Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein is the seventh individual to lead the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the first Asian, Muslim and Arab to do so. A veteran multilateral diplomat, he was previously Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, a post he held from September 2010 until July 2014. He also played a central role in the establishment of the International Criminal Court

Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), has over 30 years’ experience in sustainable development, international diplomacy, governance and finance. From 2006 to 2012, she was Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and World Bank Vice President.

Irina Bokova has been the Director-General of UNESCO since 2009, and was successfully reelected for a second term in 2013. She is the first woman and the first Eastern European to lead the organisation. As Director-General of UNESCO, she is a leading advocate for ensuring quality education for all, gender equality, protection of cultural heritage, enabling scientific cooperation for sustainable development and promoting freedom of expression.

Sharan Burrow was selected General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) at its Second World Congress in Vancouver in June 2010. The ITUC is the world’s peak labour union body and represents 181 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 340 national affiliates

Martine Durand is the OECD Chief Statistician and Director of Statistics. Among her many responsibilities, she oversees the publication of the OECD flagship report 'How’s Life?' that assesses people’s well-being and societal progress, and promotes the analysis and use of well-being and sustainability indicators for policy-making.

Natalia Escobar-Pemberthy is currently a PhD candidate in Global Governance and Human Security at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she also works as research associate for the Center for Governance and Sustainability.

Hannes Etter is the Science Desk Officer at the ELD Initiative’s Secretariat, responsible for facilitation of scientific studies and activities and close cooperation with the partners of the initiative. Through previous research in Namibia and South Africa, he has gained experience in participatory land use management approaches and economic evaluation of dryland areas. Before Hannes joined the ELD-team, he was employed at the United Nations University in Bonn.

John Evans is General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee - TUAC (www.tuac.org ) to the OECD, a post he has held since 1985, and Chief Economist of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) since 2012. Since its creation, he has been heading the Labour20 (L20) as part of the G20 process jointly with the ITUC (www.labour20.org).

Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi is the former Special Envoy on Gender at the African Development Bank Group, where she led a strategy to mainstream gender in the bank’s policies and operations. She held various ministerial posts in South Africa’s first democratic government, served as a parliamentarian, and was previously Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s Democratic Governance Group.

Tobias Gerhartsreiter is the Communications Officer at the ELD Initiative’s Secretariat under the GIZ. Besides all matters concerning communications he is responsible for capacity building and e-learning activities at the ELD Initiative. Before he joined the ELD team, he worked as a consultant for the GIZ Convention Project to Combat Desertification (CCD)

Mark Gough is the Executive Director of the Natural Capital Coalition, and led the collaboration that delivered the Natural Capital Protocol, a standardised global framework for including natural capital in decision making.

António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1 January 2017. Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, he served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, heading one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organisations during some of the most serious displacement crises in decades.

Glenda Humiston has 25 years of experience working on agriculture, natural resources, sustainability, and economic development in rural communities. Prior to joining the University of California, she was the California State Director of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, appointed to this position by President Obama in 2009.

Maria Ivanova is Associate Professor of Global Governance at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability. Her work focuses on the performance of international environmental institutions and the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the UN Secretary-General, and is an Andrew Carnegie Fellow.

Alex Kent is International Strategy Director at Restless Development. She has more than 15 years' experience connecting young people and children to power, advocating for global change. Prior to joining Restless Development she led campaigns at WaterAid, Save the Children and the Global Campaign for Education.  

Lise Kingo is the CEO and Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, which is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with more than 13,500 signatories from 170 countries that have committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and taking actions that advance societal goals.

Gabriele Koehler is a development economist and a Senior Research Associate with UNRISD. She served with UN-ESCAP, UNCTAD, UNDP and UNICEF from 1983-2010. Her current work focuses on the 2030 sustainable development agenda, and on social and economic policy. Gabriele is a board member of the German UN Association (DGVN) and of Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF).

A paediatrician by training, Joanne Liu began working with MSF in the field in 1996. She has undertaken over 20 missions since. Her experience includes introducing comprehensive medical care for survivors of sexual violence and developing a telemedicine platform to connect physicians in remote sites with medical specialists worldwide.

Robin Luckham is an Emeritus Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, where he has been based since 1974. He has taught or researched in several African countries. His publications include articles and books on militarism, civil-military relations, violent conflict, democratisation, law and development, security sector governance, security ‘from below’ and peacebuilding.

Philip Mader is a sociologist and development economist and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies. His work focuses on financialisation, microfinance and the creation of inequality through financial markets. He is advocate for asylum and the right to migrate.

Pooja Mall is the Trade Policy Coordinator at Oxfam GB, looking at how Brexit will impact developing country trade. Previously she worked at the GAVI Alliance Secretariat in Geneva and on trade policy issues for the 2005 UK presidency of the G8.

Mariana Matoso is a Senior Research Officer at the Water Policy Programme. She specialises in urban WASH service delivery, the political economy behind it and the role of private sector. She has previously worked as the Director of Reignite Action for Development (a charity she founded in 2012).

Giovanna Melandri is an economist, former minister and member of Parliament. She is currently the President of Human Foundation, established in 2012 to promote innovation and social finance in Italy, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Social Impact Investment Taskforce and President of Social Impact Angenda for Italy.

