Digital Media Zone at Legal Week

Day 1: Monday, Dec. 5 “Stories and Solutions” 

  9:30 - 10:30 am: Inaugural Session: Law, Justice and Development Week and the Digital Media Zone. Welcome remarks from:

Jim Kim, World Bank Group President 

Anne-Marie Leroy, Senior Vice President and World Bank Group General Counsel

Laura Tuck, World Bank Vice President, Sustainable Development

Achim Steiner, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, now Director of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College 

Mafalda Duarte, Program Manager, Climate Investment Funds

Sheila Redzepi, Vice President, World Bank Group External and Corporate Relations with Victoria Barrett, Paola Hernandez, and Brian McDermott, Alliance for Climate Education (ACE)

  11:00 - 11:30 am: Interview with Achim Steiner: 

Victoria Barrett, Paola Hernandez, and Brian McDermott - Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) interview the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

  11:30 am - 12:00 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition: Winners

  12:00 - 12:15 pm: Digital Media Zone Agenda: Welcome to Digital Media Zone; Outcomes of EarthToMarrakech coalition

Lucia Grenna, Connect4Climate's Program Manager

Justine Sullivan, UN Foundation (and also #EarthToMarrakech partners)

  12:15 - 12:45 pm: Town Hall: The Art and Impact of Storytelling as a Tool for Advocacy 

Lucia Grenna, Connect4Climate’s Program Manager and Senior Communications Officer, World Bank Group 

Nelson Cabrera, Film Director, Cherry Sunday Media

Moderator: Max Edkins, Climate Change Expert & Communications Expert, World Bank Connect4Climate

  12:45 - 1:00 pm: CIF Talk: Small Island Developing States – Small Islands, Big Ambitions 

Rachel Allen, Senior Program Coordinator for the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR)

  1:15 - 2:00 pm: Presentation: Perspective on Climate Change Policy

Stephen Hammer, Manager, Climate Policy, World Bank

Patricia J. Beneke, UNEP - Director and Regional Representative of the United Nations Environment Programmes Regional Office for North America

Moderator:  Tom Erb, Put A Price On It

  2:00 - 2:15 pm: CIF Talk: Africa – Lighting the way to a low-carbon future

Erastus Wahome, Chief Economist, Ministry of Finance, Kenya & SREP Sub-Committee

  2:15 - 3:30 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos: Health | Carbon Pricing | Cities | Innovation

  3:30 - 3:45 pm: Screening: "Carbon Countdown: Carbon Pricing" by Kaia Rose and Eric Mann

  3:45 - 4:00 pm: Climate Talk: What Is Carbon Pricing?

Tom Kerr, Principal Climate Policy Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Climate Change Group

  4:00 - 4:30 pm: Victoria Barrett, Paola Hernandez and Brian McDermott - Alliance for Climate Education (ACE)

  5:30 - 6:30 pm: Screening of excerpts from Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary “Before the Flood”

  6:30 - 7:30 pm: CIF/LEG reception

 

Day 2: Tuesday, Dec. 6 - Screening and Reception

 5:30 - 6:30 pm:  Screening of "Priceless" - Years of Living Dangerously episode on Carbon Pricing 

Introduction by Tom Erb, Put a Price On It, Joe Romm, Founding Editor of Climate Progress, Kaia Rose, Film4Climate Winner, and James Close, Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group. Discussion moderated by Tom Kerr, Head, Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.

 6:30 - 7:30 pm: ABA Reception

 

Day 3: Wednesday, Dec. 7 “Leading for Solutions” 

  8:30 - 9:00 am: Breakfast & Briefing: Climate Change & Food Insecurity: The Role of Environmental Risk factors in Preventing Atrocities

Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini, Director, Research and Cooperation, Budapest Centre for Mass Atrocities Prevention

  9:00 - 10:30 am: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos: Shortlisted finalists from Europe and Central Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean and North America

  10:30 - 10:45 am: Climate Shot: Private Sector Renewable Energy Projects

Mark Christian Sigrist, World Bank

  10:45 - 12:00 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos: Agriculture | Consumption | Renewable Energy

  12:00 - 12:15 pm: The Power of Solar

Leandro Azevedo, Senior Climate Finance Officer, African Development Bank

  12:15 - 12:30 pm: Sport and Climate Change: The Role of Sport In Advocating Climate Action

Joe Khirallah, Green Sports Alliance, Communications Advisor 

  12:30 - 1:00 pm: Town Hall: Justice and Poverty

Paul Prettitore, Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank 

Moderator: Max Edkins, Climate Change Expert & Communications Expert, World Bank Connect4Climate

Youth Representative: Victoria Barrett, Alliance for Climate Educators Fellow

  1:00 - 2:00 pm:  CCC Chocolate Auction and PAF Learning Event

The Chocolate Auction will use simple tools to illustrate how an auction can be used to determine the price of a carbon credit whilst supporting the Community Connections Campaign. Auction Simulation by the Pilot Auction Facility for Methane and Climate Change Mitigation (PAF). Across the globe, online auctions have mobilized billions of dollars in private investment for projects that curb greenhouse gas emissions. But how exactly do these auctions work? This session will feature an interactive chocolate auction mirroring the format of PAF’s climate auctions. Those interested in learning about auctions and incentives for private sector investment—as well as those who just love chocolate—are encouraged to attend.

