Mellisa Makore is a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning professional with a passion for environmental issues and resilience building in developing nations, having supported the implementation of a CRIDF climate resilience infrastructure development project along the Save Basin and an urban resilience building in Zimbabwe. Before joining GRP as a young expert, she was previously at Mercy Corps, leading the monitoring and evaluating of the urban resilience building intervention, and facilitating learning through evidence. She possesses exceptional skills in the application of mixed methods data collection, analysis, and reporting for the implementation of emergency and developmental interventions. She is a holder of an MSc in Environmental Policy and Planning obtained from the University of Zimbabwe.

Nirvana holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from Stellenbosch University. Her research centers on Social-Ecological Systems, Disaster Risk, Food Systems, Collaborative Governance, and Social Capital. Beyond academia, Nirvana has collaborated with local communities, NGOs, and private companies in South Africa, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on food-related challenges. As a member of the GRP, she contributed her expertise as part of the Global South Talent Pool as an intern within the Knowledge team. Nirvana’s passion lies in exploring how communities build and foster resilience in the face of climate-induced disasters and crises, aiming to extract valuable lessons for the broader global community.

Rubina Adhikari is an ardent environmental advocate from Nepal, holding an undergraduate degree in Forestry. She is currently working as an intern in ICCCAD through GSTP providing her capacity to strengthen local-led initiatives in climate change. She has a two-year track record of actively engaging in climate justice initiatives, environmental policy formulation, and governance processes. Notably, she is a Youth Ambassador for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a distinguished fellow of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, and a dedicated steering committee member of the Children and Youth Major Group affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In this role, she diligently strives to create a substantial platform for youth participation within decision-making bodies. Her ultimate professional aspiration is to evolve into an accomplished environmental analyst serving towards a just future.

Sharleen’s role as an Operations Intern encompasses a spectrum of responsibilities ranging from logistics optimization to administrative support. Outside of work, Sharleen is a passionate individual who is always eager to learn and explore new concepts around SDG Goals 3, 13, 17. Her drive to make the world a happier and better place fuels her dedication to personal and professional growth. Whether through collaborative projects, mentoring or volunteering, she is committed to making a positive impact in the world around her.

Benefique assists the Resilience Hub team in delivering a seamless, well-coordinated, and managed event for COP28 (both in-person and virtual elements). With over 6 years of progressive experience in project management, Administration, Procurement and logistics, and Finance working with youth and different stakeholders in different communities, in peace-building-related, youth leadership development work and Climate resilience. He also has over 3 years of progressive experience in organizing community service projects, organizing exchange activities around community development subjects and social inclusion. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering and technology faculty at Hope Africa University in Bujumbura-Burundi. Benefique is a Global Shaper, an Alumni of the YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa at Kenyatta University in Nairobi-Kenya, in the Civic Leadership track and a Fellow of the Young and Emerging Leaders Project 2018 at the Léo Africa Institute in Uganda. He is the co-founder of the Europe-Africa Youth Network, which is the European-African youth initiative for exchange and volunteering opportunities.

Vilina is a young professional and a PhD scholar at Ewha Womans University (Seoul) majoring in International Development Cooperation. Her research area focuses on water security, gender mainstreaming, foreign aid and south-south cooperation. She holds a Master’s degree in Water Science and Governance from TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi. Previously she has worked with ATREE, Sehgal foundation and volunteered at various local, national and international organizations in the water sector at different capacities. She joined GRP as a VA2 intern.

Isabel holds an MA in Leadership for Sustainability by Malmö University, having some years of previous experience as a Financial Controller, Consultant & Project Manager. She worked with projects from all over the world, including Latin America, Africa, U.S., Europe, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Australia. Creative, globally oriented, but most importantly, deeply human. Her expertise lies in catalyzing innovation oriented led projects in order to create impact and systemic change.

June is a climate scientist who is passionate and advocates for climate justice, sustainable lifestyles, wellness and inclusion. She leads the youth engagement at GRP. As part of her masters, she is carrying out research on the impacts of droughts on rural livelihoods and how to build transformational adaptation and resilience measures for the rural communities. June volunteers at the GLFx Nairobi as the knowledge coordinator, designing and developing the knowledge products in relation to land restoration and youth in Kenya. 

