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Top Moves
Katie White MP has been appointed the new UK Climate Minister, responsible for international climate and energy policy, climate finance, citizen engagement with climate issues, and more. She replaces Kerry McCarthy in the position. Before becoming a Member of Parliament in 2024, she had roles at Friends of the Earth, WWF, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Yue (Nina) Chen has joined the Office of the New York City Comptroller as Senior Climate Finance Officer. In this role, she will craft strategies and issue recommendations on how the city’s pension funds can address the risks and opportunities of climate change through investment strategy, proxy voting, and corporate engagement. Chen formerly served as Chief Climate Risk Officer at the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under President Biden, and as Executive Deputy Superintendent, Climate Division at the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Benjamin DeAngelo has launched Operation Future, a consulting service for states, cities, tribes, private industry, and other entities that are looking to become more climate resilient. DeAngelo previously served as the first director of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Climate Adaptation and Sustainability.
Nik Steinberg has launched Vector Climate Group, a climate analysis and advisory firm providing services to climate ventures, institutional investors, and funds. Steinberg was previously Senior Climate Risk Advisor at Chemonics International, a private international development firm. Said Steinberg on the launch: “I started Vector because I was tired of witnessing the deaths of good climate programs and companies. Vector’s mission is simple — help climate companies build more impactful products and herd investors toward the best solutions.”
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New Roles & Promotions
Ben Webster has been appointed Associate Director at the Centre for Disaster Protection, a UK-funded organization specializing in disaster risk financing. Webster joins from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, where he served as Head of Secretariat for the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership.
Sherri Goodman has been named a Distinguished Fellow with both the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security — through its Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative and Transatlantic Security Initiative — and the Global Energy Center. In these roles, she will help develop the Council’s work on national security resilience, Arctic security, and energy security. Goodman is the author of ‘Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security.’ She previously served as the first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security at the US Department of Defense.
Dr Lindsey Butler has been appointed to the Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) as its new Executive Director. The GRC is a group of Boston business, philanthropic, and civic leaders working to accelerate the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan. Lindsey will lead efforts focused on coastal resilience, grid modernization, and large building decarbonization. Her tenure began on September 2.
Åsa Persson has joined the Climate Action Centre at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where she will focus on how technological transitions can be accelerated and climate policy made more effective. Persson was previously at the Stockholm Environment Institute, and also served as a Member of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs and Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy.
Eugene Montoya Alessandri has joined the Climate Risk & Resilience Team at Howden Re, where he will focus on expanding the reinsurer’s product and services offering to clients in Commercial Real Estate, Energy, Infrastructure & Transport, and the Sustainable Blue Economy.
Robin Hamaker-Taylor has been made Climate and Environmental Risk Lead with the Barclays Environmental and Social Risk Management team. She has worked at the UK bank since 2023, first as a Vice President in the Climate Risk division, and then as a Sustainability Risk Advisor.
Zane Martin has joined insurer USAA as a Senior Climate Scientist, where he will work on quantifying the long-term impacts of climate and translate the findings into business-relevant insights. Martin formerly worked at PWC, most recently as Lead of Climate Hazard Modeling.
Aurélia Smotriez has been tapped for Head of Sustainable Finance at French insurance company CNP Assurances. She previously worked at Crédit Agricole as Head of Climate Strategy.
Olivia Fielding has been promoted to Program Manager at the International Peace Institute to work on events and conduct research in the climate policy space.
Alexandria Miskho, former Senior Advisor to then-Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry under the Biden-Harris Administration working on loss and damage, climate migration, health, security, and other resilience issues, began a new role on the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School as Abrams Environmental Clinic Fellow and Lecturer In Law.
Departures
Yevgeny Shrago has left his role as Senior Council and Policy Advisor at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he worked on operational and climate resilience with former Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero.
Annelise Jensen has exited Deloitte, where she worked as a Senior Consultant working within the Resilience & Infrastructure Practice, supporting state, federal, and local clients on building energy efficiency, affordable housing, water infrastructure, seaport expansion, and smart cities. She previously worked as a climate specialist with USAID.
