Alison De Luise, Adaptation Manager, Climate Alliance

Alison is an urban climate change adaptation specialist, applying policy, partnership & program management experience towards support city resiliency. As Manager, Adaptation to Climate Change at Climate Alliance, Alison contributes to the Covenant of Mayors for Europe's adaptation and energy poverty work, building adaptation capacity across European cities. She also manages the EEA European Topic Center on Climate Change Just Resilience Task. Prior to this, Alison led strategic initiatives aimed at supporting case-making for Green Infrastructure across US cities. As Senior Advisor at the Water Center at Penn, she co-developed integrated solutions to complex urban water resource challenges. As head of Strategic Partnerships at Bioversity International, she focused her partnership development efforts on achieving development impact and securing funding. This work built on her years working for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in food security and in rural development policy. The foundation of all this experience was her three years establishing social enterprise initiatives in Swaziland.

Birgit Georgi, Freelance Expert

Birgit Georgi is an experienced freelance expert in urban climate adaptation and resilience. She collaborates with stakeholders ranging from local authorities and businesses to international organizations. As an expert for the European Urban Initiative, Urban Innovative Actions, URBACT, and the Covenant of Mayors, she has supported numerous cities on their path to resilience—drawing on deep knowledge from her time as project manager for urban adaptation at the European Environment Agency. Birgit bridges practical implementation with strategic foresight, recently leading the “Just Transitions – Democratic Transitions” initiative under UIA, linking social equity and adaptation. She also co-initiated the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO) in 2013.

(https://www.birgitgeorgi.eu)

CristObal Reveco, Social Scientist, GERICS

Cristóbal Reveco is a Social Scientist at the German Climate Service Center (GERICS). His work focuses on exploring the social dimensions underpinning the use of climate information. Currently, Cristobal act as the coordinator of the EU Project VALORADA. VALORADA focuses on developing methods to facilitate the uptake and use of climate information for decision making in local governments.

Previously, Cristóbal worked for more than ten years in Latin America supporting local governments planning efforts to adapt to climate change, including the articulation of municipal networks on climate action in Chile, Costa Rica and Colombia, designed and implemented capacity building programmes for urban decision makers and planners, and coordinated collaborations between local governments and universities, facilitating science-policy interactions in the frame of climate change.

ElisaCostamagna, RESARCHER, POlyTechnic of Turin

Elisa Costamagna is a researcher at Polytechnic of Turin - Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering. She earned her PhD working on green walls for greywater treatment and visualization of microbial activity in constructed wetlands.

Her research approach involves experimental activities and numerical modelling. She contributes to projects related to greywater treatment and Nature-based Solutions (SUPERGREEN, NICE [https://nice-nbs.eu/]) and rainwater management in urban environment (RETURN [https://www.fondazionereturn.it/]). She’s PI in the NBS4MOV project [https://www.nbs4mov.it/], which is focused on NBS in mountain environment. She’s session convener at EGU, participates in international conferences and co-authored more than 10 peer-reviewed publications in the field of Nature-based Solutions.

She likes to be engaged in communication activities in school and public events, and she teaches in Civil Engineering and Architecture courses in her home university.

Enora Bruley, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Geneva

Enora Bruley holds degrees in Ecology and Environmental Political Science, and earned a PhD in Environment from Grenoble-Alpes University, France. Her research focuses on the adaptation of social-ecological systems (SES) to climate change, with particular attention to citizen and stakeholder engagement processes aimed at supporting inclusive governance for transformative adaptation. Her methodological approach is place-based and transdisciplinary, grounded in the co-production of knowledge with local stakeholders. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva within the EU-funded projects Adaptation AGORA, where she investigates the enablers and barriers to the co-production of innovative solutions for climate resilience in Europe. 

Heli POnto, Senior Project Manager, Forum Virium Helsinki (Finland)

Heli Ponto, a senior project manager, specializes in a project that addresses climate adaptation, digital twins, and social justice. With a PhD in urban geography focused on urban and mobility experiences, she is passionate about urban development, sustainability, smart cities, and smart mobility.