  2:00 - 2:15 pm: CIF Talk: Forests – The hearts and lungs of the world

Berenice Hernandez Toro, Climate Investment Funds

  2:15 - 3:30 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos: Water | Migration | Conflict

  3:30 - 3:45 pm: Climate Shot: Role of Law in the field of Climate Change

Alan Miller, Principal Climate Change Specialist, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

  4:30 - 6:00 pm: Screening: Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary “Before the Flood”

Welcome by Max Edkins, Climate Change Expert & Communications Expert, World Bank Connect4Climate. Opening Remarks by Neeraj Prasad, Manager, Climate Change, World Bank Group. Video Message from Director Fisher Stevens. Popcorn and Drinks will be served

 

Day 4: Thursday, Dec. 8 “Policies towards Solutions” 

  8:30 - 9:00 am: Breakfast & Briefing: The Human-Centered Business Model (HCBM) - A Holistic Approach to a New Model for Doing Business

Marco Nicoli, Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank

Pierre Viaud, Advisor to the Chairman & CEO, SICPA

  9:00 - 10:30 am: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos - Shortlisted finalists from East Asia and the Pacific, MENA, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

  10:30 - 10:45 am: Climate Shot: Green Bonds and Other Financial Instruments for Environment

Flavia Rosembuj, Global Lead for Blended Finance, Climate Business and Trust Funds, IFC​

  10:45 - 12:00 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition videos: Gender | Young and Future Generations

  12:00 - 12:15 pm: CIF Talk: Private Sector – Innovative Finance to Tackle the Climate Challenge

Christopher Head, Private Sector Specialist, Climate Investment Funds

  12:30 - 1:00 pm: Town Hall: Ending Child Marriage: The Economic & Social Rationale

Quentin Wodon, Lead Economist, Education, World Bank

Margareta Norris Harrit, Senior Health, Nutrition & Population Operations Specialist, World Bank

Moderator: Paula Tavares, Private Sector Development Specialist, World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law

  1:00 - 2:00 pm: Panel: Human Rights & Development (Migrations & Climate Change; Climate Refugees) 

Charles E. Di Leva, World Bank Chief Counsel, LEG-  Jul 2013, Legal Vice Presidency, Legal - Environmental and International Law Unit 

Siobhan McInerney-Lankford, Senior Counsel, The World Bank

Moderator: Tom Erb, Put A Price On It

  2:00 - 2:15 pm: CIF Talk: Climate Finance – The Game Changer We Need

Mafalda Duarte, Program Manager, Climate Investment Funds

  2:15 - 3:30 pm: Screening: Film4Climate Global Video Competition - Winners and Special Mentions

  3:30 - 3:45 pm: Short Talks - Social Enterprises

Natalia Agapitova, Innovation Department at WBI as coordinator of the Innovation Policy Program

 

The full and constant updated program of the Legal Week is available here.

  Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President 

Jim Yong Kim, M.D., Ph.D., became the 12th President of the World Bank Group on July 1, 2012.

A physician and anthropologist, Dr. Kim has dedicated himself to international development for more than two decades, helping to improve the lives of under-served populations worldwide. Dr. Kim comes to the Bank after serving as President of Dartmouth College, a pre-eminent center of higher education that consistently ranks among the top academic institutions in the United States. Dr. Kim is a co-founder of Partners In Health (PIH) and a former director of the HIV/AIDS Department at the World Health Organization (WHO).  

As President of Dartmouth – an institution that comprises a liberal arts college and professional schools of medicine, engineering and business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences, a staff and faculty of 3,300, and a budget of $700 million – Dr. Kim earned praise for reducing a financial deficit without cutting any academic programs. Dr. Kim also founded the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, a multidisciplinary institute dedicated to developing new models of health care delivery and achieving better health outcomes at lower costs.

Before assuming the Dartmouth presidency, Dr. Kim held professorships and chaired departments at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. He also served as director of Harvard’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights.

In 1987, Dr. Kim co-founded Partners In Health, a Boston-based non-profit organization now working in poor communities on 4 continents. Challenging previous conventional wisdom that drug-resistant tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS could not be treated in developing countries, PIH successfully tackled these diseases by integrating large-scale treatment programs into community-based primary care.

As Director of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS Department, Dr. Kim led the ‘3 by 5’ initiative, the first-ever global goal for AIDS treatment, which sought to treat 3 million new HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries with antiretroviral drugs by 2005. Launched in September 2003, the ambitious program ultimately reached its goal by 2007.

Dr. Kim’s work has earned him wide recognition. He was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship (2003), was named one of America’s “25 Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report (2005), and was selected as one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” (2006).

Born in 1959 in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. Kim moved with his family to the United States at the age of five and grew up in Muscatine, Iowa. Dr. Kim graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1982. He earned an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1991 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University in 1993.

