William serves as Declaration Manager for C40’s Green and Healthy Streets Declaration. In this role, William coordinates C40 support towards Green and Healthy Streets Declaration signatories and tracks the implementation of the Declaration in cities, helping to accelerate implementation and achieve effective, ambitious and measurable outcomes on decarbonising transport in cities.
Prior to his current role, William was Benefits Research Officer in the Knowledge and Learning Directorate, where he supported cities with making the case for climate action through demonstrating the wider social and economic benefits. He also supported on a number of additional research projects, including The Case for a Green and Just Recovery released by the C40 Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force, and Coal-free Cities: The Health and Economic Case for a Clean Energy Revolution.
Wyda is a Programme Officer for C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in the Southeast Asia team. She supports programme management, planning and coordination across the Climate Action Implementation team and with other global C40 teams. Wyda holds an M.Eng in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.
Wyda has worked with various consulting firms on spatial planning and has broadened her experience on the social aspects of the palm oil and timber sectors through her work with the Earthworm Foundation. She has experience assisting more than 50 palm oil and timber producers in meeting sustainability standards, focusing on the social aspects.
Before joining C40, Wyda worked as NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat Development, and No Exploitation) policy implementation lead in one of POSCO International’s subsidiaries, a Korean multinational corporation based in Indonesia.
Xian Zhou serves as the Regional Officer in C40’s China office. In this role, she helps coordinate and facilitate the delivery of the Central East Asia regional team covering member cities across the specified regions.
Xian has rich experience in working in a multi-cultural and cross-functional environment, including diplomatic missions and representative offices of foreign government agencies in China. Before joining C40, Xian worked as a Senior Immigration Officer for the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, where she built cooperative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to develop trust and mutual understanding of relevant policies and procedures. Before that, she worked for Lesotho Embassy to China focusing on partnership development and executive support. Xian also planned and managed high-profile events at China World Trade Center. Xian holds a Master’s Degree from Beijing Institute of Technology.
Yana serves as Senior Project Manager within C40’s Ports and Shipping team. She leads C40’s work on Green Shipping Corridors, aimed at catalyzing the shipping transition through innovative multi-level cross-value chain partnerships.
Before joining C40, Yana worked in an environmental non-profit in Brussels, lobbying the EU to adopt ocean protection legislation. For many years, her work in Europe was centred around EU and French advocacy, campaigning, as well as citizen empowerment and mobilization. She is the co-author of 3 studies on eco-anxiety.
Yana holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s in European Affairs. She speaks English, French and Russian.
Yasar is the Knowledge Officer in the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF), a joint initiative of C40 and GIZ which facilitates access to finance for climate change mitigation and resilience projects in urban areas. In his role, Yasar is part of the delivery of the CFF’s City Academy on Finance and Equity (CAFE) and other knowledge dissemination activities. Yasar joined C40 in November 2022 as an intern working across the Climate Action Implementation and CFF teams, where he supported coordination across the teams and the delivery of events. Before joining C40, Yasar completed his Master’s degree in World History at the University of Cambridge, writing on Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism in post-colonial Ghana, and before that completed his undergraduate degree in History at the University of Oxford. Prior to C40, he worked with the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign and Starfish Greathearts.
Yasmin serves as a Programme Officer for the C40 x GCoM Joint Programme, a collaborative initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. In this role, Yasmin provides vital project management support, facilitates effective communication, and ensures the tracking of key programme data and monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Prior to joining C40, Yasmin worked on the Rooted in Trust project for Internews, a global USAID-funded program that responded to rumours and misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in traditional communities in the North of Brazil. As a Project Officer, Yasmin focused on M&E and reporting, stakeholder liaison, and logistics and event organization. Previously, she also contributed to GEF-funded projects related to sustainable development while working at the UNDP in Brazil.
Yasmin holds a double degree in International Relations and Political Science, as well as a double Master’s degree in International Development and Risk Management from the University of Coimbra in Portugal and Sciences Po Bordeaux in France. Her Master’s thesis provides a historical analysis of the neocolonialist logic in French cooperation towards former colonies in Africa.
Yerim is the City Finance Projects and Events Officer, working across two programmes: UrbanShift and the broader finance portfolio under the C40 x Global Covenant of Mayors Joint Program. She supports the planning and delivery of key events, including the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, and provides city-facing capacity building and technical support to address municipal climate finance challenges across urban infrastructure sectors. Yerim also manages and coordinates overall programme activities.
Prior to this role, Yerim was part of the C40 Inclusive Climate Action (ICA) team, where she contributed to monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and learning efforts, researched on loss and damage and climate migration, and supported cities in integrating inclusivity and equity into their climate action planning through the ICA Fund and Forum programmes.
Yerim holds a Master’s degree in Urban Development Planning from University College London. Before joining C40, she gained experience in public relations and event management across Asian cities like Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City, and Mysore, managing press relations as an external representative and working on North Korean human rights issues, including organising an inter-Korean orchestra project under the United Nations peacebuilding mission. Her passion for climate justice drives her commitment to integrating inclusivity and climate resilience into urban policymaking, particularly in cities across the Global South.
