Commissioner

New York City Department of Environmental Protection

Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala is a widely recognized expert on urban sustainability, technology, and mobility. He led the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, founded the environmental grantmaking program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. He was part of the founding team at Sidewalk Labs—Google’s urban technology startup—and more recently was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute. He has provided advice and assistance to a number of foundations and impact investment funds and chaired the Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan for the New York region. Aggarwala holds a PhD, MBA, and BA from Columbia University and an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Secretary General

Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI)

Gino Van Begin is the Secretary General of ICLEI, the leading global network of more than 2500 cities, towns and regions committed to building a sustainable future. Gino has worked for ICLEI for 20 years. In his former positions as Regional Director for Europe and Deputy Secretary General, and now as Secretary General since 2013, he has consistently worked towards ensuring ICLEI performs as a responsible, forward-looking, not-for-profit local and regional government organization serving its Members worldwide.

Interim Director

World Resources Institute India Ross Centre

Jaya is an urban development professional and researcher with over two decades of global experience in sustainable development, urban resilience and natural resource management. She provides strategic leadership to all urban development, and planning and resilience initiatives across WRI India and is currently also the Interim Director of WRI India’s Sustainable Cities program.

Senior Manager, AI for Social Good

Google.org

Alexander J. Diaz leads AI for Social Good and Crisis Response & Humanitarian Aid at Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm. Through this role, Alex manages Google’s philanthropic efforts to empower nonprofits to develop and deploy high-impact AI applications that address critical global challenges and ensure the benefits of AI reach marginalized populations. He also manages Google’s efforts in response to global crises, such as natural disasters, complex humanitarian crises and public health emergencies, providing innovative nonprofits on the frontlines with funding and volunteers to help communities better prepare, respond, and recover from crises. Previously, Alex was Chief of Staff to the global head of public policy and government relations at YouTube.

Data Lab Global Director

World Resources Institute

Evan Tachovsky is the Global Director of WRI’s Data Lab. He leads the product, engineering, and data teams that power WRI's data innovation and products. Prior to joining WRI, he served as Director of Innovation and Lead Data Scientist at the Rockefeller Foundation. Evan previously led research and analytics at Media Development Investment Fund, managed media and technology programs for IREX across the Middle East, and was a Fulbright Fellow in Azerbaijan. He is a data scientist and cartographer by training with a master's in quantitative methods from Columbia University and bachelor's in political science and psychology from Hiram College.

Executive Director

International Monetary Fund, UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda

.Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. In February 2022, Dr. Mohieldin was appointed by the Egyptian Government as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), with aims at enhancing the communication between the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and businesses, the private sector and, international funding institutions working in climate change-related fields. Since February 2020, Dr. Mohieldin has been the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Development Agenda. He is the former Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and most recently, served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA. Dr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; a Master’s in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University.

Director and Professor

Urban Systems Lab, The New School

Timon McPhearson is director of the Urban Systems Lab, professor of urban ecology at The New School. He investigates the ecology in, of, and for cities and teaches urban resilience, systems thinking, and urban ecology. McPhearson is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and NYC Panel on Climate Change, and is a senior research fellow at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, and associate research fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Center, Stockholm University in Sweden.

Professor and Co-Director

Tishman Environment and Design Center, The New School

Joel Towers is a Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at Parsons School of Design in The School of Constructed Environments. He is also the Co-Director of The Tishman Environment and Design Center, and a University Professor at The New School. In 2009 he was appointed Executive Dean of Parsons School of Design. He is a member of the NYC Panel on Climate Change and is currently co-leading a study on future climate change and its potential impacts in New York City.

Global Director, Climate Change Initiative

Centre for Public Impact

Josh Sorin serves as the Global Director for CPI’s Climate Change Initiative, where he built and leads an international team that supports governments and their partners in accelerating climate action through a systemic, portfolio-based approach. He has over 12 years of experience in designing and launching initiatives that bring together leaders across sectors to tackle ambitious long term goals. Prior to his current role, Josh launched and led CPI’s Government Innovation program in North America for four years where his team worked with hundreds of local governments across the world to grapple with complex problems, and established partnerships with leading philanthropic organizations. Josh’s topical experience has primarily focused on climate and sustainability, public sector transformation, and government healthcare delivery reform. His writing has been featured in Bloomberg's CityLab, US News World & Report, and various other national outlets. He has also published several reports on innovation, organizational transformation, culture building, and public value.