  Sheila Redzepi, Vice President, World Bank Group External and Corporate Relations

Sheila Redzepi is Vice President for External and Corporate Relations at the World Bank Group. Sheila joined the World Bank Group from Unilever, where she was responsible for driving Unilever's global advocacy on key sustainability and strategic business priorities. She worked alongside Unilever's CEO across a range of industry platforms, and with a number of international and advocacy organizations.

Previously, Redzepi was Vice President for Communications and Sustainability, responsible for external relations and issue management, employee engagement, partnerships and implementation of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in Europe.  Before joining Unilever in 2013, Sheila worked for Weber Shandwick, the global communications agency, where she most recently managed the company’s Social Impact practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Region. She began her career working at the United Nations and in gender advocacy.

A Danish national born in the former Yugoslavia, Redzepi earned her Master of Philosophy in Media Studies from the University of Bergen, Norway, as well as a Master of Arts in International Political Economy and a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History and Politics from the University of Sheffield, U.K.

  Lucia Grenna, Connect4Climate’s Program Manager and Senior Communications Officer, World Bank Group 

Lucia Grenna is the driving force and leader of Connect4Climate, the unit specializing in Communication for Climate Change at the World Bank Group’s Global Engagement division. Grenna has been with the World Bank since 1998. She created Connect4Climate in 2011, realizing the overwhelming need for effective and engaging climate change communications.

The initiative has since grown into a major global partnership of concerned individuals and committed organizations. She was the task manager for the First World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD, Rome 2006) that brought together for the first time more than 800 communication professionals engaged in development initiatives, policy- and decision-making, NGOs, community representatives, and academics from around the world to discuss how to mainstream development communication into development policies and practice.

She is author of several articles and publications on communication for development. Prior to joining the World Bank, Grenna worked as a journalist in print and electronic media and produced hundreds of interviews on issues related to economic and social development. She worked in production and marketing of movies and documentaries, and was a team member of the World Bank/CNN Millennial campaign.

  James Close, Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank

James Close, a UK national, brings over 25 years of experience in the field of energy policy, climate change, and private infrastructure investment and public-private partnerships. During his career in the professional services industry, he provided strategic and financial advice to a range of public and private sector clients at board and ministerial levels. He has also undertaken a two-year secondment as head of the Corporate and Private Finance team at the UK's Treasury, where he gained experience with the challenges facing governments in trying to establish a suitable enabling environment for private sector investment.

Mr. Close has advised the UK government on the comparative advantage for the UK for green growth and also on many energy policy areas, including the 2006 Energy Review, incentives for investments in renewables, and smart metering and the Green Deal, the UK’s initiative to increase investment in energy efficiency. He advised the Greater London Authority on its climate change and environment policy and prepared the prospectus for London as a Low-Carbon Capital for the mayor of London. At Ernst and Young, he led the Climate Change and Sustainability Services cross-service line practice creating a plan to develop a market-leading business.

He has also advised many utilities throughout the world, including Ireland, Greece, Slovakia, the United States, and India, on restructuring, regulation, competition, and corporate and market strategy.

Mr. Close, a chartered accountant, joined the World Bank Group in 2013 as the program manager for PPIAF, a multi-donor trust fund which enables infrastructure investment.

  Anne-Marie Leroy, Senior Vice President and World Bank Group General Counsel

Anne-Marie Leroy, a French national, was appointed Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group in March 2009. Prior to joining the Bank Group, she had been a partner of the Paris office of Denton Wilde Sapte LLP since 2005, where she was in charge of the Department of Public Law.

A graduate of both the Paris Institute for Political Science and the National School for Public Administration (ENA), with a graduate degree in the Sociology of Organizations, Leroy joined the Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) in 1986, the highest court in France for public and administrative law, where she worked as a judge for five years.

In 1991, she was appointed to the Ministry of National Education as a director of legal and international affairs, managing the ministry's representation in courts and providing legal advice to the minister and ministry units, and bilateral relations with partner countries in the field of education. Her work included technical assistance projects in developing countries, as well as in multilateral institutions, especially the EU and the OECD. From January 1995 to May 1998, she served in the World Bank's Middle East and North Africa region as a senior public sector specialist, working on public management issues especially in Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Returning to Paris in 1998 to take up the position of department head in charge of Governance and Civil Society issues in the Public Management Service of the OECD, she was soon appointed as senior advisor to the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, in charge of government reform. Following the presidential election of 2002, she returned to the Council of State and her functions as a judge. In 2003, she was also appointed by the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank as a judge with the IDB's Administrative Tribunal.

  Laura Tuck, World Bank Vice President, Sustainable Development 

Laura Tuck assumed the position of World Bank’s Vice President for Sustainable Development on July 1, 2015. In this role, she oversees the work of the Global Practices that bring together the best expertise from across the World Bank Group, and from partners, to help countries tackle their most complex challenges in the area of sustainable development. The practices under her responsibility include Agriculture; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience; Transport and ICT; and Water.

Ms. Tuck has an MPA from Princeton University in Economics and Public Policy and a BA from the University of California at Davis in Economics. 

  Max Thabiso Edkins, Climate Change Expert & Communications Expert, World Bank Connect4Climate 

Max Edkins was born in Lesotho and grew up between Lesotho, Germany and South Africa. He completed his undergraduate in Natural Science, Conservation Biology and Economics and holds an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford, where he focused on renewable energy, climate change mitigation, and the role of businesses and media.