Renata Haseth, Vice President, BwB

Prior to BwB, Renata worked at private equity social impact in Amsterdam, and held several positions in corporate and investment banking in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Singapore. She has worked in debt capital markets, project financing, and securitisation. Additionally, Renata has experience in strategic funding for a large corporate. Currently, she is working in the NetZeroCities team as the Adaptation and NBS sector head, helping cities to raise funding for climate adaptation and mitigation projects around Europe. Additionally, she is involved in Blue Economy projects and researching the financing of adaptation projects outside of NZC. 

Pauline Guérécheau, Project Manager, Climate Adaptation (ADEME)

With an academic background in International Relations, specializing in international climate negotiations, Pauline has walked the line between global ambition and local action. At UN Environment, she supported cities in their journey toward decarbonization and climate resilience, notably through the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). Now based in Guadeloupe with ADEME, Pauline leads adaptation efforts under the H2020 TransformAr project, weaving together innovation and tradition to shape responses rooted in the island’s unique rhythms - like the Local Adaptation Fund, designed to help farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change and strengthen the resilience of local agriculture.

Sophie Arens, City of Dortmund

Sophie Arens has spent many years researching in climate protection and climate adaptation. Initially at the Wuppertal Institute for climate, Energy and Environment and later at TU Dortmund  in the topic of urban resilience. Since 2018 she has been working for the coordination office for climate protection and climate adaptation in the City of Dortmund and implements the Adaptation strategy and the Heat Action plan for the City. 

Sylvie Duthoit, Research Associate, Head of Project and Services, TerraNIS

Sylvie Duthoit is an expert in remote sensing with over 20 years of experience in research, development, and operational services. Holding a Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from Toulouse III University (France), she has contributed to major European projects and published extensively in scientific journals. Sylvie combines strong project management skills with expertise in landscape analysis, Earth observation, and environmental monitoring. She currently leads the Projects and Services team at TerraNIS and as part of the European Valorada project, her team is developing - in close collaboration with other partners - some data manipulation tools for each of the 5 demonstrators covering a variety of different sectors, climate risks and key community systems.

Vanessa Reinhart, Research Associate, Ruhr University Bochum (RUB)

Dr. Vanessa Reinhart is a multidisciplinary geographer with expertise in big data analysis, regional climate modeling, and qualitative stakeholder engagement. She completed her PhD at the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) in Hamburg in 2022, focusing on improving land use representation in regional climate models working towards improved climate projections. Since then, her work has evolved to emphasize stakeholder collaboration, science communication, and the development of climate services. At Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), she coordinates the Data2Resilience project and works closely with urban stakeholders to support climate adaptation efforts. Her key interests include urban climate adaptation, aligning scientific service development with stakeholder needs, and communicating climate science across the public and private sector.

Ximena Michemberg Conti, Mission Adaptation Community of Practice Lead, Ricardo Consulting 

María Ximena Michemberg Conti is an environmental engineer and climate change expert with over a decade of experience in adaptation, risk management, and loss and damage. She has worked with the UNFCCC, advising on L&D and supporting global climate finance and adaptation efforts. Ximena's expertise includes water, sanitation, and nature-based solutions, with a focus on community engagement. Currently, she is part of the Mission Implementation Platform for Adaptation (MIP4Adapt) team, leading the establishment and animation of the EU Mission Adaptation Community of Practice.

Zdravko Maksimovic, Chief of Section, Department for Civil Protection Affairs, City Administration of City of Kraljevo 

Graduated from the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade, and is currently studying for a doctorate at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad. In 2013, he took over the Department for Civil Protection , where he still works today. He has a license in the field of disaster risk reduction and post-disaster reconstruction (license for preparation of Disaster Risk Assessment and Protection and Damage Plans, license for PDNA, license for lecturers within the National Academy for Public Administration, etc.). He is a participant and creator of several projects: ADAPT, EVERGREEN, SEEURBAN, EU ZA TEBE, etc. (http://civilnazastitakraljevo.rs/PDF/ADAPT_Legacy.pdf, riskzm.rs, civilnazastitakraljevo.rs/svecano-otvaranje-osmatracnice-vizitorskog-centra-u-sklopu-evergreen-projekta/, seeurban.net, www.euzatebe.rs/rs/projekti/eu-za-srbiju-otpornu-na-katastrofe). Author of numerous manuals and materials in the field of civil protection and climate change.