Speaker Biographies

Speaker Biographies •Dr. Naoko Ishii is the CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an independently operating financial organization that provides grants for projects related to the global environment. Dr. Ishii was unanimously selected by the GEF Council in June 2012 and took office on August 1. Prior to becoming the fourth CEO and Chairperson of the GEF, Dr. Ishii, as Deputy Vice Minister of Finance, was responsible for Japan's international financial and development policies, and for its global policies on environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity. She led the Japanese delegation at the Transition Committee for designing the Green Climate Fund. Dr. Ishii's career at the Ministry of Finance began in 1981 with a focus on the international sphere, particularly development issues. Later in her career she was Japan's Director for Bilateral Development Finance (2004-2006) and for coordination with Multilateral Development Banks (2002-04). For nearly half of her career, Dr. Ishii has served in international assignments outside of Japan, including at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. At the World Bank, Dr. Ishii was the Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives (2006-2010). During that period, while based in Colombo, she managed the World Bank program for Sri Lanka amidst that country's quarter-century old civil conflict by building partnership among key stakeholders. She also served as the country program coordinator for Vietnam at the World Bank (1997-2001), project manager at Harvard Institute for International Development (1996-1997), economist at the International Monetary Fund (1992-1995) working for Africa and Asia, as well as visiting fellow at Center for International Affairs at Harvard University (1984-1985). Dr. Ishii also taught sustainable development and environment at Keio University. She has published numerous papers and several books, two of which were awarded by Suntory Prize (1990) and Okita Memorial Prize for International Development Research (2004). She is the inaugural recipient of the 2006 Enjoji Jiro Memorial Prize. She holds BA and Ph.D. from University of Tokyo. •Dr. Rosina Bierbaum is the Chairperson of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environmental Facility. She is also a Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy with appointments in both the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. She served as Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment from October 2001 – October 2011. In that decade, she facilitated the creation of a new undergraduate Program in the Environment; enhanced interdisciplinary teaching and research by successfully recruiting thirty-two new faculty to the School, developed new Master’s tracks to link engineering, architecture and urban planning, and natural resources; tripled research activity; and expanded the mission of the School to include global change. In 2010, Bierbaum was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, and serves as the Chair of the Adaptation Chapter for that Congressionally-mandated effort. She was also named by President Barack Obama in April 2009 to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in addition to being selected in April 2008 by the World Bank to co-direct its prestigious World Development Report 2010, which focuses on climate change and development for the first time. Bierbaum teaches each year and delivers more than 50 public lectures on climate change to audiences as diverse as the United Nations, the IFC, AID, EPA, the Clinton Global Initiative, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, multiple Universities, National Laboratories, many science societies (AAAS, AGU, ESA, AMS, AIBS), college clubs, children and youth groups, rotary clubs, and retirement communities. She has lectured on each of the continents, and in more than 15 countries. •Dr. Ana Bucher is an adaptation specialist within the Climate Change Policy Team of the Climate Policy and Finance Department of the World Bank. Currently, she is working on several initiatives regarding mainstreaming of adaptation to climate change, climate risk screening, and climate smart planning. Her work focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change and adaptation measures particularly on agriculture and natural resource management (NRM), as well as mainstreaming climate change within cross-cutting initiatives such smart planning for green growth development. She supports activities that liaise scientific and policy communities on development of climate services, climate risk management, and climate smart development planning. She is responsible for the development of the WB Climate Change Knowledge Portal, and the recently launched multi-partner Climate Smart Planning Platform. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Environmental Studies of the Mediterranean in Spain working on EU projects related to carbon cycling and climate change on semi-arid lands. She has more than ten years of experience in the research, development, and management of international programmatic activities and research projects related to climate change, agriculture, ecosystem assessment, and long-term environmental sustainability in Latin America, USA, and European Union. She holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a B.Sc. