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Bennett LaFond is an agroecologist with eight years of experience working to strengthen U.S. and international agriculture and food systems. His work has centered around developing market-led approaches to improving livelihoods and creating resilience for farmers and their committees. He has worked with agribusinesses; a broad range of U.S. state and federal agencies; international donors and non-profits; and tribal, state, and national governments to design and implement programs to help farmers and their communities increase resilience, earnings, and production.

Daniel Peniston is a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Specialist at Abt Global, where he provides technical support in adaptation, resilience, and climate change. He has experience in adaptation, climate policy, nature-based solutions, responsible forest management, ecosystem services, sustainable supply chains, political economy, urban sustainability, air pollution, and supporting Indigenous-led forestry and climate programs. 

Rodaly Muthoni is a medical entomologist with over 15 years of experience in vector control and public health. She has provided leadership as chief of party (COP) in President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI)/USAID-funded indoor residual spraying (IRS) projects in Rwanda, Mozambique, and currently in Kenya. She provided short-term technical expertise in preparing and implementing IRS for the Zika Africa IRS (AIRS) project (ZAP) in the Dominican Republic (DR) in 2017. A former high school biology and math teacher, Muthoni has experience in strategic planning and execution, quality assurance, training, health policy implementation, and systems development and strengthening.

Allan Duncan has more than 20 years of experience in designing and managing large, complex programmes in Africa and Asia. His work has cut across a number of areas, including climate change, institutional development, governance, and capacity building. He has managed multidisciplinary, culturally diverse teams that delivered high-quality results in challenging environments. He has worked extensively in Africa and South Asia for such clients as the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Niko Dietsch has 20 years of experience working on domestic and international government initiatives to support the clean energy transition and improve air quality. Dietsch has expertise in clean energy policy evaluation, climate and air quality regulatory development, federal voluntary program delivery, and international capacity building. He spent 16 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) State and Local Branch working to advance clean energy as a strategy to help states meet their clean air and climate change requirements. This included playing a lead role in developing the energy efficiency provisions of EPA’s Clean Power Plan and establishing regulations that allow states and cities to include renewables and energy efficiency in their Clean Air Act (CAA) plans.

Nichole Fiore is a Principal Associate with over 15 years of experience evaluating housing and homelessness programs across the country, developing deep expertise on homeless service systems, organizational capacity, political and community will, unsheltered homelessness, and permanent supportive housing. Recognizing the critical link between stable, safe housing and overall well-being, Fiore is proven leader bringing together diverse stakeholders who work across many jurisdictions and sectors to address the needs and improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness. She brings person-centric approaches to teams, from fostering inclusive decision-making in system design to ensuring projects are collecting evidence that informs homeless service systems implementation and rapid response to extreme weather situations. She also is a regular source for media outlets, often on the topic of homelessness in California.

Dr. LaToria Whitehead is an accomplished thought leader working at the intersection of public health, environmental justice, and environmental sustainability, with nearly 20 years of experience working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and, most recently in an interim role at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Office of Environmental Justice.  Dr. Whitehead championed the modernization and updated execution of existing federal-level initiatives for the revision of the 2022 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation plan, providing new and innovative approaches to guide the actions and strategies for 11 HHS operating divisions, including— but not limited to— the CDC, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and Administration for Children and Families.