Max has worked as a marine biologist and ecologist in southern and eastern Africa and as a renewable energy specialist advising climate change and energy policies in South Africa. He is also a photographer and filmmaker. He initiated and coordinated the ClimateConscious Program and he was involved in the international Why Democracy? and Why Poverty? media campaigns. He is passionate about the environment, and he enjoys combining communication and science to solve development challenges. Since 2013 he has been working at World Bank Group as the Climate Change Expert on the Connect4Climate program.

  Achim Steiner, Director of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College 

Achim Steiner was appointed Director of the Oxford Martin School on 1st September 2016. Prior to joining the University of Oxford he served as United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016).

Mr. Steiner was born in Brazil and holds both Brazilian and German nationality. He graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) at the University of Oxford, holds an MA from the University of London/School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and completed his post-graduate studies at the German Development Institute as well as the Harvard Business School Executive Programme. He has been awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the International University in Geneva and is an Honorary Professor at Tongji University, Shanghai.

His work and leadership have been recognized through numerous awards such as the Talberg Foundation's Award for Principled Pragmatism, the Bruno H. Schubert Prize for Environmental Leadership, the Slovak Republic's Gold Medal for Diplomatic Service, the Republic of Korea Order of Diplomatic Service Award and the German Sustainability Award. Mr Steiner is an Officer of the Order of St Charles.

  Mafalda Duarte, Program Manager, Climate Investment Funds

Mafalda Duarte is the Manager for the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and leads the development of policies and practices to achieve the CIF’s objectives.

She provides strategy, oversight and guidance on all aspects of the CIF and manages relationships with senior stakeholders at the national, regional and global level including within international financial institutions.  She represents the CIF at high-level fora including CoPs, Annual and Spring Meetings of multilateral development banks, SE4All and others.  She is also the CIF’s chief spokesperson and has been quoted in The Guardian, The Washington Post, NY Times, Associated Press and countless other media outlets. 

Previously, Mafalda worked for the African Development Bank and the World Bank, responsible for large climate-related portfolios, and served as an advisor to the Government of Mozambique.

  Justine Sullivan, UN Foundation 

Justine Sullivan is a Washingtonian, born and bred. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a major in Culture and Politics and minor in Justice and Peace Studies. Justine worked in editorial roles at Chicago magazine, National Geographic Glimpse magazine, and at the American Bar Association before attending pastry school and becoming the Executive Pastry Chef at 1789 Restaurant in Georgetown. Justine joined the UN Foundation most recently from the ocean conservation group Oceana, where she coordinated their social media platforms.

  Nelson Cabrera, Cherry Sundae Media, Director  

Nelson Cabrera was raised in New Jersey and found the filmmaking bug at the early age of 12. He started his career in New York City as an assistant editor while attending the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and later at New York University (NYU) for filmmaking. Cabrera emerged onto the production scene as a 1st Assistant Director working alongside notable directors such as Rocky Morton, Noam Murro, Frank Todaro, Erich Joiner, Leslie Dektor, Michael Bay, Tony Kaye, Ridly Scott, Bob Giraldi, Lance Accord and Bryan Singer.

On the feature side he has titled some numerous motion pictures including episodic television as part of the production team. Cabrera made the jump to directing in the summer of 2005. Since then he has won numerous international awards including Silver and Bronze Cannes Lion, two Silver ANDYs and has worked with agencies like Crispin & Porter+Bogusky, Grey, BBDO, JWT, Merkley, Cole Weber, Zubi, La Comunidad to name a few.

Alex Bougsky had this to say about Nelson, "We like his approach, which is to go to school on a project, find the right inspiration, formulate a solid plan and execute it in a pretty methodical way." (Shoot Mag March 07). He has been creating, designing, managing and shooting interactive work for the past two years. In 2010 Cabrera worked for Ford on an interactive campaign collaborating with agency the website, shooting three national spots CGI through the MILL NYC and viral videos for YouTube that have over 800,000 hits.

Cabrera is one on a handful of U.S. directors that successfully works in both the General and Hispanic markets. As a professional photographer he has several other projects in the works, including two books due out next year, a Photo Essay of the American Buckaroo and a Photo Essay titled "KING" on Elvis impersonators working and living in Las Vegas.

  Rachel Allen, Senior Program Coordinator for the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR)

Rachel Allen is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR).  She is responsible for the coordination of the program in 28 countries.   

Before joining the PPCR, Rachel worked as an adjunct lecturer at the University of the West Indies while also serving as the Senior Climate Change Adviser to the Minister of Climate Change. She was very involved in the UNFCCC process, serving as the lead negotiator of Loss and Damage, as well as an adviser to AOSIS on Ocean Acidification.  Her career in climate issues has led her to work in different capacities with various development partners across the Caribbean region, implementing essential climate change projects and initiatives. 