Ms. Ying Gao is the Head of Regional Coordination and Partnerships, China. She will take the lead to engage with Chinese cities, support the development and delivery of our China strategy and coordinate from both operation and city engagement perspective to build cross-team synergy to support C40 cities in China. Ying has over ten years of experience in the field of sustainable development, on government partnership development, project management and organizational operation. Prior to joining C40, she worked at Ellen Macarthur Foundation to lead the food initiative in China. She also worked for Chinese Foundation – the Qiaonyu Foundation as well as WWF China where she supported the CEO and Chief Conservation Officer in strategic partnerships development, strategy development, social impact investment, projects management and provided trainings on project management for both internal and external colleagues. She holds a Master’s degree from ESC Rennes School of Business. She is also a member of Conservation Coaches Network.
Yuping Qiu is a Programme Officer, C40 China Buildings Programme, supporting the development and implementation of ambitious citywide building energy efficiency initiatives. Prior to joining C40, Yuping worked as an Advisor at the Danish Energy Agency, part of the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, where she focused on collaboration with the Chinese government supporting UN sustainability goals. Based in the Department for Global Cooperation, Yuping was in charge of energy policy monitoring, report drafting and policy analysis. In addition, she brings experience from the Royal Danish Embassy in China, where she worked with consular affairs. Yuping holds a master’s degree in International Studies from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Zachary Tofias serves as the Director of the Food and Waste Programme at C40. His work supports C40 cities’ transition toward regenerative resource management and reducing emissions through more sustainable consumption. The Food and Waste Programme is helping cities accelerate a worldwide transition to more effective municipal solid waste management, and the implementation of comprehensive solutions that reduce carbon emissions and increase resiliency throughout the urban food system.
Zach has been with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group since 2007 in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative. Over the course of this time, he has been City Director in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, created and led the Climate Positive Development Programme, was the head of Urban Planning and Development, and recently was the Interim Director of Adaptation.
Since 2007, Zach has worked around the world with leading cities and the private sector on developing locally relevant solutions for replicable models of making cities more sustainable. Zach has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
Zarina serves as Head of Implementation in Africa, within the Regions & Mayoral Engagement Team, and leads in the region the C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme. In this role she works with seven C40 African cities to develop ambitious and robust long-term climate action plans that are compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Prior to this, Zarina worked as a C40 City Adviser to Durban, where she supported the City to develop their Climate Action Plan. Before joining C40, Zarina worked at the National Business Initiative (NBI) South Africa as a project manager for climate change mitigation, where she managed work on the CDP climate change and water programmes in South Africa. She also worked with companies to build capacity and provide best practice guidance on greenhouse gas reporting. Previously, Zarina also worked as a Programme Officer for environmental, water and energy projects at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), where she managed a low-carbon cities project, focusing on the City of Durban.
Zarina holds an MSc in Environmental Science and a BSc Honours in Environmental Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Zermina is the Director of Strategic Communications and Media. She is based in London, UK.
As part of her role, she oversees the strategic communications and media team. She also leads communications strategies for C40’s key milestones and events.
Zermina is a key connection point between C40 and the London Mayor’s Office. She leads on opportunities to further the reach and influence of the C40 Chair, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, raising his profile as a climate leader and showcasing the positive impact of his work as Chair.
Prior to joining C40, Zermina led communications teams in local and national government. She is fluent in four languages and holds an undergraduate degree in Law.
Zoe leads C40’s Zero Emission Vehicle Network, which supports 20+ cities to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and roll out charging infrastructure, whilst still creating cities that prioritise walking, cycling and public transport. She also works closely with colleagues to deliver C40’s Zero Emission Area programme and support cities to achieve their commitments under the Green and Healthy Streets Accelerator.
Before C40, Zoe has held roles in a variety of local non-profits, working on issues from healthy food provision, to refugee action, to domestic abuse support. She holds an MA in Conflict, Security and Development, specialising in sustainable development and environmental migration, and a BA in English, both from the University of Exeter, UK.
Zoë Chafe serves as Technical Lead for Air Quality at C40. In this role, Zoe provides technical guidance on air quality across C40 and leads C40’s air quality technical assistance program. Zoë has deep experience at the intersections of air quality, climate change, and human health. She served as Chapter Scientist for the Human Health chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, and as a lead author of the Global Energy Assessment. As a consultant for the World Health Organization, she led a report on the air quality and health impacts of home heating with wood and coal. At the City of Oakland, California, she evaluated potential health and safety risks associated with the proposed handling of coal at a bulk commodities terminal. She also served on the research and communications staff of the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC.
Zoë holds a PhD (Energy and Resources) and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the Young Scientists Summer Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainability at Cornell University.
Zöe is based in London and leads the City-Business Engagement team, supporting C40 Cities to engage with businesses at a local, regional, and global level to support the implementation of their climate action plans. The City-Business Engagement team leads the City-Business Climate Alliance programme and supports efforts to develop public-private collaboration.
Before joining C40, Zöe managed a capacity-building programme for the UK Government, providing technical support to national and local governments across 16 middle-income countries, raising climate ambition and reducing emissions. Prior to this, she led climate for the Urban Systems team at Innovate UK, bringing innovative businesses together with cities. She also worked on research and innovation policy for UKRI USA at the British Embassy in Washington DC. Zöe holds a BSc in Physical Geography from King’s College London and also studied at the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina.