Global Shield Secretariat

Marike Brady is the Director of the Global Shield Secretariat, which fosters collaboration across Global Shield governance bodies and actors and supports the initiative’s objective of increasing protection for climate-vulnerable countries and people through more and better pre-arranged financial protection. Her work has focused on advancing financial solutions that strengthen financial protection against climate- and disaster-related risks, particularly for vulnerable countries and communities.

Santiago Network Secretariat

Lorenzo brings years of experience working on loss and damage, displacement, migration, and planned relocation, both leading technical assistance activities for governments and communities in countries affected by the adverse effects of climate change and participating in global policy, research and advocacy efforts on these topics, including as a former member of the ExCom’s Task Force on Displacement.

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Le-Anne Roper is a Programme Management Officer with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), based in Bonn, Germany. In this capacity, she engages in global climate change processes, particularly to enhance considerations of disaster risk reduction. She also promotes and advocates for comprehensive risk management (CRM) approaches that enhances integrated planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction and climate action. Prior to joining the UNDRR in January 2023, Le-Anne was a climate change negotiator for Jamaica and small island developing States, specifically on loss and damage. She was also a member of the Executive Committee (ExCom) for the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) for four years, where she was a co-chair in 2021. She was also an ExCom champion for the Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management (TEG-CRM), a group she now supports through UNDRR as a member.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Ms. Zaidi brings extensive technical expertise on action and support for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage, with a particular focus on climate finance, capacity-building, methodologies, and implementation support for developing countries. In her current role with UNICEF, she supports the organization's engagement across the loss and damage architecture, including the Warsaw International Mechanism Executive Committee, the Santiago Network, and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). She advises governments and UNICEF Country Offices on integrating loss and damage into national planning processes, strengthening institutional capacity, developing methodologies and indicators, and accessing finance and support.

Africa Adaptation Initiative

Fund for responding to Loss and Damage Secretariat

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Chief Operating Officer of the Climate Change Directorate at the Ministry of Environment of Panama

Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage 

Rooted in the Global South, Ana is passionate about transforming climate data into justice-driven action. She has spent her career pushing for solutions that center people, especially those most vulnerable, and believes that true climate leadership means listening, co-creating, and showing up with integrity. Whether designing early warning systems, training young negotiators, or negotiating for loss and damage support, Ana brings clarity, courage, and deep technical expertise to the table.

Ana Luisa Aguilar Candanedo is Panama’s Lead Climate Negotiator, Chief Operating Officer, and Senior Resilience Advisor at the Ministry of Environment. With a background in environmental engineering and a master’s in Hydroscience and Engineering  from TU Dresden, Ana works at the intersection of climate science, diplomacy, and frontline resilience. She has helped shape Panama’s most ambitious climate policies, mobilized millions in climate finance, and represents her country in high-stakes UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD negotiations.

Assistant Director, International Climate Negotiations Branch, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia

Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage

Jared Huntley has worked on international climate change issues since 2022 for the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. His areas of focus within the UNFCCC have included gender-responsive climate action, climate education, and youth empowerment – and he is particularly interested in advancing work that highlights human-rights approaches to enhancing efforts under the Paris Agreement. He has a passion for the natural world, including the cryosphere and the immense changes it is undergoing.

Advisor, Climate Policy Support Programme, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage

Special Advisor, Africa Adaptation Initiative, Botswana

Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage

Kulthoum Motsumi is the current special advisor of the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI). She has extensive experience in climate change adaptation and Loss and Damage in the African continent. Ms. Omari-Motsumi is a contributing author of the AR6 IPCC Africa chapter on adaptation finance. She served as a member of the Adaptation Committee of the UNFCCC, representing Africa and also served as the G77+China Coordinator on the Global Goal on adaptation for the UNFCCC. Currently, she is the lead negotiator on adaptation for the African Group of Negotiators and at the national level, she serves as a member of the Botswana National Climate Change Committee, leading on adaptation.