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Cordoba, Argentina. •John Garrity, Global Technology Policy Advisor, CISCO. John Garrity joined Cisco Systems in 2006 and is currently Global Technology Policy Advisor. He is responsible for policy engagement and data-driven analytical research on technology issues related to the expansion of fixed and wireless broadband, including national broadband agendas, municipal strategies for ICT use, Internet protocol network traffic demand and Internet governance. His role involves engaging with public and private counterparts in dialogue on the potential of IT and network connectivity for economic growth, competitiveness, social inclusion and environmental protection. Previously at Cisco, he was a manager in Cisco’s Strategy and Economics, helping guide strategic direction for the Emerging Markets group, a business unit with geographic market coverage of 130 countries, 2,500 personnel and US$7.5 billion in annual revenue. Prior to Cisco, Mr. Garrity was at the World Bank in the Corporate Strategy Group and holds a Masters degree in Applied Economics from the Ohio State University. •Christopher G. Hankin, Senior Director, Environment and Sustainability Policy, Information Technology Industry Council. Chris joined the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in May 2010, after spending over 10 years as the head of the Washington DC office of Sun Microsystems. Chris is primarily responsible for ITI’s policy efforts to promote government policies and practices that encourage ICT-enabled sustainable economic growth and clean energy innovation. This includes both staffing ITI’s Energy and Environment Committee, and serving as the Executive Director of the Digital Energy & Sustainability <a href="/goto?url=http://www.digitalenergysolutions.org/). During" target="_blank">Solutions Campaign (http://www.digitalenergysolutions.org/). During the Reagan Administration, </a>Chris was Director of Legislative Affairs and an Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Trade at the Labor Department. He moved to the State Department in 1987, serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Trade Controls, and he remained at State through both the Bush Administration and for the first years of the Clinton Presidency. Chris then spent two years on the staff of the House International Relations Committee, and three years as a lobbyist for NCR Corporation before joining Sun Microsystems in December 1999. Chris received has BA from Amherst College. •Scot Horst, Senior Vice President for LEED, U.S. Green Building Council. As Senior Vice President of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Program, Scot Horst significantly influences the global course of sustainable design and building performance. Scot brings genuine expertise to helping the built environment intersect with natural systems in positive and ultimately regenerative ways. His professional experience includes the private and nonprofit sectors as president of both 7group, a leading green building consultancy, and Athena Institute International, a nonprofit dedicated to the lifecycle assessment of buildings. Before joining USGBC he chaired the LEED Steering Committee and championed the development of LEED v.3. He was awarded the USGBC Leadership Award for LEED in 2008. Scot sits on the board of the Sustainable Building Alliance in Paris, the Advisory Board of Cradle to Cradle, and the Buildings Retrofit and Finance Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum. Known for both his technical knowledge and his ability to facilitate action, Scot strives to create major shifts in human thinking through tools like LEED. He leads USGBC's Building Performance Partnership, which focuses on the connection between building design, operation and human behavior. He is driving a current effort to improve LEED, and designing an innovative approach for advancing regenerative action. In order to develop LEED globally, Scot organized the LEED International Roundtable in 2010. An inspirational speaker, Scot most recently co-authored An Integrative Design Guide to Green Building published by Wiley & Sons. A former opera singer, Scot is also a respected designer of sustainable furniture and maintains a studio in northeastern Pennsylvania, •Mr. McFetridge heads the global funds management team at GFP. In this capacity, Mike has lead fund management responsibilities for the firm’s commingled private equity timberfunds and separate account clients. He is also a member of GFP’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McFetridge was a consultant with the Sustainability and Benchmarking practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver, B.C. Prior to that, Mike worked with a forest inventory consulting firm advising Canadian forest products companies on forest management planning. Mike is a registered member of the Association of British Columbia Professional Foresters. Mr. McFetridge holds a BS in Forestry from the University of British Columbia and a BA in History and an MBA in Finance from McGill University. ••Kazuo Noguchi is a Senior Manager of Big Data Lab at Hitachi