HALLO DA! I’M KATHARINA DAVIS
Welcome to My Space!
Climate Policy and Urban Sustainability Nerd. Clean Food Explorer. Plant Addict. Music lover. Amateur Photographer. Scandinavian Design Fan. Travel Enthusiast.
BIO
My Story
I am a policy specialist with 8 years of experience in climate change, environmental and sustainable desvelopment issues. Familiar with resilience frameworks, decarbonization strategies, sustainable urbanization. I also spent 5 years in the investment and economic consulting business.
I like to keep myself sharp with ongoing learning and lectures. Currently, I am completing studies on urban climate planning to complement current work on the Paris Agreement at UNDP. My studies focus on policy and planning coherence, with due attention to interactions and maladaptation. Favorite topics include solutions for water and energy resilience with blue-green/grey-green infrastructures & nature-based solutions.
I excel in strategic, out-of-the box thinking; writing and researching, conceptualizing initiatives; and tapping insights from key stakeholders. Blend broad knowledge covering socio-economic development and environmental issues.
MY EXPERIENCE
Roles & Responsibilities
October 2015 - Present
CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIALIST, UNDP
Part of a technical team who assists countries with the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Issue areas include integrated governance, gender, climate finance; private sector, and transparency. Support countries on formulating climate plans, conduct research on progress and implications for sustainable development, contribute to technical guidance and toolkits for urban and water sector. I am also the creative force in the team, overseeing the design and production of advocacy and knowledge materials.
April 2015 - October 2015
STRATEGY ADVISOR, STATE OF PLACE
Urban design startup focused on placemaking and walkability. I advised on the roll-out of the urban data analytics platform for city planners, developers and investors. I also contributed to the development of proposals, securing seed-funding award by National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovation. Since the business concept is based on design thinking and the lean business model, I received some training in this as well.
September 2012 - April 2015
RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION CONSULTANT, GEF SGP
The GEF Small Grants Programme assists 126 countries with the development of community-based projects. It is a pioneer in linking environment, sustainable development and gender. I developed or coordinated reports, policy briefs, technical papers, case studies, presentations and talking points. This includes, f.ex. 10 regional guidelines for ten trans-boundary water areas, a review of Gender Mainstreaming in the programme, and a study of the climate adaptation-focused Community Water Initiative (CWI). The findings of the latter were later published in a journal article which I co-authored with a colleague.
Davis, Chen ‘Climate-adaptive Community Water Management for Food Security: Experiences from the UNDP Community Water Initiative”, Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 2014. “Youth Action on Climate Change”, Annual Report 2014.
"Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody"
Jane Jacobs
EDUCATION
My Studies
October 2018 - Present
MA CITY RESILIENCE DESIGN + MANAGEMENT, UIC BARCELONA
Emphasis on integrated planning for mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development. Urban climate issues such as air pollution, urban heat islands and flooding, smart city development and use of nature-based solutions; as well as deep dives into key sectors of energy, water and agriculture and various urban policy assessment frameworks. Programme partners with Rockefeller Foundation, UN-Habitat, Arup, ICLEI, IUCN and others.
September 2011 - May 2015
MPA POLICY + URBAN PLANNING, NYU WAGNER SCHOOL
Coursework incluced urban planning practices & methods, comparative land use planning, GIS, policy analysis, social impact and enterpreurship, organizational strategy, program design and evaluation. Capstone project: Sustainable redevelopment of a low-income neighborhood in New York City w/ Department of City Planning. Some of proposed solutions were adopted by the NYC DCP.
September 2004 - June 2009
MA INTL POLITICAL ECONOMY, GRADUATE INSTITUTE, GENEVA
M.A. in International Political Economy with focus on trade and finance regimes. Thesis: “The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Children’s Health in Argentina 2001-2003. A sub-national comparative study”. Thesis inspired other students to focus their topics on applied economics.
Phd Studies (AbD) – Research interests: public goods, public-private innovation processes.
MY SKILLS
Tricks of the Trade
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Climate Policy, Urban, Water and SDGs.
ANALYTICAL MIND
Qualit|Quant Research, Content|Data Analysis
CREATIVE EYE
Basic Digital Photography, Editing, and Design.
STRATEGIC THINKING
New concepts, approaches and partnerships.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
Writing technical and non-specialist materials.
LET’S CONNECT
