Researcher

Aiveen is a political scientist with a BA from Maastricht University. After a research stay in Ethiopia and completing her MSc in Transition Studies from Giessen University, Aiveen returned her focus to the European Union. In order to scale-up sustainable policies based on the EU’s regulatory power, her aim was to better understand the process and development of policy- and decision-making. During her MA in European Studies at Bonn University, she wrote her thesis on the EU’s Circular Economy policy. In her free time she enjoys hiking, cycling and food.

Professor, Department of Geography, UCLA

He was made a fellow of the British Academy in 1999, and was the recipient of the Prix Vautrin Lud for 2003. His book “On Hollywood: the Place, the Industry” (Princeton University Press, 2005) won the Meridian Book Prize in March 2006. He was awarded the Anders Retzius Gold Medal by the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography in 2009. The degree of doctor honoris causa was conferred on him by the University of Jena in 2011, and in 2013 he was awarded the Sir Peter Hall Prize of the Regional Studies Association.

Anam originates from Pittsburgh, PA and is currently studying material science and engineering at The Pennsylvania State University.

Senior Engineer

Engineer, climate change optimist

Global Managing Director; Accenture Management Consulting - Strategy & Sustainability

Bruno Berthon is managing director for Digital Strategy within Accenture Strategy. His role focuses on advising companies and governments on business strategy, operating models, digital strategies and innovation, cost management, customer strategies, human capital management, large-scale business transformation and organizational change. Mr. Berthon studied engineering and economics at Ecole Centrale, Paris. He has a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD, a Master's in macroeconomics from Paris La Sorbonne and a degree in law from Paris XIII. He is based in Paris, France.

Research Intern

Carter Vance holds an Honours Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Ottawa, an Honours Bachelor of Social Work from Algoma University, and a Master of Arts in Political Economy from Carleton University. He has worked as a Literacy Councilor at Kasabonika Lake First Nation in Ontario's Far North, as a Policy Intern with Emmaus in London, UK, and as a Legislative Researcher with the Senate of Canada. In addition, he has published articles on topics related to social work, international affairs and political economy in both academic and non-academic outlets. Carter is also a published poet and contributes regularly to a number of creative writing outlets.

Researcher

As a responsible and forward-thinking postgraduate student in Cranfield University, Chenxi Li is intellectually curious, ambitious and excited to deep-dive into the working of sustainability disruptive innovation.

Chotika has completed a bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi after which she joined Thai Toshiba Electric Industries. Her hobbies are learning more languages (English, Japanese, Chinese) and playing badminton.  During her internship with Katerva, she focuses on sustainable innovation that addresses SDG14, 'Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources'. 

Summer Intern 2018

Chun-Wen Yang is a student of a master in International Relations at the National Taiwan University. He is also a member of the Society of Wilderness, the biggest environmental NGO in Taiwan.

Director of Bioethics, Iowa State University

His research aims to forge links between political theory, philosophy, law, economic theory, and public policy studies. He has been particularly interested to evaluate the long-term effects of policy and technology on human development and the environment. His publications include research on human population growth, agriculture and human development, ethics and technological change, sustainability, and intergenerational justice.

Director of Area 31, IE Business School

She is also professor of entrepreneurship and Innovation. After graduating with a B.S. in Economics, and interning at the United Nations, Conchita started work at Banco Santander where she was responsible for conducting analyses and forecasts of Latin America’s main economies, primarily Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. Conchita holds a Masters in Public Administration and International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Since 2010 Conchita has combined her job as CEO of the social venture Puentes Global with several positions at IE Business School.

Director of Operations, Quorum Analytics

He represents Tarumitra, a youth-led ECOSOC affiliated NGO that focuses on energy and forest conservation in India. Within this role, he has advocated for and helped create more opportunities for youth empowerment in sustainable development initiatives. As a student at Lehigh University, Dan has also served on the executive board for Lehigh’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders. He has an Undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering and is pursuing a Masters degree in Environmental Policy Design at Lehigh University.

Summer Intern 2018

As a master student major in public policy, Darcy Luo focuses on studying environmental policy and program design and evaluation. Within environmental field, she is most interested in sustainable technology which makes Katerva a perfect fit.

Chair, International Board, CEE Network for Gender Issues

Diana Cano is a Bilingual professional (Spanish-English) with a bachelor in international relations and master in project management. Since 8 years Diana works in formulating, writing and managing projects and strategies for fundraising for NGOs, international organizations and consular bodies in themes as children, woman and Information and communication technology (ICT).

