Energy Transition, RMI
Rachit is a manager at RMI focused on accelerating the rapid decarbonization of regulated utilities through a focus on utility finance, regulation, and operations.
Before RMI, Rachit was completing his Master’s in Renewable Energy through a double-degree program in Europe. Between his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and graduate school, he worked in a home energy analytics startup as a data scientist.
Rachit is passionate about a future that is zero-carbon, equitable, and prosperous and is excited he works with an amazing group of people to bring that future closer to reality.
In his spare time, you can find Rachit with a pen or a camera in hand, absorbed in a book, or trying out a new recipe!
RMI
Wini serves as the principal for Southeast Asia, catalyzing a low-carbon future and the energy transition in the region. At RMI, Wini leverages her vast experience and insights to build strategic partnerships and design innovative solutions addressing the unique energy challenges in Southeast Asia. She envisions a future where energy is not merely a commodity but a tool for promoting social equity and environmental stewardship.
Wini started her career as a field engineer at Schlumberger and petrophysicist at Total E&P. She then had a pivotal stint at Paradigm, a geoscience solutions provider, where she blended her technical expertise with strategic business development. After a decade in the fossil energy industry, Wini moved to the public sector, heading business development for the renewable energy and technology portfolio at the New Zealand Trade Enterprise, where she helped businesses transition to renewable energy and underscored the importance of policy in facilitating clean energy sources. Seeking to deepen her understanding of energy policy, Wini pursued a master’s in Public Policy at the University of Oxford on the prestigious Chevening scholarship. Her time at Oxford, which includes her research stint at The Oxford Martin School, furnished her with a nuanced understanding of energy policy and sustainability. She then joined a field strategy fellowship in Schmidt Future, focusing on energy transition and skilling in low-middle-income countries. In her spare time, she volunteers, mentors, and advises youth policy initiative and social impact organizations.
Climate Investment Funds
Nina Kolybashkina is Senior Social Development Specialist at the Climate Investment Funds, working on mainstreaming gender and spearheading broader social inclusion agenda through policy and technical assistance, analytical work and capacity-building. Nina has over 20 years of experience in development, with focus on social inclusion and gender, labor, rural development, water management and resilience. Nina joined the World Bank in 2015, leading policy dialogue in Uzbekistan on eradication of child and forced labor in the cotton sector, in partnership with the ILO, as well as developing gender and citizen engagement activities in agriculture, water and energy sectors. Most recently, Nina led multi-GP analytical work covering disability, gender, labor migration and Indigenous People in Russia, as well as supported development of coordination platform for donors and national stakeholders working on conflict recovery in Eastern Ukraine. Nina holds a PhD and MSc in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and a Specialist Degree in Economics and Finance from Tavrida National University in Ukraine.
Climate Investment Funds
Paul focuses on the implementation of the CIF’s Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) Investment Program, and Technical Assistance Facility (TAF). He also supports the Industry Decarbonization investment program and provides strategic input to other CIF energy projects as needed.
Paul joined the CIF in 2021, and has been central in designing and operationalizing the $2.2 billion ACT investment program as well as conducting 3 rounds of Calls for Proposals worth over $33 million for the TAF, working closely with donor, recipient and MDB partners. He has also led on strategic outreach and knowledge creation, such as the through the building of the unique ReACT Tool.
Prior to CIF, Paul was at World Bank's ESMAP focusing on the energy access pillar to deliver the benchmark SDG7 and RISE reports. He has also worked at the United Nations and in the private sector. He trained as a mechanical engineer and later completed his graduate degree concentrating on Economic Development at Columbia University.
EBRD
Dr Sunita Pitamber is the Associate Director for Gender Mainstreaming and Access to Services and Infrastructure Development at the EBRD. In this role, she leads on advising clients and colleagues in promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment through Bank investments.
Sunita has extensive experience in Africa through her role at the African Development Bank where she led the Bank’s priorities on Human Capital Development, Youth Employment, as well as Education and Health.
Sunita is a UN Accredited Senior Women’s Leadership Talent in the Peace, Security and Rule of Law Institutions sector. She is an experienced public policy advisor with proven skills in strategy design and implementation, SDGs results delivery and monitoring. Proven experience in fragile states, support to peace and security through rule of law institutions, and post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction at country level and regionally, for example such as The Sahel, The Lake Chad Region, The Horn of Africa, The Mano River Union, and the Great Lakes.