Rachel holds a BA in Environmental Science and Conservation Biology from Middlebury College, Vt., a post graduate diploma in Urban Environmental Management at the Institute of Urban Studies, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a Master’s degree in Urban Environmental Management from Wageningen University, also in the Netherlands.  She recently submitted her doctoral work on the impacts of climate change on coral reefs - fisher perceptions and livelihoods (macro and micro economic impacts).

  Stephen Hammer, Manager, Climate Policy, World Bank 

Dr. Stephen Hammer is the Manager of Climate Policy for the World Bank Group (WBG). His team is responsible for shaping the WBG’s global perspective on climate change policy, mainstreaming climate change into Bank Group operations, and delivering specialized technical advisory services to clients.

Prior to joining the global climate team, Dr. Hammer led the Bank’s work on cities and climate change issues, working extensively in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Romania, and Egypt. Between 2005 and 2013, he was a full-time member of the graduate faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University, where he focused on urban energy systems policy and technology and how climate change will affect different urban systems.

While teaching in New York, Dr. Hammer served as an advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s highly regarded climate planning team developing the PlaNYC initiative. In 2007 he helped co-found and until 2012 served as co-Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), a global network of researchers examining climate change from an urban perspective. Dr. Hammer holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, an M.P.P. from Harvard University, and a B.S. degree from University of California, Davis.

  Patricia J. Beneke, Director and Regional Representative of the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP) Regional Office for North America 

Patricia J. Beneke was appointed Director and Regional Representative of the United Nations Environment Programmes Regional Office for North America in May 2014. Prior to that, she served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for nearly 20 years, specializing on legislation and oversight matters relating to energy policy, water resources, and environmental issues.

In 1995, Ms. Beneke was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science, and served in that capacity until 2000. As Assistant Secretary, she played a leadership role with respect to several ecosystem restoration efforts, including those involving the Florida Everglades, the California-San Francisco Bay Delta, and the Platte River. In addition, she was responsible for programs of the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. She was heavily involved in water resource issues and in initiatives to provide quality science for natural resource decision-making.

Early in her career, Ms. Beneke was an attorney at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and she also handled environmental litigation as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, Ms. Beneke served as the Associate Solicitor for Energy and Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior, and she has also worked in the private sector.

Ms. Beneke has taught natural resources law and policy on an adjunct basis at Harvard Law School, Columbia University Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. She holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and a B.A. degree from Iowa State University.

  Tom Erb, National Field Organizer, Put A Price On It 

Tom is currently a rising junior at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is a public policy analysis major with a concentration in environmental analysis. His passions revolve around sustainability and addressing the complex challenges of a changing world.

  Erastus Wahome, Chief Economist, Ministry of Finance, Kenya & SREP Sub-Committee

Mr. Erastus Wahome is the Alternate member of the Principal Secretary, National Treasury. He is an economist and holds a Masters and Post Graduate Degrees in Economics from the Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from the University of Nairobi.

He has extensive knowledge in Government Planning and Budgetary Cycle. He has over 10 years working experience with the Government and inter-governmental institutions in coordinating policy formulation and negotiations at regional and national level. He also has over 10 years been involvement in negotiations through analyzing policy documents, research and studies.

Mr. Wahome has immense experience in designing and implementing regional cooperation and integration projects programmes.

As an expert on regional integration issues and climate change, Mr. Wahome has also served as an advisor to the Secretariat of COMESA and EAC, IGAD and IOC under the auspices of the Inter-Regional Coordinating Committee (IRCC) between 2006 to 2009.

  Tom Kerr, Principal Climate Policy Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Climate Change Group 

Tom Kerr has worked for 20 years designing and implementing public/private efforts that transform markets for resource-efficient climate business solutions. He currently leads the IFC’s private sector climate policy engagement, which involves working with emerging economy governments and major corporations to develop investor - and climate-friendly national strategies; designing coalitions to advance carbon pricing and performance standards; and providing private sector input into international policy processes such as the G20 and the United Nations climate talks.

Mr. Kerr was previously the director of climate change initiatives at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, where he worked with international organizations, government leaders, and industry executives to advance practical solutions via platforms such as the G20, the United Nations, and the Forum’s Annual Meeting at Davos.

While at the Forum, he designed and led the Green Growth Action Alliance, a public-private coalition launched at the 2012 G20 with over 60 leading companies developing solutions to unlock private investment for sustainable growth. From 2006-10, he worked in Paris for the International Energy Agency, leading the development of global reports, including the Technology Roadmap series, the flagship Energy Technology Perspectives publication, and the Clean Energy Progress Report.

Mr. Kerr started his career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, where he designed and launched a suite of innovative voluntary programs such as Energy STAR, Green Power, and methane programs that today continue to engage thousands of businesses to adopt clean, efficient technologies and practices.

  Charles E. Di Leva, Chief Counsel, World Bank Group

Charles E. Di Leva is Chief Counsel of the Environmental and International Law Practice Group in the World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency and is the Bank’s Legal Advisor to the Climate Change Solutions Area and the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice Group. Since 1992 he has worked in all regions, specializing on issues pertaining to sustainable development, such as climate finance, development and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, and national laws. He has represented the Bank in international treaty negotiations in areas of Climate, Biodiversity, Chemicals and Wetlands. He has also played a key role in the development and implementation of the World Bank’s environmental and social policies, as well as activities concerning the Bank’s Independent Inspection Panel.