Professor, UCSD

She received her PhD from Stanford University in 2005 and was a Postdoctoral Fellow and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UC Santa Barbara before joining the faculty at UCSD. Her research has demonstrated that the timing of plant growth is a key indicator of species responses to global change, and shows that ecosystems often respond in surprising, non-linear ways when exposed to multiple, simultaneous environmental changes.

Giulia Segatto is a bachelor in International Relations passionate about innovations and projects that can make a difference and lead to a better world. Acted as International Relations Manager on a Venezuelan StartUP and is currently working with international business.

CEO

Glen Hiemstra is the founder and owner of Futurist.com. Glen is dedicated to disseminating information about the future to assist individuals, organizations, and industries in effective strategic planning. An internationally respected expert on future trends, long-range planning and creating the preferred future, Glen has advised professional, business, and governmental organizations for two decades and has served as a technical advisor for futuristic television programs. Audience members for Glen’s keynote speeches and clients for his long-range planning say things like, “Once you hear Glen Hiemstra speak, the future will never look the same.”

Principal and Sustainability Practice Leader, Thornton Thomasetti

As a principal and Thornton Tomasetti’s Sustainability practice leader, he oversees green building experts in the New York City, Chicago, London, San Francisco and Portland, Maine, offices and collaborates with the firm’s nine other practices and all 34 offices. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and LEED Fellow.

Summer Intern 2018

Hannah is a graduate student at UC San Diego getting her masters in International Affairs with a concentration in Environmental Policy. She has worked on environmental issues from the perspective of science, policy, and communication and hopes to merge aspects of each in her future career. In her free time she enjoys hiking, concerts, and art museums. 

Researcher

Helen was awarded a BA Honours in English Studies: History and Literature and an MA International Development by the University of East Anglia. During her MA she wrote a dissertation on the challenges to nation-building in divided societies. She has a keen interest in Human Development and supporting innovations which make a positive impact on human interactions

Princess

HRH Princess Noor Bint Asem was born in Jordan in 1982. She received her elementary education in Spain where she grew up from the ages of 2-17 years old. Being exposed to different cultures and set of traditions, HRH speaks five languages and is an active member in various institutions. Though her main interest lies on education advancement and improved learning skills, HRH currently works with Inspirational Development Group (IDG) as their Middle East Consultant. HRH also offers workshops on self-development and one-on-one consultancy with the objective to build a scientific foundation and introduce leadership, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and change.

Founder and CEO

Janine Benyus is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In Biomimicry, she names an emerging discipline that emulates nature’s designs and processes (e.g., solar cells that mimic leaves) to create a healthier, more sustainable planet. Since the book’s 1997 release, Janine has evolved the practice of biomimicry, consulting with businesses and conducting seminars about what we can learn from the genius that surrounds us. Her favorite role is Biologist-at-the-Design-Table, introducing innovators to 3.8 billion years of brilliant, time-tested solutions.

Independent Consultant

Senior Research Manager

Jia-Ying is a research scientist in the field of biochemistry. She obtained a BSc in chemistry in Taiwan, and MSc in organic synthesis and biochemistry in the Netherlands. After finishing her PhD in Leiden University and seeing how people learn to live with nature in the Netherlands, she moved to Grenoble, France to experience a different way of respecting nature in the French Alps. Her passion is to combine science, technology and environmental care to achieve a harmony between human and nature.

Executive Director, International Society for Industrial Ecology

Following that, he served as Executive Director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology until 2009. He is the author of the newly published Flourish: A Frank Conversion about Sustainability (with Andrew Hoffman) and Sustainability by Design (2008). In 1999, he received the World Resources Institute’s first lifetime achievement award. He holds a B. S. and Sc. D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and is author or co-author of over 200 publications.

Coordinator, Research & Enterprise Hubs, Dublin City University

) in Nanotoxicology. Over 5 years’ experience in both post-award management and preparation & review of international research funding awards. Strong communication skills, both oral and written, including proposal preparation. Has very strong organizational and IT skills including word processing and electronic research administration systems, meets all deadlines. Has worked in the high pressure environment of a pharmaceutical company for 2.5 years & has the ability to manage competing priorities.

N/A

Lizbeth is passionate about disruptive sustainable innovations. She hopes to one day help further the incorporation of these innovations into the global society through international relations. Currently a High School Senior, Lizbeth is aiming to major in the field of Sustainable Development.