As the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer at the Global Resilience Partnership, Linda works on capturing and monitoring data on resilience and climate change in the form of stories, solutions, evidence and tools. In addition she offers MEL support on initiatives by the Ocean Risk & Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA). Linda has a Bsc. degree in Oceanography and Fisheries from the University of Ghana as well as an Erasmus Mundus Msc. degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Ghent University (Belgium) and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie (France). She has had the opportunity to study and work in Sweden, Ghana, USA, Belgium, France and Crete. She is passionate about environmental issues and how data and emerging technologies can be used to address these issues among other global challenges for positive impact. She’s skillful in coordinating data collection projects, data visualisation, report writing, proposal writing, fundraising, business development as well as the application of remote sensing and geographical information systems.

Vasundhara is interested in the intersection of environment and development policies – and has been working on action research, grassroots development, and policy administration. She has led the design and implementation of several large-scale programs with the Government of India and the UNDP, and contributed to designing prototypes and policies in environmental governance, economic empowerment for underserved communities, and created livelihoods development platforms. She has has studied at the TERI School of Advanced Studies New Delhi, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai and has been a DAAD Scholar at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany as part of the Indo-German Climate Change Dialogue.

Samuel was part of the Global South Talent pool for GRP’s Sharing and Learning. He is a content curator and social media savvy. He has experience in problem-solving, helping organisations to reach their audience, and bringing relevant data to light. He uses this knowledge to transform it into insights that can be translated to publications or communication outputs. He has worked with iShamba, a Shamba Shape Up mobile-based farmer information service that sends agricultural information to farmers in Kenya. He has interned for Econet Wireless and a regional weekly newspaper, The Mirror in Zimbabwe. He has a BSc (Honours) degree in journalism and media studies from Zimbabwe and is currently studying towards a MA degree in communication at Daystar University, Kenya.

Mariana is a transdisciplinary researcher interested in understanding socio-ecological systems, conflicts, and complexities to improve conservation projects in developing countries. Her recent work focuses on studying sustainability issues and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in the Global South. Mariana has experience connecting people through science communication, coordinating social programs, and mapping projects using geographic information systems. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from The University of Zulia in Venezuela and a Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Rural Development from The College of the Southern Frontier (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur), ECOSUR, México.

Ghislain is passionate about circular economy and sustainable finance. Prior to joining GRP as an Innovation and Scaling intern, he worked for EU Commission as a consultant on EU-Africa circular economy cooperation. He also worked with the Mastercard Foundation as a Researcher in the Youth Think Tank Program. Ghislain holds a BA in International Business and Trade. He sits on the EU International Partnerships’s Youth Sounding Board.

Farhin has studied Environmental Science at Independent University, Bangladesh and minored in Media and Mass Communication. She has worked as an intern for the Program and Enterprise Communications department of BRAC, the world’s largest non-governmental organization. Farhin is currently working as a junior researcher at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and has an interest in Locally Led Adaptation. She is now primarily focused on projects based on inclusive early warning messaging systems for people with disabilities, services provided in off-grid communities, climate resilience and the multilayering of risks posed in the southern parts of Bangladesh. When travelling for research, she enjoys talking to people from different walks of life, collecting souvenirs and trying locally popular and unique food dishes

Arnav is an urban enthusiast, with an undergraduate degree in Urban Design from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. He is also the Founder of Make Spaces platform which is a youth-centric initiative that works towards knowledge and capacity building for architects and designers. He is keen to explore the human-centric design & planning approach which can help in improvising the rural-urban scenario. He is deeply passionate about developing meaningful research, urban policy, design interventions in consultation with relevant theory and practice that empathize with and beyond human systems. Being a scholar awardee, he has also had the opportunity to work with organizations like United Nations Global, United Nations Volunteers India, and World Wildlife Fund. Apart from academics, he enjoys exploring new places around the world, volunteering for social causes, trying out different cuisines, creating some digital art, playing football, and swimming.