Smita Rawoot is the Urban Resilience lead at World Resources Institute (WRI). She leads a team of researchers and urban development professionals who are focused on helping cities manage and adapt to their climate risks while advancing human & environmental health, economic opportunity, and social wellness. She is leading the Urban Water Resilience Initiative in Africa that is helping develop strategic plans for water resilience in six cities.

Kirsten McDonald is an associate principal with Arup’s International Development team in the Australasian region. Kirsten has 28 years’ experience scoping, planning, designing and delivering programs and projects that maximise impact throughout Asia, Australia, and the Pacific for organisations such as the Asian Development Bank (including the UCCRTF), the World Bank, DFAT, the European Union, the Rockefeller Foundation, Mercy Corps, Plan International, and Habitat for Humanity.

Sanjay K. Srivastava is presently Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction at UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). He was ESCAP Regional Adviser on Disaster Risk Reduction from October 2009 to June 2014; Head of SAAARC Disaster Management Centre – New Delhi from 2007-2008; Deputy Project Director of Disaster Management Support Programme at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); and Scientist/Engineer at ISRO HQ Bangalore since 1991.

Debora Dian Utami or Amie is currently the Program Manager of YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) Indonesia—an NGO that was established in 2001 and has mandates on inclusive emergency response, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and climate change adaptation. Amie graduated with a degree in communication studies from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, and has been working in YEU since 2016.