Mr. Di Leva is a former Director of the Environmental Law Center of IUCN – The World Conservation Union, in Bonn, Germany, and a Senior Program Officer with the Environmental Law Unit for the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Di Leva served as Trial Attorney for four years with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division and for five years with the State of Rhode Island as Legal Counsel with the Department of Environmental Management, and as Environmental Advocate in the Attorney General’s office. He worked for three years in private environmental law practice in Washington D.C., representing clients for environmental counseling and litigation.

Mr. Di Leva has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Law teaching Trade and Sustainable Development and at the American University Washington College of Law where he teaches Project Finance and the Environment. Mr. Di Leva is a graduate of Vermont Law School.

  Joe Romm, Founding Editor, ClimateProgress.org 

Dr. Joseph Romm is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he oversees the blog ClimateProgress.org. He is author of "Language Intelligence: Lessons on Persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln and Lady Gaga" and "Hell and High Water: Global Warming - The Solution and The Politics" (William Morrow, January 2007).

Dr. Romm served as Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy during 1997 and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from 1995 through 1998. In that capacity, he helped manage the largest program in the world for working with businesses to develop and use advanced transportation and clean energy technologies—one billion dollars aimed at energy efficiency, hybrid vehicles, electric batteries, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, renewable energy, distributed generation, and biofuels. Dr. Romm helped lead the administration's climate technology policy formulation, and initiated, supervised, and publicized a comprehensive technical analysis by five national laboratories of how energy technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions at low-cost: Scenarios of U.S. Carbon Reductions.

Romm holds a Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T. and researched his thesis on physical oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

  Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini, Director, Budapest Centre for Mass Atrocities Prevention 

Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini is the Director of Research and Cooperation of the Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.

Between 2008 and 2011 he was Special Advisor of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the task of coordinating the creation and development of the Foundation for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. This followed his work as Coordinator of the European Programme for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities at the Madariaga-College of Europe Foundation, which, at the invitation of Javier Solana, was established to set up a coordinated strategy allowing the EU to be an effective global actor in the prevention of mass atrocities.

Dr. Le Fevre Cervini is a contracted professor in International Law and International Organizations at LUISS University in Rome and Coordinator of research and development at the UNIMED – the Mediterranean Universities Union.

Between 2006 and 2010 he worked as an Associate Researcher at the Center for International Conflict Resolution – Columbia University and is now specializing his research on the Responsibility to Protect and the concept of human security at the Doctoral School of Political Sciences at the University of Roma Tre (Italy).

His main research activities regard international law and international relations, city-diplomacy and sustainable development of fragile states, conflict transformation and mass atrocities prevention, micro-credit and active civil society.

He is a fellow of the European Center for International Affairs – ECIA and member of RENA – Rete per l’eccellenza nazionale.

He worked as programme officer or consultant of different NGOs in South America, Africa and Europe, and as advisor for the Italian Ministry of European Policies, the Italian Ministry of Education, the Italian Embassy in Sudan and the Italian Center for European Information and Documentation. 

He also took part in the OSCE’s election monitoring mission in Moldova.

He is the co-author of “On Jerusalem - Strategies for the control of urban spaces”; “The Promotion, Protection and the actualization of the rights of the child - Normative instruments, policies and strategies at international and European level”, “United in diversity, Europe changes and the Euro-generation speaks out!”, and of “Genocide: Europe between the past, the present and the future”.

He is co-founder of Peace development.

  Paul Prettitore, Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank 

Paul Prettitore is a Senior Public Sector Specialist in the Governance Global Practice of the World Bank. A certified lawyer, his work includes justice sector reform, strategy development, accountability institutions, anti-corruption and land administration. Much of this work has focused on issues linking public sector services with poverty and gender equality. He has worked in the Middle East and North Africa (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Iraq) and Colombia, and published studies on access to justice, legal aid, social inclusion and legal inequality.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Prettitore was Property Law Coordinator, coordinating the land restitution process, and advisor on human rights and refugee issues with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia. There he also worked on issues including social and political rights, return of refugees and displaced persons and capacity-building to human rights institutions, and was responsible for drafting amicus curiae briefs for the Human Rights Chamber. Mr.

Prettitore is a member of the Washington, D.C. Bar Association and performs pro bono legal assistance as Guardian ad litem on behalf of the DC Superior Court. 

  Berenice Hernandez Toro, Climate Investment Funds

  Alan Miller, Principal Climate Change Specialist, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group

Alan Miller is the principal climate change specialist in the climate finance and policy unit of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank group that focuses exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.

A native of the USA, Miller has authored several reports particularly on climate financing, climate policy and environmental regulation. His areas of expertise are climate finance, climate policy, private climate investment, climate risk, and new energy technology.

Prior to his current position, Miller was the principal project officer in the strategy and metrics division of the climate policy and finance unit in IFC. He has also held several senior positions within the IFC and has been with the organization for over 15 years.

