Team

We provide knowledge, policy advice, and technical assistance to local governments

Being resilient is not an option anymore; It is a responsibility to take action towards urgent global challenges such as climate change and sustainable economies.
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Esteban has a background in economics and over two decades building local capacities, designing and managing shelter, housing and settlement programs in pre and post-crisis situations, and building urban resilience. He has been working for UN-Habitat since 2002, based in Nairobi, Geneva, Panama and Barcelona.
Esteban León
Head of the City Resilience Global Programme, UN-Habitat
By building capacities and institutionalising resilience within local governments, we give autonomy for them to define their priorities and paths to sustainable development.
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Sozvin is an architect-planner and urban policy analyst with extensive experience in the areas of urban governance, resilience, and its institutionalization on local levels, working in both academia and international development. Since 2017 she has been actively involved in the CRPT development, implementation, and the development of A4R in several partner cities.  
Sozvin Salih
Urban Resilience Consultant
Through a resilience lens, we can see how all urban systems are interconnected and impact each other and prioritise the actions that drive sustainable development.
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Anna is an architect-planner with extensive experience working in different contexts and spatial scales to plan for inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities. Over the past 5 years, she has contributed to the UN-Habitat CRGP by implementing and calibrating the City Resilience Profiling Tool, conducting research on various dimensions of urban resilience, and supporting socio-economic response in cities for COVID-19.
Anna Karaan
Urban Resilience Consultant
Resilience is a distinctly human characteristic. In cities, harnessing the collective resilience of people, and leveraging it for action massively improves lives.
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Craig has been working in the decentralized cooperation and international development sector for over ten years. He began his career at the largest global organisation for local governments in 2011, before taking on various consultancy roles for different UN agencies (UN-Habitat, World Bank, UNESCO) starting 2014. His areas of expertise include strategic communication, knowledge management and project oversight. 
Craig Laird
Project management consultant
Resilience is all about overcoming the unexpected—the goal is not only to survive but to thrive.
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Svetlana has a broad 20 years of experience with international organizations and private entities in Europe and the Middle East. With a background in international economy, she assured operational and financial part of UNDP-IOM project in Belarus. As the administrative assistant, Svetlana coordinates the office of the City Resilience Global Programme of UN-Habitat in Barcelona.  
Svetlana Chaikovskaya
Administrative Assistant