Lizbeth has a Bachelor of Computer Sciences, she has worked on different areas of Information Technology, also she has participated in La Juventud Opina (UNICEF) as an intern and then as a mentor where she was connected with other Spanish speaking young interns from around the globe. One of her big dreams is to change the way people use and perceive the internet in her native country in order to create better opportunities at all levels.

Global Head of Corporate Citizenship

Lord Michael Hastings is KPMG’s International Head of Citizenship. Previous to this he was the BBC’s Head of Public Affair. Lord Hasting also is a trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation. He represented KPMG on the Global Corporate Citizenship Committee of the World Economic Forum. In 2009 he became a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Diversity and Talent. In 2005, Lord Hasting was awarded the honour of an independent peerage to the House of Lords by Her Majesty The Queen. In the same year he received the UNICEF award. In 2014, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate in civil law from the University of Kent, Canterbury.

Summer Intern 2018

EVP, Global Head of Sustainability, Aegon N.V.

He joined Aegon in 2001 and held positions in business development, strategy, regulatory affairs and in China prior to his current role. Before, Marc worked at McKinsey & Company, Forsythe International and Bank Mees & Hope. He holds an MA degree in Economics from Cambridge University. Focus areas of activity at Aegon in his current role are trusted products and services, responsible investment, corporate citizenship and integrated reporting.

Associate Professor, Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland

He is chair of the International Committee of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and Secretary General of the International Association of Biological Oceanography. Mark's current research involves fish communities associated with deep-sea corals (notably Lophelia), and analysis of species inventories to provide insights into phylogeographic and biogeographic patterns of biodiversity. He has also conducted surveys and assessments of marine biotopes involving the development of standard benthic biotope classifications.

Mary Helda Akongo is a writer, feminist, internet activist, Internet Society 25 under 25 awardee, an OpenEd fellow, and a 2018 World Bank Africa Blog4dev winner who believes that technology has the power to positively influence the social, political and economic development of women in Africa. She is the Operations and Programs Manager at Zimba Women; an organization that is using technology to find innovative solutions to create sustainable futures for African women. 

Professor, Climate Modeling, Tokyo University

Intern 2018

Bachelor in Administration, International Relations and a Master student of International Development in the University of East Anglia, Natália Mendonca has been awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 2017 and is highly passionate for improving social relations through innovation.

Director, Sustainability & Climate Change, PWC

Prior to joining PwC, he worked for Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, United Technologies Corporation, and the US-Asia Environmental Partnership. He has more than 20 years of experience in management and performance reporting for the energy, financial, and environmental health and safety sectors. Nick Shufro sits on the boards of several nonprofits, including Boundless Playgrounds, the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Calm Air Visibility Unlimited, and the Executive Committee of White Water to Blue Water. He holds a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale University''s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and an MBA from New York University.

Dr Nagabhatla is a natural resource management specialist and an expert spatial analyst with 15 years of international work experience across many parts of the globe: mainly Asia, briefly in Africa, Europe and North America. She is currently associated with United Nations University -Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)-a UNU-INWEH - The UN Think Tank on Water, Canada and is coordinating, Water and Ecosystems research programs, science-policy interfacing and capacity development activities in the water-energy-food nexus. She has an impressive scientific publication record accessible from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nidhi_Nagabhatla and her passion is to work in different environments and across cultures and geographic landscapes.

Director of Conservation Investments, The Nature Conservatory

She oversees land protection, environmental economics and development of market-based mechanisms to finance conservation. Her goal is to make conservation financially and socially sustainable. Before joining the Conservancy, she had an eight-year career in finance, spanning a wide range of areas from sovereign bonds, interest rates derivatives, mortgages, and structured credit products. She has worked at Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada as a strategist and as a trader. Nina’s long-term interest in conservation dates back to her childhood living near the woods in a small town in southern China. She has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Her doctoral thesis used decision theory and uncertainty analysis to tackle the time and cost barriers in incorporating environmental impact assessments, especially life cycle assessments, into corporate decision-making. Nina is also working towards an Executive Education Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability from Columbia University.

Director, International Council for Science, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

He is currently Director, International Council for Science (ICSU) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). He obtained his Ph.D. in 1974 from the Faculty of Science, University of London. He is the current President (2012 – 2014) of the Science Council of Asia, and is Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia. He is Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM).

Professor, Dublin City University, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summer Intern 2018

Payam is a sales and international market strategy professional and current international business graduate student at UC San Diego. Background in procurement, M&A, project management and market research. He is a creative problem solver with advanced quantitative analysis skills.

