Dr. Maged Mahmoud is the Acting Executive Director, Technical Director, and Lead Renewable Energy Expert of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE). He has multidisciplinary technical expertise and a solid record of accomplishments in the fields of sustainable energy transition in the Egyptian, Arab and African arenas. Dr. Mahmoud played a key role in helping RCREEE’s 17 Arab MENA countries in the formulation of renewable energy strategies and respective implementation mechanisms for increased reliance on private sector. Dr. Mahmoud contributed to shaping concrete regional initiatives endorsed by the League of Arab States. He is continuously assisting countries to develop and execute national sustainable energy action plans, to introduce business models and instruments supporting both utility- and small-scale markets, and to assess the e socio-economic benefits of sustainable energy.

Dr. Mahmoud had served for 20 years at the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA). Among his key achievements, he contributed significantly to setting the Egyptian RE 2022 strategy targeting 20% RE share, and in the design of the “best-fit” policies and measures for implementation. He deeply contributed to planning and contracting several hundreds megawatts of wind energy projects amounting to more than 700 million USD. Further, he participated in developing the quality infrastructure for testing solar thermal and energy efficiency systems in Egypt. Dr. Mahmoud holds the “Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research Award for Development and Innovations in Renewable Energy” since 2001. He has managed and contributed to over 40 research projects and studies in the sustainable energy fields in collaboration with national and international organizations (WB, IRENA, ESCWA, UNDP, UNEP, etc.). He is also a certified trainer and author/co-author of over 50 specialized publications and research articles.

Dr Karl Vella is a lawyer from Malta with over 10 years’ experience in sustainable development, particularly in climate change, energy and environment issues, with substantial experience in government and business interfaces.

He joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Geneva in January 2018, and is part of the Climate and Energy Team, where he leads the work on climate change policy and engagement, including the organization’s climate strategy towards the UN climate change process.

Karl coordinates the development of WBCSD’s climate policy messages in collaboration with WBCSD’s member companies as well as the various teams across the organization. He is also the lead focal point for WBCSD to We Mean Business, within which WBCSD coordinates the international policy work on behalf of the coalition.

Prior to joining WBCSD, Karl worked for “Eurelectric - the Union of the Electricity Industry” (Brussels), the Government of Malta’s Permanent Representation to the European Union (Brussels), and the Cabinet of the Maltese Minister for Climate Change, where he led the Maltese delegation to the UNFCCC for several years.

He has lived in several cities, including Malta, Rome, Sydney, Vienna, Edinburgh, Brussels and now Geneva.

Donahue Peebles, III is Chief of Staff and handles new acquisitions and business development for The Peebles Corporation. Mr. Peebles actively pursues public and private real estate transactions in for The Peebles Corporation’s various markets, including South Florida, Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area and New York tri-state area. In addition, he maintains substantial involvement in the pre-development phase, and is capable of advancing projects through the development process through strategic partnerships, management and community engagement.

Mr. Peebles takes an active role in The Peebles Corporation’s public image, participating in business and entrepreneurial summits, as well as real estate panels and forums. He also serves both the Washington D.C. and New York City communities by engaging with multiple philanthropies that benefit and expose youth to various opportunities in entrepreneurship. He currently works with the New York City Mission Society, Best Buddies, Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E., and various other organizations to improve the quality of life of impoverished and special-needs individuals on a global scale.

Mr. Peebles holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.

Sven Harmeling works with the non-governmental humanitarian and development NGO CARE International as Global Policy Lead Climate Change and Resilience. Being with CARE since 2013, his role includes the coordination of CARE’s policy positions on climate change and resilience, heading CARE’s delegations to the UNFCCC annual COPs, publication of various report in the areas of international climate policy, climate finance, adaptation and loss and damage. Prior to his work at CARE, he worked as Team Leader International Climate Policy with the German NGO/think tank Germanwatch. He also serves in the Board of Directors of Climate Action Network International (CAN), and Germanwatch.