Before joining IFC, Miller was an associate scholar at the University of Maryland. He has also taught at the Widener University School of Law. He also worked as a research associate at the World Resources Institute and was a staff attorney at the National Resources Defense Council. He started his career as a research attorney environmental law institute.

Miller holds a JD in law from the University of Michigan and also a Master’s in public policy from the University of Michigan.

  Pierre Viaud, Advisor to the Chairman & CEO, SICPA

Former Professor of political science and public law with 35 years of international experience in Management of Government Affairs and Business Development as Executive Consultant or Senior Executive for large multinational companies and Governmental Institutions.

Served in the French Administration for ten years (Advisor to former Prime Minister Pierre Messmer, Deputy Chief of the Inter-Ministerial Mission for Defense Teaching Programs and Studies – General Secretariat for National Defense (Prime Minister Department). He has since advised 11 governments and 2 International Organizations (UNIDIR and African Development Bank) and managed multinational companies (PMI, SITA, SICPA). Authored 11 books and 26 articles published in various international reviews.

Received three awards from the Institut de France, two from the Five Academies (Prix d’Aumale 1985 and Prix Osiris 1993 for his book on ‘Religions and war. Judaism, Christianity and Islam’), one from the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques (Prix Audiffred 1994).

  Flavia Rosembuj, Global Lead for Blended Finance, Climate Business and Trust Funds, IFC​

Lawyer with 20+ years’ experience in innovative finance, sustainable development, environmental law and climate change. Before joining the World Bank, she had a combined 11 years of practice with leading law firms in Europe where she advised clients on a range of corporate and commercial transactions.

  Christopher Head, Private Sector Specialist, Climate Investment Funds

Christopher Head joined the CIF in early 2016 to support private sector operations across CIF Programs. 

Prior to joining the CIF, Chris worked with IFC’s Blended Climate Finance (BCF) team, where he supported the team on business development, portfolio management and market analysis initiatives.

Before joining the World Bank Group, Chris worked at EnerNOC in San Francisco, where he worked with large commercial and industrial customers to integrate demand response and energy efficiency solutions into their businesses. Before that, he consulted for US-based electric utilities and technology firms on an array of energy topics including power market trends, regulatory challenges, and renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies.

Chris holds a Master’s Degree on Energy Policy and Business from Tufts University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas, Austin.

  Quentin Wodon, Adviser, Education Sector, World Bank 

Quentin Wodon is an Adviser in the World Bank's Education Department where he leads the cluster on equity, resilience, and early childhood development. Previously, he managed the Bank's unit on faith and development, served as Lead Poverty Specialist for Africa, and as an Economist/Senior Economist in the Latin America region.

Before joining the World Bank, he worked as Assistant Brand Manager for Procter & Gamble Benelux, volunteer corps member with the International Movement ATD Fourth World, and was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Namur.

He holds graduate degrees in business engineering, economics, and philosophy, and PhDs in Economics and in Theology and Religious Studies. He serves on a number of advisory boards, as Associate Editor for academic journals, and as adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, and is actively engaged in pro bono work with nonprofits.

  Margareta Norris Harrit, Senior Health, Nutrition & Population Operations Specialist, World Bank

  Tazeen Hasan, Senior Legal Specialist, Gender and Development Unit 

Tazeen Hasan is a Senior Legal Specialist in the Gender and Development Unit. She is the co-author of a recent book on Empowering Women: Legal Rights and Economic Opportunities in Africa. She was the legal specialist for the World Development Report (WDR) 2012: Gender Equality and Development and the WDR Companion Report Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa.  She worked on a multiregional initiative focusing on legal constraints over fifty years impacting on women's economic empowerment together with the Women Business and the Law Program.

Prior to joining the World Bank Group, she practiced as a barrister in the UK and subsequently worked in Kenya as a legal advisor to NGOs. She obtained a Masters in International Law from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Law from Pembroke College, University of Oxford.

  Siobhan McInerney-Lankford, Senior Counsel, The World Bank

Siobhán McInerney-Lankford is Senior Counsel at the World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency and a recognized expert in international human rights law, advising the World Bank in this area since 2002. She currently serves as country lawyer for CAR, Comoros, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia and Syria. She regularly represents the World Bank in international human rights fora, including at the UN, EU and OECD. From 2006-2008 she chaired the OECD DAC Human Rights Task Team and currently serves as co-chair of the ASIL Human Rights Interest Group, the Human Rights and Development CoP under the GFLJD and as LEG advisor to both the World Bank Governance and HNP Global Practices.

Dr. McInerney-Lankford has published widely on human rights law and is the co-editor of a forthcoming book on human rights methodology. She is an adjunct professor at AU Washington College of Law, and has taught at EPLO, EIUC (Venice Masters) and UN Summer Academy.

She holds an LL.B. from Trinity College, Dublin, (First Class Honors), an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a B.C.L. and D.Phil. in EU human rights law both from Oxford. In 2010 and 2011, the Irish Voice newspaper named her among the Irish Legal 100 and in 2016 the Irish Times recognized her among the Irish Women of the World (Law). She is a member of the ABA and admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Rhode Island.

