Speakers

Justin Worland is a Washington D.C.-based senior correspondent for TIME covering climate change and the intersection of policy, politics and society.

Mr. Corey has been with The California Air Resources Board for over 30 years. His team of 1,700 professionals are responsible for programs concerning fuels, climate, incentives, and air toxics. Some of the key programs that his team is responsible for include the low-carbon fuel standard, cap-and-trade regulation, measures and incentives to reduce emissions from a variety of goods movement sources (ie. port trucking, transport refrigeration units, cargo handling operations, maritime operations, rail-related goods movement), as well as strategies to reduce toxic air contaminants from a variety of sources. Mr. Corey has a degree in Environmental Toxicology and holds an MBA from the University of California, Davis.

Stefano is the Head of Secretariat at ICAP, a forum, counting 33 members and 7 observers, for governments and public authorities that have implemented or are planning to implement emissions trading systems (ETS). Stefano leads ICAP’s work across the three pillars of technical dialogue, ETS knowledge sharing and capacity building. Before his current role, Stefano was the Director for International Policy at the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). Prior to joining IETA he focused on emissions trading in the Academia and for consulting companies. He holds a M.Sc. in Sustainable Development from the Utrecht University and a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from the University of Trieste.

Dirk Forrister is President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a non-profit business association dedicated to market-based climate policies. With 200 member companies, IETA is respected globally as a thought leader on harnessing the power of markets to deliver climate protection. Dirk spent a decade as Managing Director at Natsource LLC, the manager of carbon funds valued at $1.2 billion. Previously, he served as Chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force in the Clinton Administration and was Assistant U.S. Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Public Affairs.

Dr. Franks is Assistant Director of the European Department. He is mission chief for France and Austria. Previously, he spent 4½ years as head of the IMF offices in Paris and Brussels and Senior Resident Representative to the European Union. In his career, he has also led IMF teams on Pakistan, Romania, Belgium, and Paraguay. He has also held overseas postings in Ukraine and Ecuador, and has worked on a number of other Latin American and European countries. He received his Ph.D. in Political Economy from Harvard and Masters’ degrees from Oxford and Princeton.

Kristin supports the USCA’s secretariat team in delivering programs, policy research, and analysis aimed to help states achieve their climate policy priorities. She also supports Alliance states in improving greenhouse gas emissions inventories and projections, and estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gases. Igusky worked with the U.S. Climate Initiative at the World Resources Institute to lead research and analysis of clean energy and climate policies at the state, federal, and local levels, identifying how states could meet their Clean Power Plan targets, tracking U.S. progress towards its 2020 and 2025 emissions reduction goals, and developing analytical approaches to aggregate the sectoral impact of state, city and corporate climate and energy actions.

Dr. Rachael Jonassen is Director of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Management Program in the Environmental and Energy Management Institute at George Washington University. Her career has included research on climate change in academia, service as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Global Change Research Program, consulting for the U.S. Government, and advising international organizations. She teaches on climate change in engineering and in urban studies.

Jay Kairam oversees Walmart’s public policy positions and engagement with policymakers, trade associations and NGOs and functions as lead policy advisor in supporting the company’s pursuit of zero emissions by 2040. He has policy expertise across the areas of climate, waste, clean energy, and biodiversity at all levels of government and internationally. He has served in leadership roles in local government and nonprofits. He was Director of Programs for the National Association of Counties and helped raise support for NACo’s technical assistance to members. He worked for the City and County of San Francisco and served as a Senior Advisor and Deputy Commissioner in the Bloomberg Administration leading efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of the solid waste system. As lead for Environmental Defense Fund’s clean energy campaign in California, he oversaw legislative advocacy to advance a clean energy future. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and a board member of the Anacostia Watershed Society and Fuse Corps.

Dr. Koska is Deputy Head of Global Issues and Innovation Section comprising climate, energy, environment, maritime affairs, transport, research & innovation and health policies. She oversees climate and energy policies for the EU Delegation and manages relations between the European Commission and the European External Action Service with the U.S. Administration, Congress, states and municipalities, non-governmental organizations, academia and industry. From 2014 to 2018, Dr. Koska worked in the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič (Energy Union). Previously, she worked in the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Energy. Dr. Koska is a lawyer specializing in German and international competition and energy law. She holds a Doctorate in European Antitrust Law from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität.

After leading the climate program at IDDRI in Paris, M. Levaï moved to D.C. to serve as an Associate Researcher with IDDRI. Prior, David was a lead climate negotiator on the Paris Agreement for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the lead up to COP21, where he was responsible for mitigation issues and U.S relations. He later joined the private office of the Secretary of State for Development and Francophonie, where he advised on education, health, gender, climate, SDGs, and European issues. David also worked for the international microfinance network ACCION, where he developed projects in Africa linking access to energy and financial services. David earned an MBA at ESSEC Business School in France and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at SIPA – Columbia University in New York.

Dr. López-Vallejo has been a professor for over twenty years. She worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Education, and the lobby firm Burson-Marsteller Mexico. She belongs to the Mexican National Research System (Level 1) and is an Editor of Latin American Policy. She co-founded the Network of Experts in Paradiplomacy and Territorial Internationalization of Iberoamerica and is a fellow of the North American Program at American University. She publishes on environment and energy policies at the transnational, national and sub-state levels. Her two latest books address the role of sub-state actors in carbon markets.

Mr. Michel is an engineer (graduated from the Polytechnique). He has held various positions at the Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and Environment (DRIRE) and at the School of Mines from 1991 to 2006. After serving as Director of the DRIRE Midi-Pyrénées from 2003 to 2006, he was then appointed Director of Pollution and Risk Prevention, a delegate for major risks, within the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, before taking charge of the General Directorate for Risk Prevention (DGPR) when the Directorate was formed in 2008. He has served as the General Director for Energy and Climate (DGEC) at the Ministry for an Ecological Transition since December 2012.

Before joining Microsoft, Patron served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Energy & Climate at the White House National Security Council, where she implemented groundbreaking energy and climate policy, including the historic climate deal with China. Before that, she worked at the Department of Energy, Deutsche Bank, the International Energy Agency and the Center for International Environmental Law, and served as energy attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Patron holds a BA from Columbia University and an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS. She has served as an expert commentator to CNBC, BBC, NPR, Fox, CBS, the Economist and the New York Times and written op-eds for Reuters, Foreign Affairs, the Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times.  She has taught as an adjunct professor at NYU and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Venkata Ramana Putti is the Program Manager since 2015, and his responsibilities include leadership of the Partnership for Market Implementation Facility (PMIF). Previously, he led the Energy Access portfolio including the initiatives on mini-grids development, clean cooking and the Small Islands energy program at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. He was also a member of the WB focal team for the Sustainable Energy for All during 2011-2015. Before World Bank, he held senior executive positions at UNDP/GEF, Winrock International and TERI managing national/ global clean energy and environment programs. Dr. Putti has authored and edited over 80 publications including books, peer-reviewed research articles and technical reports. He holds degrees in civil engineering and business management and a Ph.D. in energy studies.