Speakers

H.E. Thuraya Al Hashimi

Executive Director, Digital Data Enabling Sector, UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC)

Al Hashimi is an Emirati executive director who has been recently appointed to the newly formed Digital Data Enabling Sector in January 2021. Serving the office of the Minister of State for almost a decade, Thuraya has vast experience in human resources and support services management. She started her career as a senior research analyst at the Office of the Minister of State in 2012, where she managed and monitored UAE’s performance in various international reports. From 2016 to 2020, she served as the executive director of support services as part of the inauguration task force spearheading the HR and talent acquisitions team, finance, and IT. In 2019 Al Hashimi was assigned interim responsibilities by the Strategy and Future Department, in addition to her responsibility as the executive director of support services, where she managed various strategic projects ensuring alignment with the UAE government’s vision. Thuraya is a holder of an excellence diploma from the American University of Sharjah, and a bachelor’s degree with an honorable distinction in applied science in business and Management from Dubai Women’s College.

Rosario Giusti de Perez

Director of Urban Studies, Esri Venezuela

Rosario received her architecture degree from Zulia University and enrolled at the urban design program of the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania to obtain a master’s degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in City Planning. She was an architecture professor at Zulia University, and was teaching at urban workshops, being part of research studies, and was in charge of the graduate course program for three years. For her research activities, she was awarded the Carlos Raul Villanueva prize in 1998. Since 1972, she has been part of the team at A.T. Sistemas, a consulting office of architecture and urban design, and, since 1997, she has served as the director for urban studies in Grupo ESRI de Venezuela. Over the last 20 years, she has been working in urban planning for slum upgrading, with projects developed in the context of SDG 1 and SDG 11 and a geodesign approach using GIS tools for spatial analysis.

Dennis Mwaniki

Lead, Spatial Data and Analytics, UN-Habitat

Dennis is a Spatial Data Expert at UN-Habitat’s Data and Analytics Unit, where his day to day responsibilities include coordinating activities around geospatial data production, methodological developments, and supporting countries and cities in the integration of earth observations and geospatial information techniques into urban monitoring processes. He currently leads UN-Habitat’s global activities on production of data on three SDG 11 indicators which are reliant on earth observation and geosptial information – 11.3.1 on urbanization trends, 11.2.1 on access to public transport and 11.7.1 on access to open public spaces.

Dr. Carmelle Terborgh

Lead Account Manager, Nonprofit and Global Organizations, Esri

Dr. Carmelle Terborgh is the lead account manager of the Nonprofit and Global Organizations team at Esri, focusing on Sustainable Development. She has more than 25 years of experience applying GIS to urban management, humanitarian assistance, food security, and sustainable resource management. Prior to joining Esri in 1996, Dr. Terborgh was a research associate at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); and during 2004-2005, worked as the Senior GeoInformation Consultant at the World Bank. Dr. Terborgh has served as the Chair of the Societal Impacts Committee and the Industry Advisory Council of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association. She has a B.S. in Forestry, and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Geography, specializing in GIS.

Catherine Cheney

Senior Reporter, Devex

Catherine Cheney is a senior reporter for Devex. She covers the West Coast of the U.S., focusing on the role of technology, innovation, and philanthropy in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She frequently represents Devex as a speaker and moderator. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University; worked as a web producer for POLITICO and reporter for World Politics Review; and helped to launch NationSwell. Catherine has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit that trains and connects reporters to cover responses to problems.