Summer Intern 2018

Peng Ding is a student pursuing Master of International Affairs degree at UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) with a strong focus on international management. He is a native Chinese speaker and fluent in English and Japanese.

CEO, WilderHill Clean Energy Index

He is Founder and CEO of Wildershares LLC that owns the Index, and Chair of the Index Committee. Rob holds a Ph.D. from University of California at Santa Barbara and a Law Degree from University of San Diego School of Law. In addition Dr. Wilder is a Visiting Lecturer or Professor at Universities around the world, where he teaches on renewable energy, climate policy, and conserving biodiversity.

Founder and CEO, Cenergy USA

As an entrepreneur, he co-founded GuestHouse International lodging franchise and currently is a partner in Cenergy USA, which owns and operates Organic Energy System™ organic waste-to-renewable energy projects, produces a recycled byproduct Magic Dirt™ as a sustainable alternative to peat moss, and develops ReFuels™ facilities which convert waste streams into low-cost sulfur-free biofuel (B100). His various projects have been recognized for their achievements in urban design, urban revitalization and renewable energy.

Director Sustainability, Desso

His 28-year career at Desso started on the production line, packing carpet tiles into boxes. From there Rudi progressed to production line manager, before moving to the Research and Development department where he spent 15 years before moving on to his present role. When accepting the new role in 2007, it was his role to develop and implement a new sustainability vision further into the company.

Assistant Professor

Much of this research has centred on the genesis of metallic resources (Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au) in volcanic belts and sedimentary basins across Europe and North America. Focus has now turned towards gaining a better understanding of Energy Critical Elements (Ge, Te, In, Ga, and REE’s) in ore systems to supply the impending shortfall supplying green-energy technologies.

Executive Director/CEO, PCI Media Impact

Deeply committed to community empowerment and using creative media to facilitate powerful social change, Sean is a resourceful manager with over 23 years of experience in the development and communications field. Sean comes to PCI Media Impact from a multi-sector background including 12 years with the United Nations Development Programme, 5 years with the Canadian government and 4 years working with international non-government organizations such as ICLEI (Secretary General) and Rare (Vice-President). Sean is a dual Canadian and South African citizen and has lived and worked in over 70 countries. He holds a MSC from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from University of British Columbia.

Managing Director, Environmental Protection Agency

After several years of research in the field, she shifted to field based research in economics. Her active interests include the connections between household level productivity and food intake, along with labour organisation and poverty in rural India. She has done extensive work in the study of governance with special focus on local institutions in urban and rural contexts, to create usable and intuitive data analysis to foster logical decision making.

Founding Director, Egypt Solid Waste Management Center of Excellence, Ain Shams University

15.11.19: was validation panel RMW

Stefan Thomson is studying Economics, Environmental Studies and Finance at Boston College. He is a volunteer educator at Outside the Lens, an environmentalist, an avid surfer, skier and sailor. Stefan believes that climate change is the most pressing issue of our time and that a sustainable future begins with corporations and startups creating change now. 

Managing Director, Smallfry Industry Design

Since becoming MD of Smallfry in 1986, May-Russell’s skills/knowledge-base and tireless passion for market led innovation have informed and developed Smallfry’s unique strategic product development methodology. Fascinated by the process of product development, from strategy and design to manufacture, his passion has led some of the industry’s most successful innovations. A self-confessed technology fanatic, he spends as much time hunting down the latest gadgetry as he does designing it. Smallfry has become an inventive customer-focused design and innovation resource with an international reputation. The unique methodologies and processes that have been set in place by May-Russell and his infectious adventurous approach and minute attention to detail have inspired and delivered product innovation that has been sought by major blue chip companies.

Executive Director, One Earth

She is an Associate with the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government on innovation and global public goods. She is asked to speak on social change, leadership, systems thinking and sustainability, and teaches courses on these topics. From 2002 until 2003, Vanessa was a Fulbright Research Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as part of the Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability. In 2013, she was awarded Business in Vancouver's Top Forty under 40, and she co-hosts the regional television show, The Sustainable Region.

Summer Intern 2018

Wenbo Qi is a public policy analysis student on UCSD, and familiar with pharmaceutical knowledge and professional communication skills. She is working on the expending expert pool and profile nominees on Katerva.

Summer Intern 2018

Yifan Dong is now the graduate student in UC San Diego, majoring in Public Policy. Based on her Computer Science background, she is willing to make effort on the better development of NGOs by the possible technology innovation.