Ms. Vanessa Gray
Head of Environment and Emergency Telecommunications Division
BDT, ITU
Vanessa is responsible for developing and overseeing projects and technical assistance on disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. This includes the development of national emergency telecommunication plans (NETPs), the organization of regional and national workshops, and capacity building exercises for disaster management. In the area of disaster response, Vanessa oversees the work on the Disaster Connectivity Maps (DCM) and the deployment of emergency telecommunication equipment to countries hit by disasters. She is the ITU focal point for the UN’s Early Warning for All (EW4All) initiative and coordinates the initiative’s pillar on Warning Dissemination and Communication, to ensure that alerts reach people at risk. She is responsible for the organization of the Global Forum on Emergency Telecommunication (GET) and for specific ICT-for-disaster-management tools and publications, for example in the area of disruptive technologies, gender, and ICT simulation exercises.
Vanessa holds a master’s degree in political science and economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr. Robert Ivanschitz
Associate General Counsel
Microsoft
Robert Ivanschitz is the Associate General Counsel for Microsoft Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA). Robert manages a team of professionals responsible for the legal, corporate, government affairs, policy, and regulatory work in CEMA, supporting Microsoft's business in 109 countries.
Robert joined Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa Area from Microsoft Latin America where he was the Associate General Counsel since 2015. In such capacity, Robert was responsible for supporting and coordinating the regional legal, corporate affairs, regulatory and policy work in all 7 subsidiaries located in Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil.
Robert is no stranger to this newly created area. Originally from Chile, he joined Microsoft in 2004 and from 2011 to 2015 he was the Head of Legal of then Microsoft Middle East and Africa Area based in Dubai.
Before joining Microsoft, Robert worked as an Associate Attorney for the law firms, New York offices, of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (1998-2000) and Proskauer Rose LLP (2000-2004).
Robert holds a Law Degree from the Catholic University of Chile School of Law and a Master's in Law Degree (LL.M) from Columbia University School of Law in New York. He is also admitted to the New York bar. Robert has represented Microsoft extensively in several conferences, panels and external events.
Mr. Andrew Zolli
Chief Impact Officer
Planet
Andrew Zolli serves as Planet's Chief Impact Officer. Planet has deployed the largest constellation of Earth-observing satellites in history, which collectively image the entire land surface and near oceans of the Earth, every day, in high resolution. When analyzed with the tools of artificial intelligence, the resulting data holds critical insights for a wide range of global challenges, from monitoring deforestation and supporting sustainable agriculture to assessing GHG emissions. Andrew and his team coordinate the organization's climate, biodiversity, climate, land use and forests, science, biodiversity, data and AI ethics, ESG, humanitarian, and human rights portfolio.
Ms. Karina Barrera
Undersecretary of Climate Change
Ministry of Environment and Water of Ecuador
Karina is a Chemical Engineer, with a Master's Degree in Environmental Management and another in Business Administration with a specialization in Policy and Strategy as well as Diploma in Finance and Groundwater Management. She has 20 years of experience formulating, directing and executing Environmental, Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Projects in the public and private sectors and from civil society.
Karina has held public positions as Advisor to the Ministerial Office of the Ministry of the Environment, where she has participated in international negotiations and in the formulation of Public Policy.
She currently works as Undersecretary of Climate Change of the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition.
Dr. Florence Rabier
Director-General
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Dr Florence Rabier has been Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) since 2016, leading the intergovernmental organisation through a period of major changes.
She is an internationally recognised scientist in Numerical Weather Prediction, whose leadership has greatly contributed to delivering major operational changes at both ECMWF and Météo-France. She is especially well known for her key role in implementing an innovative method making an optimal use of satellite observations in weather forecasting and climate monitoring. She previously led a major field campaign over Antarctica, in the context of the Fourth International Polar Year and the WMO THORPEX programme.
She is a member of the International Scientific Board of the International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for human development.
She has been awarded the title of “Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur" and is an Honorary Member of the American Meteorological Society.
Ms. Janene Yazzie
Southwest Regional Director
Global Indigenous Data Alliance
Southwest Regional Director of the NDN Collective, is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She is a community organizer and human rights advocate deeply rooted in local community issues. Beginning from her community Tsé si' áni, in Diné Bikéyah, she has worked on the intersections of climate change, water security, food security, energy development, and nation building with indigenous communities and indigenous-led organizations in the US, Canada and Latin America.
Janene was co-convenor of the United Nations' Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development and a member of the Global Indigenous Data Alliance.
Working at the local, national, and international levels of governance, she has built expertise in advancing Indigenous Peoples' rights through policy to development. She has a background in International Policy and Human Rights.