Sunita holds a Ph.D. in Development Economics from the University of Bremen, Germany. She also holds an MBA from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
ESMAP, World Bank
Nathyeli is leading the ESMAP Gender and Energy Program. Her work focuses on the inclusion of the gender perspective within Energy Sector interventions to foster women's participation in the sector, promote the use of productive uses of energy among women-owned businesses, and include more women as users of energy. Within the World Bank, she has been leading the implementation of the new Gender and Energy program globally while also providing gender technical support to the Africa region of the World Bank. Before joining ESMAP, Nathyeli worked as a gender expert for the Inter-American Development Bank. She was also a consultant for gender and urban mobility in climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. Nathyeli holds an Economics degree from the Costa Rica University and a Master´s in Urban Economics from the Torcuato Di Tella University (Argentina).
Global Wind Energy Council
Jeanette Gitobu is a 2023 Women Leaders in Energy and Climate Fellow. Gitobu currently serves as the director of the Women in Wind Global Leadership Program and policy advisor on Africa at the Global Wind Energy Council. With a proven track record of leading national, international, and global multi-stakeholder initiatives to address economic, energy, climate, gender, and sustainable development challenges, Gitobu is an award-winning professional in the renewable energy sector. Gitobu is also the founder and president of Prestonwook Group. Prestonwook Group is a wholly black female owned holding company that includes: Prestonwook Capital Advisors, Prestonwook Studios, and Prestonwook Academy. Each of the companies under the Prestonwook umbrella are focused on different aspects of promoting diversity and sustainability around the world.
Climate Investment Funds
Farah is Social Development Specialist with the CIF Gender and Social Inclusion team. She has over ten years of international experience in gender equality and social inclusion analysis, program management and stakeholder engagement. Farah has extensive on-the-ground experience designing and managing projects as well as facilitating policy dialogues involving a diverse array of development stakeholders. In recent years, she led UN Women’s four-year program addressing gender-based violence and social norms in Algeria, supported FAO’s gender-responsive climate adaptation programs in Lebanon and Syria’s agriculture sector, as well as delivered exhaustive gender diagnostics for USAID. In 2020, Farah joined the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) where she supported a large multi-country Green Climate Fund (GCF) proposal and strengthened the gender and inclusion aspects of energy operations. She has a master's degree in political sciences from the London School of Economics and a master's in public affairs from the Lille Institute of Political Studies.
Rocky Mountain Institute
Eduarda has over eight years of experience managing climate and energy projects at international organizations, such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations, with a regional focus on Latin America and Africa. Prior to RMI, she worked at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) on policy and regulatory frameworks and gender mainstreaming to achieve Goal 7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Today, she is an advisor to the UN Development Programme’s energy governance working group and an advisor to Student Energy. Eduarda has been recognized for her work with environmental education and energy projects — she was named as one of the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) Revolutionaries in 2022, an AMP Global Youth Visionary in 2021 and received the North American Association for Environmental Education’s (NAAEE) 30 Under 30 award in 2019.
Climate Finance Program, Global Affairs Canada
François-Philippe Dubé is Deputy Director at Global Affairs Canada for Canada’s Climate Finance Program. After joining the Canadian International Development Agency in 2005, François-Philippe focused his career on developing projects, programs and policies aimed at economic development and poverty reduction. This has led him to represent Canada for three years on a G20 working group on financial inclusion; to act as GAC’s focal point on women's economic empowerment; to co-write Global Affairs Canada’s Growth that Works for Everyone policy; and, since August 2021, to structure blended finance projects in financial inclusion and access to renewable energy. He holds a master's degree in international relations from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Gender | Youth | ACE at UNFCCC
Fleur Newman is the Lead Programme Officer for the .N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Gender Focal Point for the UNFCCC Secretariat. She has a background in climate change, sustainable development, energy and international law in the private sector, and extensive experience in advocating for gender equality and women and girl’s empowerment. She holds law degrees from The University of Notre Dame Australia, The Australian National University, and a LLM at the International law The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). At the UNFCCC Secretariat she has worked on implementing a voluntary tool for describing sustainable development cobenefits of clean development mechanism (CDM) projects and managing the work of Parties and the UNFCCC in implementing gender equality strategies, including the Lima work programme on gender and UNFCCC’s Gender Action Plan. She also represents the UNFCCC in the Gender Partnership of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)