EBRD
Barbara Rambousek is the EBRD’s Director for Gender and Economic Inclusion. She established the Bank’s approach to integrating economic inclusion into the Bank’s mandate, to address inequality challenges through private sector investments and policy engagement. Her focus is on creating equitable access to employment and skills, entrepreneurship, and finance as well as key infrastructure service, reflecting the specific needs of women, youth, aging populations, migrants and others.
Ms Rambousek has 20 years leadership experience in the design and delivery of multi-sectoral inclusive development programmes and strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, the MENA region, Asia and the UK. Previously, as Head of Regeneration and Corporate Strategy for the London Development Agency, she led major urban regeneration programmes and the formulation of London’s 20 year Economic Development Strategy. Before that, she managed integrated refugee return and economic development programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She is a regular speaker at major international events and fora on topics such as inequality, inclusion, skills, just transition and gender. Ms Rambousek holds an executive MBA from Cass Business School, London, an MSc from the London School of Economics and an MA from the University of Vienna.
AfDB
Gareth is Manager of the Climate and Environment Finance Division in the African Development Bank. Trained as a Forester, Gareth has worked in a wide variety of sectors on GHG accounting, inventory verification, the Clean Development Mechanism and Emission Trading Systems. Gareth’s work currently includes Paris Alignment within the MDBs, carbon markets, raising finance for Adaptation needs in Africa, the development of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism under Article 6.8.
EBRD
Biljana Radonjic Ker-Lindsay has over 20 years of international experience in leading on policies and programmes at the intersection between businesses, governments, and civil society in around 40 markets in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa. Biljana is currently heading Access to Skills and Employment at the Gender and Economic Inclusion team of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), based in the UK. Her work focuses on human capital development in green and digital economies, gender equality and economic inclusion of youth, people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups as part of Bank’s investments and policy engagement. In her previous role at EBRD, as Head of Civil Society Engagement, Biljana oversaw the Bank’s consultations with and capacity enhancement of civil society groups and organizations. She was also in charge of EBRD’s first Gender Action Plan implementation
CBM Global Disability Inclusion and GLAD Disability Inclusive Climate Action Working Group
Dr. Mary Keogh represents the IDDC (International Disability Development Consortium) as a co-chair of the GLAD Disability Inclusive Climate Action Working Group. The other two co-chairs are UNPRPD and IDA. The GLAD group comprises of donor governments, UN agencies, civil society, organisations of persons with disabilities and foundations. Mary in her day job, is Advocacy Director with CBM Global Disability Inclusion where she works on climate justice. She holds a PhD in law and public policy and her research interests are climate justice and intersectionality. Mary is also a certified mediator
European Disability Forum
Gordon Rattray is a Programme Coordinator with the European Disability Forum (EDF) working on the organisation's response to the war in Ukraine and on EDF’s advocacy on disability-inclusive climate change action, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Gordon has over 14 years of experience working in these areas, at European and International levels. Gordon was part of a delegation representing organisations of persons with disabilities at COP 28 in Dubai
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Department (FCDO)
For the past two years Jan has been the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) lead for the Climate Investment Fund and a number of other blended finance initiatives housed within the Energy Climate and Environment Directorate. Prior to joining the FCDO’s Climate and Environment Division he completed postings in Jordan, Pakistan, the Caribbean and Nigeria where he led economic development teams for the Department for International Development (DFID) designing and managing a portfolio of private sector development initiatives. Before joining the UK Government, Jan worked as a trade policy advisor supporting organisations in Eastern Europe to prepare for EU and WTO accession. Jan is an alumnus of the University of Sussex and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
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.
EBRD
Margherita Calderone is a Principal Economist in the EBRD’s Gender and Economic Inclusion team. She leads its work on the energy sector, including under EBRD’s Just Transition Initiative, focusing on projects that create equitable access to skills and employment for all. She has more than 15 years of work experience in the design, implementation, and supervision of multi-partner development programmes across a range of emerging economies. She was previously a Research Fellow in the Risk and Resilience Programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, where she led the team’s strategy on the Economics and Finance for Resilience. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from Humboldt University in Berlin and an MSc degree in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan.
EBRD
Pawel woks on bridging the gap between research/theory and its pragmatic application to real-life problems. As an applied economist specialized in human capital, regional and urban development Pawel supports investment projects (mainly in the Agribusiness and Property and Tourism sectors) and build technical assistance engagements to deliver maximum impact to clients, regions and markets across EBRD's countries of operations.
Global Disability Innovation Hub
Mikaela leads research and delivery under the thematic areas of inclusive design and climate resilience at GDI Hub. This includes the UK Aid funded AT2030 Inclusive Infrastructure sub-programme which is building an evidence base for implementing inclusive design in cities to create more inclusive and resilient cities for all. Mikaela leads on various consultancies, lectures on inclusive and sustainable urban development at University College London and regularly contributes to reports, policy, toolkits, academic papers and events, including events on inclusive infrastructure and assistive technology at COP26 and COP28. Prior to joining GDI Hub, Mikaela worked as a Research Associate and Designer with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Stema Health and as an architectural designer in Spain and China. Mikaela also has experience in global health, working on participatory and people-centered research and design for inclusive health systems and environments
CBM Global Disability Inclusion
Tom Palmer is an inclusion and protection specialist with 12 years professional and academic experience in human rights, development, humanitarian action, advocacy, research, and communications. Tom has expertise in guiding processes for mainstreaming protection, building capacity of national NGOs, and advocating for social inclusion. Tom also has track record of effective project management, strategic planning and learning.
World Bank
Shughla has engaged deeply and led programs/ partnerships related to gender, social inclusion, disability inclusion, and community development globally and in countries such as Afghanistan and Central Asia. Her work includes developing key documents for the Climate Investment Funds, conducting reviews and stock takes focusing on gender and climate nexus, and leading youth engagement initiatives for the World Bank.
Gender and Economic Inclusion Group - IFC
Franziska (Fran) Deininger currently leads the Gender and Climate program in the Gender and Economic Inclusion Department (GEID) of the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. This work is centered on addressing global knowledge gaps on the gender-climate nexus and identifying solutions to advance gender equality in private sector climate action. She previously supported the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the Clean Cooking Fund (CCF), and the Infrastructure Global Practice of the World Bank. Fran has also held different positions at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in global risk management, as well as in the financial services industry.
Fran holds a double master’s degree from Sciences Po in Paris and the London School of Economics in Economic Policy and Political Economy, as well as a BSc in Economics and Social Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University. She is a German national, currently living in London, UK.