SHYLA RAGHAV

CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL [email protected] @shylaraghav

CLIMATE CHANGE LEAD @shyla_raghav @shyla.raghav

ARLINGTON, VA in linkedin.com/in/shyla-raghav/ IfThenCollection.org/Shyla

PERSONAL STATEMENT I truly believe that change is the defining issue of my generation and of generations to come. When I started my career, everyone thought that being an environmentalist meant protecting trees. But what I know now is that being an environmentalist is being a humanist. Nature and humanity are linked. And our survival is going to depend on how seriously we take challenges like . My main focus at Conservation International is drawing attention to the fact that we cannot solve this crisis - climate change without nature. The reason for that is simple, there is more carbon stored in trees, plants, roots, and soils than in the entire atmosphere. When we burn, clear, damage, and destroy our land, that carbon gets emitted. These impacts are so severe that at least 1/3 of the solution to climate change comes from nature. That’s huge. Finding solutions to global problems, being part of a global movement that is going to define our future, and working with people around the world on this cause - finding ways we can collaborate all excite me and give me a strong sense of purpose in my work.

BIOGRAPHY Shyla Raghav is Conservation International’s leading expert climate change, and drives the organization’s climate change strategy to secure and maximize nature’s potential as a climate solution. Shyla is one of the youngest and one of the few minority women at the forefront of the movement in the U.S. She led the development of a carbon calculator as a way of giving consumers the power to fight climate change in their personal lives. Shyla also played an integral role in the negotiations on the , signed by 195 countries, and has been instrumental in influencing international climate policy for over a decade. Shyla has worked at the World Bank, Adaptation Fund, United Nations Development Programmme, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. From both California and northern India, Shyla studied applied ecology and international relations at the University of California, Irvine and earned her master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University. She has worked on both climate change mitigation and adaptation – and is a key communicator in the climate movement. She was recently named one of InStyle’s BadAss Women last year, one of Grist’s Top 50 Fixers, and has been featured on CNN, Vice News, and Elle Magazine.

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SEGMENT PITCHES

Climate change can seem so scary, and so we know what we need to do. We need to 1) PROTECT our critical tropical forests. We can’t afford to lose these irreplaceable places, daunting. It’s hard to feel in control when the 2) RESTORE the billions of areas of land around the work that are problem is so big and our individual actions seem degraded or cleared, and 3) FUND these solutions so that we create so insignificant. green economies that do not depend on the destruction of nature. If we do these 3 things, we have 1/3 or more of the solution to climate But I’m here to tell you about a solution that all of you can act on change. in your own way. We know today that we cannot solve climate change without nature. The reason for that is simple, there is more And each of you can help us reach this goal by using your power as carbon stored in trees, plants, roots, and soils than in the entire a voter to demand action on climate change, talking about climate atmosphere. When we burn, clear, damage, and destroy our land, change with your friends to find solutions to these problems, and that carbon gets emitted. These impacts are so severe that at least taking a hard look at your own lifestyle and consumption. Join us! 1/3 of the solution to climate change comes from nature. And so Location: out in nature!

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