Erica A. Arias a Los Angeles Native, is the Founder and CEO of Imperio Tech LLC and President of Alpha Prime Consulting LLC. Erica is an expert in developing business and driving internal organizational change. She conducts relevant organizational leadership assessments, executive coaching, training, leads focus groups and performs cutting-edge research. Her areas of expertise include leadership development, emotional intelligence for leaders, multicultural leadership, nonprofit governance, and strategic planning. Erica serves on the Board of Directors for the National Latina Women Business Association of Los Angeles and is a past advisory board member for JustUS4Youth, an at-risk youth advocacy nonprofit. She has been a featured guest speaker at conferences for small business communities with a heavy emphasis in underserved business populations. Erica is an active member of the Latino Chamber of Commerce, Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, Pomona Chamber of Commerce and the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She is also Business Mentor for Undergraduate Students at the University of La Verne. Erica has recently been nominated by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the 2020 Women’s Leadership Award. With over 15 years of experience in developing diverse and inclusive work environments, Erica is known for her dynamic mentoring. She has trained constituencies such as nonprofit organizations, law enforcement agencies, higher education institutions, and startup companies. She has a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science and a Master’s degree in Education both from the University of La Verne. Erica is currently an Executive Master of Leadership candidate at the University of Southern California.

Laura Van Wie McGrory has been promoting energy efficiency policies and programs across the globe for more than two decades. She is VP of Strategic Initiatives at the Alliance to Save Energy, where she manages the Alliance’s Active Efficiency programs and coordinates the EE Global Alliance. Laura previously worked with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory supporting U.S. appliance standards rulemakings and LBNL’s international programs. Prior to that, Laura worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to produce several climate change mitigation reports. She also has consulted with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Bank and has published numerous reports and articles related to international energy efficiency. Laura has a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master of international environmental policy from Columbia University.

Anna Skowron,is a passionate advocate for a 100% renewable energy future. She works as Senior Policy Officer at the World Future Council (WFC) where she supports countries and civil society to develop country-tailored, long-term renewable energy strategies, maximising the manifold benefits of renewables and breaking up silo-thinking. Before joining the WFC, Anna has worked with the Climate Action Network’s 100% RE campaign and with the UN in Indonesia. She has degrees in Japanology, Modern East Asian Studies, and Asian Politics from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

1- Has a PhD in Environmental Science and Health from the University of Nevada-Reno, USA.
2- Worked for 11 years at the Royal Scientific Society as a senior environmental researcher.
3- Worked as a technical consultant for 2 years with the European Union to establish Ben Hayyan Aqaba International Laboratories and Aqaba Air Quality Monitoring Network.
4- Worked for 8 years in Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, among which he was the Director of Environment and Director of Ben Hayyan Laboratories.
5- Currently, he is the Technical Advisor for the Minister and the Director of Green Economy Unit at the Ministry of Environment of Jordan.

Dr. Hussein Abaza is currently the Senior Advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment. Prior to holding this position he has worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 1982 up to 2009. During his tenure with UNEP he was responsible for formulating and overseeing the implementation of the UNEP Economics and Trade Programme, led the team which conceptualized and launched the UNEP Green Economy initiative in October 2008, and
functioned as the Special Assistant to the Executive Director of UNEP. Positions while at UNEP also included Chief of the Economic and Trade Branch, Coordinator of the Committee of International Development Instituitons on the Envrionment (CIDIE), and Coordinator of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). Founded the Centre for Sustainable Development Solutions (CSDS) in 2011 with the main objectives of promoting green economy and sustainable development, with particular focus on Egypt and the Middle East. The Centre aims at achieving its objectives through technical support, research, training, community based activities, and public awareness campaigns. As an Advisor to the then Minister of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform and Head of the Sustainable Development Team launched in 2018 a process for revising and updating the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy for Egypt.

Prior to joining UNEP, functioned as Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Physical and Urban Planning project in Saudi Arabia, Managing Director of the Center of Planning and Architecture in Cairo, Egypt, and Director of the Islamic Investment company, Central and Northern Region, Saudi Arabia. Apart from functioning as the Senior Advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment, he is currently a Fellow of the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and a member of the Environment Council of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.