America R&D in New York office. He has worked for Hitachi group since 2002. Prior to joining Hitachi, he was a Manager at KPMG in New York. Nick Sinai currently serves in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as the Senior Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer, where he is focused on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Mr. Sinai previously served as the Energy and Environment Director of the Federal Communications Commission's Omnibus Broadband Initiative. Mr. Sinai led a team exploring how broadband and advanced communications can help the nation achieve its goals of energy independence and energy efficiency. Mr. Sinai is a former venture capitalist and strategic advisor. Most recently, he served in executive and advisory roles with two Boston area clean energy technology companies, and served as a senior advisor to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Mr. Sinai played a key role in building the clean energy practice at Polaris Venture Partners, and subsequently served as a Principal of Tenaya Capital. He also has private equity experience at Madison Dearborn Partners. Earlier in his career, he was a senior management consultant with Cambridge Strategic Management Group, where he led teams working with large communications and media companies. He earned an M.B.A from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and an A.B. from Harvard University. •Nigel Sizer, Director, Global Forest Initiative, WRI. Nigel Sizer is the Director of WRI's Global Forest Initiative. Nigel comes to WRI from Rare, an international conservation organization, where he served as vice president for Asia. While at Rare, he expanded operations into China, and conceived and developed Community Carbon, a grassroots effort to link impoverished communities in Indonesia to global carbon markets. In 2008, he served as lead advisor on climate change and energy issues in Asia to former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative. Sizer has also worked with UNEP in Nairobi, and established The Nature Conservancy’s Asia-Pacific Forest Program. Nigel previously worked for WRI from 1992 to 2001. He was initially tasked with creating a program to promote conservation and sustainability in the Amazon Basin. Later on, he led a team of WRI policy experts working on forestry and biodiversity issues around the world. Nigel holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in natural sciences and tropical forest ecology from King’s College and the University of Cambridge. He has served on numerous boards, including the boards of The Rainforest Foundation, the Amazon Alliance, the Global Forest Foundation, and the Andean Center for Sustainable Development. He also founded and co-chaired The Forests Dialogue, and helped establish and lead the Asia Forest Partnership. •Dr Peter Williams is the Chief Technology Officer, Big Green Innovations, at IBM. His focus areas are resilience to natural disasters and chronic stresses; Smarter Cities, with special reference to water management, covering entire water resources (for example entire rivers or aquifers), utility infrastructures, and enterprise water management; and cloud computing for government. He has had a major role in developing the intellectual foundation for IBM's "Smarter Planet" and "Smarter Cities" initiatives, and in identifying and integrating their technological components - both IBM-originated and from outside the company. Dr Williams holds the title of IBM Distinguished Engineer, and is also a visiting lecturer on Smarter Cities and Communities at Stanford University. By background, he is a strategy and change consultant with well over 20 years' experience of bringing technology and business issues together to develop novel solutions and business models. He holds or co-holds, or has pending, 9 US patents. A native of the UK, he has lived in California since 1999, and is married with three children. His PhD was awarded by the School of Management at the University of Bath, England, in 1986. •Joshua Yacknowitz is part of Arup’s Project Management practice based in New York, and leads the Science and Industry Business for Arup in the Americas. He has been involved in the design of complex, highly-serviced facilities for the past 14 years, both as a building services engineer and interdisciplinary design project manager. He also has 10 years of experience working directly for manufacturing companies as an engineering department leader. Josh has worked on a variety of building types including government, commercial, laboratory and industrial facilities, both in the US and internationally. He typically leads large, interdisciplinary A/E teams delivering integrated facility design, comprising architecture, planning, structural/civil, MEP and ICT specialists. Most projects have had LEED or other sustainability objectives, and the close integration of building planning and systems design to meet environmental goals are among the key success factors for these types of facilities. Josh is a mechanical engineer, and is one of Arup New York’s mechanical skills leaders, setting out staff training and deliverable quality initiatives to a group of approximately 50 engineers.

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