Open Opportunities
📍The Climate Resilience Fund is seeking an Associate Program Officer, a Development Officer, and Network Manager to advances its efforts to forge partnerships and leverage resources that support community-level climate resilience throughout the US. The roles are fully remote. Apply here
📍The Resources Legacy Fund is looking to hire a Wildfire Strategies Program Manager for its Sacramento, California office. The program supports policy change and increased public funding for wildfire resilience in communities and ecosystems across the Western United States. Apply here
📍 The Climate Policy Initiative is hiring for a Partnerships Lead for The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance — a public-private partnership that incubates innovative financial mechanisms aimed at drawing private capital into sustainability and climate efforts. The Partnerships Lead will connect external and internal stakeholders and manage the network of organizations involved with the Lab. The application deadline is September 12. The preferred location for this role is London, though applicants in Washington, DC or Cape Town will be considered. Apply here
📍 Floodbase is hiring for a Go-To-Market Strategy Director and Head of Distribution to join its office in Brooklyn, New York. The company provides a software platform that enables re/insurers to offer first-of-their-kind parametric flood insurance products. Apply here (GTM Strategy Director) / Apply here (Head of Distribution)
📍 San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) is looking for a Senior Meteorologist to augment its ability to manage the impacts of weather on the electric system and identify vulnerabilities. The role is based in San Diego. Apply here
📍 WTW is seeking a Head of Event Response. The successful applicant will design and implement a catastrophe event response framework tailored to WTW’s re/insurance clients, as well as a loss estimation framework for calculating the financial impact of disasters. Candidates are being considered for a variety of WTW’s US locations. Apply here
📍 Blue Crab Strategies, a climate-focused strategic consulting firm, is hiring for a Program Associate to support the senior leadership team with managing relationships, people, and projects. The role is fully remote but requires some travel within the US and globally. Read job description here
📍The United Nations Capital Development Fund is hiring two interns for its Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme. The full-time positions are based in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, and are six months in duration. The successful applicants will support the delivery of inclusive parametric insurance in the region. Apply here
📍 The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is looking for a London-based Investor Strategies Programme Director, who will provide strategic oversight and input into development of the NZIF and CRIF and support investors to manage climate risks and opportunities using these tools. Apply here
📍 Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) is hunting for a new Executive Director to lead the organization. ESIP is a non-profit supported by NASA, NOAA, and USGS that brings together science, data, and information technology practitioners. The role is remote, for those based in the US. Apply here
📍 The Climate Risk Group is seeking a Head of UK Commercial and Operations. The successful candidate will lead the development of the company’s commercial strategy in Europe. The Climate Risk Group is the umbrella organization for XDI, a physical climate risk analysis company, and Climate Valuation, which provides household level insights into the costs of climate change. Apply here
📍 Climate X is hiring in London for a Loss Modeling Specialist for calculating climate and weather losses. It also seeking a number of commercial and tech professionals to fill positions in London and New York. Climate X provides physical climate risk data and analytics for businesses and financial institutions. Apply here
📍 Rainmaker Technologies is welcoming applications for an International Affairs Associate to support business development and government affairs initiatives. The company is pioneering a modern cloud seeding system to solve water scarcity and inclement weather problems across the globe. The role is based in California, and involves extensive travel. Apply here
📍 Gallagher Re is searching for a Global Wildfire Peril Lead to join its Property Research Team. The role involves leading wildfire catastrophe model research and evaluation, and acting as the company’s thought leader on wildfire risk in the wider industry. This role is available in a variety of locations in the UK and Europe. Apply here
📍 The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is looking for a Senior Advocate, Adaptation to serve in its Washington, DC or New York office. The successful applicant will collaborate in efforts to promote comprehensive risk management at the state and local levels. Apply here
📍 Cal Poly is hiring for an Assistant/Associate Professor of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Science. Applicants committed to research programs on WUI challenges to impacted communities are especially encouraged to apply, as are those with a proven ability to partner with fire management agencies, the forest industry, and other stakeholders. Reviewing of applications will begin September 15. Apply here
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Thanks for reading!
Louie Woodall
Editor
