Our leadership

Named one of the U.S’s “cool mayors” by the Mayors for Climate Protection, Mayor Cownie believes in looking to the future and has a long history of civic leadership and community involvement. In his second term as Mayor, he continued to promote the Des Moines’ sustainability goals. Some of his recent achievements include establishing the Des Moines Energy and Environmental Task Force, and securing a grant for purchasing a fleet of resource-efficient hybrid automobiles.

Cathy Oke was elected to the Melbourne City Council in 2008. As Chair of the City’s Environment Portfolio, Deputy Chair of Transport and Finance and Governance Portfolios and an environmental scientist, Cathy brings 20 years’ experience to her city, ICLEI and to the achievement of both organizations’ agenda. <br>

Stephany Uy-Tan became the first woman Mayor of Catbalogan in 2013. Since then, Mayor Uy-Tan represented ICLEI at international events such as the Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Bonn in November 2017. At the COP21 Cities and Regions Pavilion, Mayor Uy-Tan presented Catbalogan's transformative Sky City project, in the framework of the Transformative Action Program.

Kim Le Cerf serves as City Councilor of Darebin, the first Council in Australia to declare a state of climate emergency and to hold a long-term commitment to climate action and sustainability. She has been working to further climate and sustainability action within state and local governments since 2006, including the last six years with City of Melbourne, where she currently leads the Low Carbon Future team.

Kinlay Dorjee is the first elected Mayor of Thimphu, Bhutan. Since entering office he has embarked on a number of sustainability projects, including an overhaul of household waste recycling systems. Prior to this, Mayor Dorjee was the General Manager of the Bhutan Power Corporation. In February 2013, he endorsed a Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Strategy to improve urban sanitation and hygiene for Thimphu City.

Elected in 2004 as Councillor for the City of Florence (Democratic Party) Dario Nardella has since held a number of positions politically, including legal advisor to the Minister of Institutional Reforms, Deputy Mayor, Mayor of Florence beginning in 2014 and ANCI coordinator for the metropolitan cities (national municipal association). Dario Nardella holds a law degree and a Ph.D in Public Law, Construction and Environmental Law from the University of Florence.

Currently serving as the Mayor of Suwon City, Republic of Korea, Mayor Yeom’s involvement in sustainable development dates back to the 1990s when he founded the Suwon Center for Environment Movement. With the slogan “Human City, Suwon”, Yeom is committed to promoting civil participation in urban planning. He also founded the Local Sustainability Alliance of Korea.

After occupying several positions in administration at city, state and federal levels, Geraldo Julio De Mello Filho was elected Mayor of Recife in 2012. His diverse experiences are reflected in his various priorities as municipal leader. He stabilized the city’s finances, took actions in favor of participatory democracy, and launched a public safety program. He also launched a large scale project for urban planning and initiated a free transportation system for all primary school students.

Bima Arya was inaugurated as the Mayor of Bogor city in April 2014. He aims to make Bogor a smart city, a heritage city, and a green city. While focusing on these targets, Bogor Municipality has built parks, heritage icons, public spaces, and made innovations to strengthen its profile along these lines.

Mauricio Vila holds a Bachelor in Law as well as M.A. in Political Management and Governance and a MBA. He became a local Member of Parliament for the fourth district of Yucatan in 2012 and remained in office until 2015. He then served as Mayor of Mérida from 2015 to 2018, a time during which the city received recognition for its management, quality of life and transparency.

Elected in 2013, Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh serves as the first female Mayor of Malmö. In this capacity, she has been on the board of SKL (Swedish Municipalities and Counties), which gave her invaluable insight into the opportunities and challenges faced by cities around Sweden. In her role as Mayor, Jammeh manages finance, public procurement, business and commerce and steers the city's corporations and agencies.

Currently the Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique, Manuel de Araújo was first elected in 2011. He previously worked at Amnesty International. He was also a member, board member and Vice-President of several global organizations, such as Parliamentarians for Global Action and Parliamentarians for Small Arms. He holds a PhD in International Development, an MSc in Development Studies, a MPS in Policy Studies and a BA Hons in International Relations.

Alex Zhang is currently serving as the Executive Director of Eco Forum Global (EFG), ICLEI’s primary partner organization in China. As China’s principal international platform for sharing and exchanging best practices and experiences in sustainable development and eco-civilization construction, EFG enjoys a myriad of resources in line with ICLEI’s strategy in China such as promoting resilient and sustainable city concept and practices, and exploring ways of engaging Chinese cities.

Matthew Appelbaum served on the city council of Boulder, Colorado, for 18 years, from 1987 to 1995 and 2007 to 2017, including five years as the Mayor and four as Deputy Mayor. He served two terms on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities (NLC) and was a long-time member of NLC’s Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee (EENR), for which he served as chair or vice-chair for several years.

