as the UNFCCC. He holds an MBA from Oxford University, where he was a UK government Chevening Scholar.
Shoon So Oo
Shoon brings over a dozen years of experience in Asian renewable energy to his associate director role. Born and raised in Myanmar, Shoon has dedicated his career to promoting sustainable energy solutions that can positively impact communities and economies and has extensive experience in private, public, and non-profit sectors. Shoon holds a master’s degree from Europa-Universitat Flensburg in Germany.
Narine Esmaeili
As the associate director for Advisory & Insights, Narine works to develop and manage an integrated landscape of philanthropic data that supports climate funders with data analysis and visualization. Narine has a decade of experience in international development, with a background in analytics and data strategy. She holds a master’s from the London School of Economics.
Kendra Edwards
Kendra is a social worker with 15+ years of experience spanning mental health, violence prevention, youth development, climate philanthropy, and nonprofit leadership. Their work has always centred on communities most impacted by exploitation and systemic disconnection, leading them to a deep commitment to intersectional approaches that not only respond to the climate crisis but also support people to thrive. Kendra holds a master’s from University of California, Berkeley.
Shelagh Whitley
As the senior director of Sustainable Finance, Shelagh leads collaboration with philanthropic, public, and private sector partners to explore and scale climate-related finance strategies. Shelagh brings two decades of experience in sustainable finance, energy and carbon markets, including as a chief sustainability officer and the head of climate and energy programs. She holds a master’s from Tufts University.
Carlos Lopes
Dr. Carlos Lopes is a professor in the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town and an associate fellow of Chatham House. As an expert on economic policy, Dr. Lopes has held key leadership roles across the UN system, including policy director for Secretary-General Kofi Annan and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. He is chair of the African Climate Foundation.
Sneha Sachar
Sneha is a cooling strategist and associate director for the Clean Cooling Collaborative. Sneha has worked at the nexus of built environment, energy efficiency, and sustainability for over 20 years. She brings deep knowledge of the cooling sector, a focus on emerging economies, and consulting experience for non-profits. Sneha holds a master’s from the University of South Carolina.
Michael Bosse
Michael leads the program teams to scale transformative climate strategies and amplify philanthropy’s impact to tackle the climate crisis. Previously, Michael was a national program director at the Sierra Club, where he worked to expand access to clean, affordable energy, improve Americans’ access to the outdoors, and protect millions of acres of land. Michael holds degrees from Australia’s Bond University.
Jessica Hitt
Jessica Hitt serves as the Associate Director of the Adaptation & Resilience program at ClimateWorks Foundation, where she focuses on mobilizing philanthropy to fund adaptation initiatives as well as growing ClimateWork’s adaptation strategy. With over 15 years of experience in climate adaptation, Jessica brings a wealth of expertise in assessing climate risks and vulnerabilities, prioritizing adaptation strategies, and building capacity to address climate impacts.
Prior to ClimateWorks, Jessica worked at Ogilvy as part of the Resilience Action Partners. She served as a principal technical consultant supporting FEMA’s strategic communications and integration of climate impacts into project design and implementation. Before this, she was the Lead Scientist and Program Manager at EcoAdapt, a non-profit dedicated to climate adaptation, where she provided strategic support for various projects, trained adaptation practitioners, and facilitated knowledge sharing across sectors. In this role, she was instrumental in developing and executing the first U.S. National Adaptation Forum, a bi-annual conference that has played a key role in advancing climate adaptation practices across the U.S. since 2012.
Jessica has advised and served on the United Nations Environment Program’s Global Adaptation Network (GAN) Steering Committee, the U.S. National Adaptation Forum’s Program Committee, the California Adaptation Forum’s General Advisory Committee, and the Interagency Land Management Adaptation Group.