  Natalia Agapitova, Innovation Department at WBI as coordinator of the Innovation Policy Program

Natalia Agapitova worked extensively with operational and analytical aspects of innovation and social entrepreneurship since 1997, including twelve years at the World Bank. Natalia has first-hand experience in using science, technology and innovation as tools to bring growth to the developing world.  During her work at the World Bank, Natalia has played a key role in advising countries in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South America and South Asia on how to build science, technology and innovation capacity. 

Natalia also worked on a broad range of issues related to capacity development and results agenda, and is one of the main authors of the Capacity Development and Results Framework that is used by World Bank teams and clients for design and M&E of capacity development programs. Natalia has recently joined the new Innovation Department at WBI as coordinator of the Innovation Policy Program. 

Before coming to the World Bank, Natalia worked as an associate researcher and assistant professor at the University of Poitiers in France, teaching economics and working on regional development projects. Natalia earned a Master (D.E.A.) and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Poitiers, and Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Mathematics from Perm State University (Russia).  She has published numerous papers on economic development and is a fluent speaker of Russian, English, French and Spanish.

  Leandro Azevedo, Energy, Environment and Climate Change Division, the African Development Bank (AfDB)

Leandro Azevedo works in the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Division of the African Development Bank (AfDB), where he works as a Climate Finance Officer for the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). The CIF are a global (USD 8.8 billion) pair of funds designed to help developing countries pilot low-carbon and climate-resilient development. 



He is in charge for origination, structuring and implementation of project finance, corporate finance and equity transactions co-financed by both the CIF and AfDB's Private Sector in low-carbon and climate resilience sectors.



For a period of 1-year, Leandro was Program Officer of the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), a USD 95 million trust fund aimed at exploiting the potential of the emerging clean energy market in Africa as a source of growth and innovation. 



As a Junior Investment Officer with the AfDB's Infrastructure Finance and PPP Division he carried detailed due diligence (e.g. financial, economic, and legal), resource mobilization and has contributed to the preparation of both Project Documents (e.g. EPCs, PPAs, O&Ms, Fuel Supply Agreements and Traffic studies, among others) and Financing Documents (e.g. Terms Sheets, Loan Agreements). During this period, he acquired significant experience in the structuring of Limited Recourse Finance, Corporate Finance and Private Equity transactions. He holds advanced financial modeling skills.



Leandro has a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Coimbra and a MSc in Economics & Business with a specialization in Financial Economics from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

  Neeraj Prasad, Manager, Climate Change Practice, World Bank Institute, Climate Change Group​

Neeraj Prasad is the manager of the Climate Change Practice in the World Bank Institute.

Mr. Prasad counts 34 years in a career spent in public service. Before joining the World Bank in 1996, he was a member of the Indian Administrative Service for 18 years, 10 of which were spent working with indigenous people as a development administrator in the northeastern Indian hill state of Meghalaya. After a stint in the federal Finance Ministry, where he managed the World Bank desk, his final assignment was as assistant to the executive director for India in the International Monetary Fund.

In the Bank, he has supported and led environment sector operations in the South Asia (India) and East Asia & the Pacific (China, Philippines, Malaysia) regions. As regional coordinator for carbon finance, he developed the regional carbon portfolio which has remained the largest in the Bank since 2005. He was team leader for several carbon finance operations, including the China HFC-23 project. He also supported the management of the Carbon Finance Unit in the Environment Department for two years.

At WBI, since 2010 he has established and supervised a work program focused on supporting capacity development for renewable energy and energy access, policy instruments for development and climate change, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable cities, and innovations in carbon markets/climate financing. The work program is delivered online through WBI's e-Institute and through face-to-face exchanges with a focus on South-South practitioner learning.

Mr. Prasad has master’s degrees in international commerce & policy (George Mason University) and in history/Asian studies and political thought (University of Delhi). He has co-authored a number of climate change analytical pieces and handbooks and has spoken on the topic at seminars and workshops across the world and online. 

  Paula Tavares, Legal Analyst, World Bank

Paula Tavares joined Women, Business and the Law in 2010 and currently leads the Protecting Women from Violence indicator. She has over 10 years of experience working on development issues, with expertise in comparative legal analysis and the legal and the regulatory framework affecting women's economic inclusion, with a focus on gender based violence legislation. Her prior legal experience includes working with government multilateral trade agreements, private sector initiatives and non-governmental organizations.

Paula is a Brazilian lawyer and holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center and a specialization in International Relations from the University of Brasilia, Brazil. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and French.

  Fisher Stevens, director  

Fisher Stevens moved from his native Chicago to New York at the age of 13 to pursue an acting career. Fisher made his motion picture debut getting his fingers chopped off in the horror film The Burning (1981) when he was 16-years-old. After that he appeared in Baby It's You (1983) and The Brother from Another Planet (1984). He co-starred with Matt Dillon in the hit comedy film The Flamingo Kid (1984) where he met the then fledgling producer Gary Foster. He appeared as sidekick to Steve Guttenberg's character in Short Circuit (1986).

In television he has performed in ABC's Ryan's Hope (1975), Showtime's Tall Tales & Legends (1985) and CBS' Early Edition (1996).

Before the Flood (2016) is directed by Fisher Stevens.