Currently the Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique, Manuel de Araújo was first elected in 2011. He previously worked at Amnesty International. He was also a member, board member and Vice-President of several global organizations, such as Parliamentarians for Global Action and Parliamentarians for Small Arms. He holds a PhD in International Development, an MSc in Development Studies, a MPS in Policy Studies and a BA Hons in International Relations.

An accountant by training, Vincent de Paul Kayanja was elected Mayor of Entebbe in 2011. He occupied several different positions in the municipality prior to being elected Mayor, and has been active in community leadership for almost thirty years. Under his leadership, Entebbe was named best performing town in Uganda in for cleanliness and sanitation in 2013. His term was also marked by an overhaul of the city’s public infrastructure.

Mayor Kadokawa has been involved in ICLEI’s governance since 2008, the same year he was elected Mayor of Kyoto. Under his leadership, the city’s heritage as birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol keeps being honored. Among other achievements, the Kyoto City Green Industry Promotion Vision was enacted in 2014, emphasizing the importance of green industries as a growth factor for the city, and setting the direction for Kyoto to implement initiatives to build its own model for a smart city.

Currently serving as the Mayor of Suwon City, Republic of Korea, Mayor Yeom’s involvement in sustainable development dates back to the 1990s when he founded the Suwon Center for Environment Movement. With the slogan “Human City, Suwon”, Yeom is committed to promoting civil participation in urban planning. He also founded the Local Sustainability Alliance of Korea.

Martin Horn holds a Bachelor's degree in International social work from The Ludwigsburg Protestant University of Applied Science (Evangelischen Hochschule Ludwigsburg) and a Masters’ degree in European and World Politics from the University of Bremen. Before being elected Lord Mayor of Freiburg in 2018, Horn worked as European and Development Coordinator for the City of Sindelfingen, Germany and as a freelance lecturer at the Ludwigsburg Protestant University of Applied Science.

Following almost 30 years of entrepreneurship, Juan Nasry Asfura Zablah took his first political position in 2006, when he became City Councilor in Tegucigalpa. He went on to become Minister Director of the Honduran Fund for Social Investment, before becoming member of the Honduran Parliament in 2011. He then successfully ran to become Mayor of the Central District in 2013, and was reelected in 2017.

Mauricio Vila holds a Bachelor in Law as well as M.A. in Political Management and Governance and a MBA. He became a local Member of Parliament for the fourth district of Yucatan in 2012 and remained in office until 2015. He then served as Mayor of Mérida from 2015 to 2018, a time during which the city received recognition for its management, quality of life and transparency.

Leading a municipality located in a province blessed with numerous natural beauties, Verny Valerio Hernández is committed to the preservations of these treasures. A lawyer by training, some of his legal work related to environmental law. He served as city alderman from 2010 to 2016, until he was elected Mayor of San Rafael de Heredia. He is also involved in and serving on the board of various development associations.

Matthew Appelbaum served on the city council of Boulder, Colorado, for 18 years, from 1987 to 1995 and 2007 to 2017, including five years as the Mayor and four as Deputy Mayor. He served two terms on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities (NLC) and was a long-time member of NLC’s Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee (EENR), for which he served as chair or vice-chair for several years.

Named one of the U.S’s “cool mayors” by the Mayors for Climate Protection, Mayor Cownie believes in looking to the future and has a long history of civic leadership and community involvement. In his second term as Mayor, he continued to promote the Des Moines’ sustainability goals. Some of his recent achievements include establishing the Des Moines Energy and Environmental Task Force, and securing a grant for purchasing a fleet of resource-efficient hybrid automobiles.

Aaron Hawkins has served on the Dunedin City Council since 2013, and chairs its Community and Culture committee, Refugee Steering Group and Creative Dunedin Partnership. He believes strongly in the critical role of local governments in tackling environmental challenges, and in working collaboratively with other councils, governments and NGOs to do so. He’s also committed to supporting the creative industries to play their critical role in communicating challenges and solutions, and in the transition to a low carbon economy.

After occupying several positions in administration at city, state and federal levels, Geraldo Julio De Mello Filho was elected Mayor of Recife in 2012. His diverse experiences are reflected in his various priorities as municipal leader. He stabilized the city’s finances, took actions in favor of participatory democracy, and launched a public safety program. He also launched a large scale project for urban planning and initiated a free transportation system for all primary school students.

As Vice-president of the Municipal Association of Nepal (since 2001) and Mayor of Dhulikhel (since 2017), Ashok Byanju is committed to promoting better urban planning and biodiversity throughout Nepal. He is convinced that preserving biodiversity will have a positive impact on sustainability in South Asia, since it will encourage the conservation of natural resources like soil and water. Photo credit: setopati.net

Kinlay Dorjee is the first elected Mayor of Thimphu, Bhutan. Since entering office he has embarked on a number of sustainability projects, including an overhaul of household waste recycling systems. Prior to this, Mayor Dorjee was the General Manager of the Bhutan Power Corporation. In February 2013, he endorsed a Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Strategy to improve urban sanitation and hygiene for Thimphu City.