During the course of his professional career he provided technical assistance and supported country projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Projects aimed at strengthening national capacities to conduct integrated assessment as a tool to integrate environment and social considerations in macroeconomic and secotral policies, develop a package of policy measures, including economic instruments for implementing mutually supportive environmental, social, and economic policies. He also participated and delivered keynote statements and attended a series of national, regional and international workshops and events on sustainable development and "Green Economy". Meetings and workshops were convened in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Florence, Hamburg, Islamabad, Marrakech, Rabat, Qatar, and Tunisia.

During his long and extensive professional life he worked as a consultant/advisor for a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the European Union (EU), Plan Blue, the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), and the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), SWEEP-Net, SWITCH-Med programme, and the League of Arab States.

He prepared and contributed to a series of publications on environmental and integrated assessment, the interface between trade and environment, valuation of environmental and natural resources, the use of economic instruments for environmental management, and the Green Economy for the Arab Region, and manuals on sustainable development, integrated policy making, environmental assessment, green economy, environmental economics, and trade and environment.

Marla Korpar is honored to serve as Solar Energy International’s (SEI) Development Director, especially since she is one of over 80,000 alumni of SEI. She first came to SEI while working in oil and gas, but seeking to ‘join the sunny side.’ In 2016, Marla joined the SEI team to build the development department from the ground up. She leads SEI’s growth strategy and is dedicated to creating a culture of philanthropy with SEI’s partners across the globe. What excites Marla? GROWING the global solar workforce! She’s thrilled by scale and motivated by SEI’s role in addressing climate change. She’s a Penn State Environmental Engineering alumna: ‘We Are!’. Located in Pittsburgh, PA, Marla invites ‘yinz’ to join her for a walk next time you’re in town.

Matthew Harris Director Business Development- Latin America Matthew Harris has more than 17 years of experience in the renewable energy and sustainability fields. Educated in architectural design with a focus on restorative and regenerative principles, Matthew holds a vision of a built environment focused on the story of place. These ideals run parallel with the mission and vision of SEI whom Matthew joined in 2004. In his time with SEI Matthew was the initial lead project manager on the planning and development of SEI’s 7-acre Renewable Energy Training Facility in Paonia, CO, co- coordinated SEI’s Green Building program, and helped to launch SEI’s Programa Hispano, which he now serves as its Director of Business Development. The Programa Hispano aims to establish SEI as a leading renewable energy training provider for Spanish speakers, with a focus on Latin America. Matthew and his team have brought SEI’s Spanish training to over 9 countries including online learning, training over 5,000 Spanish speakers since 2013. Matthew lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Alexis, two cats Magic and Percy, and his six solar cookers. When Matthew is not working to fulfill SEI's mission he spends time as an Improvisational comedian, playing soccer, hiking in Colorado's beautiful mountains, and drinking Yerba Mate.

Conor initially worked in film, shooting the first High Definition feature documentary in an active war zone, and developing commercial projects for the likes of Coca-Cola and BMW Designworks. Next he moved to Hong Kong to work for one of the world's leading independent macro investment research firms, focusing on long term implications of automation and alternative energy. Co-founding Chain of Things in 2016, as one of the first companies focused on blockchain & IoT, he is now focused on leveraging distributed technologies for positive environmental, humanitarian, and industrial applications. Most recently, Conor worked on Blockpass, a Chain of Things JV, focused on self-sovereign ZKP identity for regulated industries and the Internet of Everything.

Scott is a former management consultant with 8 years of experience at Booz Allen Hamilton and PA Consulting. Scott has conducted emerging technology consulting services for a variety of US utilities, helping them analyze and assess pilots that leverage the latest cutting-edge technologies. Specifically Mr. Salandy-Defour has worked with utilities to help them analyze how IoT, wearable devices, and big data can improve operations. Outside of the Utility space he has done emerging technology assessments for the UN, healthcare, and retail. Prior to Liquidstar, Mr. Salandy-Defour founded two startups one focused on using AI to detect bias and perspective in the news and a patent pending machine vision, IoT, and augmented reality solution to help reduce bias in interpersonal networking situations.