Nata Menabde has been Executive Director of the WHO Office at the United Nations, New York, since May 2015. Prior to her current role, she was Head of Mission and WHO Representative to India where she led a team of thousands of dedicated professionals across the country. She also served as Deputy Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Ruth Mhlanga is a Private Sector Policy Advisor, working across divisions within Oxfam on Oxfam campaigning priorities, including on private sector policy work and campaigning development.

Mahmoud Mohieldin is the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations and Partnerships. He previously held numerous senior positions in the Government of Egypt, including Minister of Investment. He also served on several Boards of Directors including the Central Bank of Egypt and the banking, corporate, and academic sectors

Beatrice Mosello is a Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. She specialises in water governance and WASH service delivery, with a focus on equity and climate resilience. Beatrice holds a PhD in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and was a Visiting Researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

David Nabarro has more than 30 years’ experience in public health, nutrition and development at country, regional and global levels, and has held positions in NGOs, universities, national governments and the UN system. In 2016, he served as Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

Derek Osborn is President of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and Chair of Cynnal Cymru - Sustain Wales. He has worked on environment and sustainability issues in the public, private, voluntary and academic sectors over the past 30 years in the UK, in the EU and at the United Nations.

Sara Pantuliano is a Managing Director at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), where she has led the humanitarian team for six years. She is a member of the Global Future Council on the Humanitarian System of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Editor-in-Chief of Disasters Journal, a Trustee of SOS Sahel and IRIN News, and serves on a range of advisory boards, including Oxford University’s Refugees Studies Centre and UNA-UK.

Mihaela Papa is a Lecturer in Sustainable Development and Global Governance at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. She conducts research on rising power coalitions, which she started as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Law School and continued during her stay at the Fudan University Center for BRICS Studies in Shanghai, where she is an overseas member.

Luca Renda is the Country Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Lebanon. He has devoted his career to sustainable development, serving with UNDP for almost 20 years in Latin America and the Middle East. Luca holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies, London School of Economics (LSE).

Vladimir Ryabinin is a physical oceanographer, marine engineer, meteorologist and climatologist. He has conducted research on ocean thermodynamics, circulation, turbulence and mixing, modelling of wind waves, and numerical weather prediction. He has been deeply involved in the development or the Global Ocean Observing System, marine meteorological services, and international coordination of climate research.

Mark Schauer is the Coordinator for the ELD Initiative’s Secretariat at GIZ, responsible for the overall coordination of the ELD project. Before joining GIZ, he worked for the United Nations Environment Programme as the Head of the Central Office of TEEB and the Division for International Nature Conservation of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) as a coordinator for projects which linked economic and ecologic issues.

Elliott Sclar, Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning at Columbia University, directs its Center for Sustainable Urban Development. He coordinated the UN Millennium Project’s Taskforce on Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers and received the 2007 Humanitarian of the Year Award from the International Society for Urban Health for his efforts.

Richard Spencer is Head of Sustainability at ICAEW. He joined ICAEW in 2005 in order to set up the sustainability practice within the Technical Strategy department, ICAEW’s think tank. During this time he has led on the ICAEW’s thought leadership and engagement programme in sustainability.

Walter R. Stahel is Founder and Director of the Product-Life Institute (Switzerland), the oldest established consultancy in Europe devoted to developing sustainable strategies and policies. From 1986 to 2013, he was also Director of Risk Management Research of the Geneva Association.

Bambang Susantono is the Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development of the Asian Development Bank, responsible for Departments of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation, and External Relations. He is former Vice-Minister of Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation and Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development.

Stefan Peterson is currently Chief of Health Section for UNICEF globally, based in New York. He is a Professor of Global Health at Uppsala University and, prior to that, at the Global Health Division of Karolinska Institute. He has also been visiting professor at Makerere University in Uganda. He has done extensive field work in Tanzania and Uganda and is a co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières Sweden.

In September 2016, H.E. Peter Thomson from Fiji assumed the position of President of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly. President Thomson has a longstanding diplomat career and, prior to his current position, served as Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the UN for six years.

Sofia Tsenikli is a Senior Political Strategist for Greenpeace International with over 14 years of experience in oceans and biodiversity governance. She has led a number of Greenpeace campaigns influencing policy developments at the United Nations, the European Union and the Mediterranean region.

Farooq Ullah is the Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum, an international NGO advancing sustainable development through good governance and participatory decision-making at all levels. He is also Co-Chair of the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development initiative, the Chair of Future Earth’s Engagement Committee, and a Specialist Advisor to UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee.

With over a decade of research experience on internal displacement, Nadine Walicki is leading IDMC’s research, analysis and policy influencing on displacement in the context of development projects. Before joining IDMC, she worked on forced migration issues at the International Organization for Migration and the Government of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.

Corinne Woods is a seasoned communications professional, specialising in strategic communications and advocacy for the UN, private sector, government and NGOs. For the last five years, she has led the global communication work on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the UN Development Group and the UN Foundation.

Logan Wort is the Executive Secretary of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), a multi-lateral organisation of the Heads of African Revenue Administrations. He is also a member of the Consortium of the High-Level Panel in Illicit Financial Flows of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union.

Andrew Wright has 27 years of experience in multilateral processes associated with marine resource conservation and management. He is now the Executive Secretary at CCAMLR, an inter-governmental body responsible for the conservation of Antarctic marine resources established within the Antarctic Treaty System.