Tom is responsible for the network development and strategy development for CAN Europe and the implementation of initiatives to strengthen the Network. He is responsible for building better links between fundraising, capacity building, and policy development. His current portfolio includes sustainable development projects at a pan-European level working to push the EU to realize its promises to reach sustainability and climate neutrality.

Eng. Maha Mostafa who works in the Electricity & Energy Sector in Egypt Since January 1986 and currently Undersecretary of State for Research, Planning & International Cooperation in Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy.

Eng. Maha works with the International Financing Banks /Organizations and International agencies and the development partners to support the Ministry of Electricity &Renewable energy and its affiliated companies &Authorities in funding its strategic projects and the Restructuring of the Electricity sector through Loans or grants to finance different projects financing schemes and the preparation of MOUs, Agreements of financing these projects.

Eng. Maha leads the International cooperation department at the Ministry in the negotiation process with the International; development partners (bilateral & trilateral cooperation in order to provide the required financing for the Electricity sector projects and she has participated in reviewing the Energy Sector Strategy up to 2035 and representing the Ministry in several conferences on Electricity &Renewable Energy and also she leads the African Affairs department to support the cooperation and technical assistance with All African countries.

Eng. Maha has appointed since May, 2018 as the Executive chairwomen for the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) and she appointed since November, 2018 as the Egyptian Manager for the High level German –Egyptian Joint committee for Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Climate protection (JCEE) and she has been worked as the procurement officer about 20 years in the Electricity sector and also, Since 2013 she is the Head of the equal opportunities unit at the Ministry of Electricity &Renewable Energy as the focal point with the Women National Council.

Eng. Maha background is Electrical Power Engineer, Cairo University and she has obtained MBA Master Degree from Victoria University in Switzerland.

Milka Rodriguez is a Dominican American of Afro- Caribbean heritage who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York. She is passionate about economic development and environmental sustainability initiatives and how they affect marginalized and disadvantaged communities. She has a Master's degree in Sustainability in the Urban Environment from CUNY The City College of New York.

Currently, she oversees a building energy efficiency program that will provide technical and financial assistance to building owners to help them save money on energy expenses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the past, she worked at the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation providing minority and woman owned business enterprises access to financing, strategic business development, markets, and contracts. Also, she worked with WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a Harlem based nonprofit leading a clean heat and energy campaign in Northern Manhattan in coordination with the NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability which helped the city surpass sulfur emissions goals.

In 2017, she travelled to Panama, Nicaragua, and El Salvador with Peace Boat US as a Youth for the SDGs scholar to learn about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and peace education initiatives in Latin America. Since then, she was selected as a youth representative to the UN Department of Global Communications, co-chair for the workshops subcommittee for the 68th UN Civil Society Conference and member of the Intergenerational subcommittee of the UN Global NGO Executive Committee.

Ms. Aneta Nikolova is an Environmental Affairs Officer and Engineer of the Environment and Development Policy Section, Environment and Development Division, UN ESCAP. Ms. Aneta Slaveykova Nikolova has a rich professional experience in sustainable development policy analysis, advocacy, capacity development and technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Ms. Nikolova has broad educational background with degrees in Scientific Information Management, Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology (Engineer) and European Politics and Administration.

Ms. Nikolova led an Asia-Pacific regional capacity development on green growth (2005 to 2014), including LCGG e-learning course, championed an integrated approach to SDGs and for integration of the SDGs into national planning (2015-today) all available on the SDG Help Desk and e-Learning platform at https://sdghelpdesk.unescap.org. Currently, Ms Nikolova is leading the review and implementation of NDCs in the region, and capacity support for GHG emissions inventories and Paris Agreement reporting, including addressing greener post-COVID-19 recovery.