
The 2023 UGC Annual Gathering will take place 2-6 October 2023. View the Call for Participation here.
Recordings from the 2022 and 2021 Gatherings
Visit our Videos page to watch recordings from past gatherings!

2022 Conference Report
View a summary of conference proceedings and information on attendees and impact in the UGC Annual Conference 2022 Report.

2021 Conference Report
View a summary of conference proceedings and information on attendees and impact in the UGC Annual Conference 2021 Report.

Event Schedule
Day 1: Monday, October 3
Session featuring business, non-profit, government sector participants and higher education institutions discussing how higher ed can be a convener of multiple sectors and effectively partner to advance the SDGs.
Attendee Link: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/91375765661
Presenters

Roberta Malee Bassett, is the Global Lead for Tertiary Education and Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank, providing leadership and technical expertise for projects related to post-secondary education reform initiatives around the world. Her most recent work has focused on East and Southern Africa, the new EU member states, the Russian Federation, the South Caucasus, Central Asian nations, and the countries of the Western Balkans. She has been team lead for a variety of tertiary and higher education projects, spanning topics such as finance and quality assurance reform, internationalization of higher education, equity and access, research and competitiveness, and skills development.
She currently serves on the Editorial Board of Higher Education Quarterly and the International Advisory Board of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA). Prior to joining the World Bank in 2009, Roberta was Lecturer in Higher Education at the Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy at the University of Southampton, UK. Her experience in university administration includes serving as: Assistant Dean and Director of Summer Session at Stanford University (1995-2000); Managing Editor of The Review of Higher Education (2000-2004) and Educational Policy (2004-2005); and Residence Director at Simmons College (US). She is the author/editor of numerous publications on topics related to international higher education including: The WTO and the University: Globalization, GATS, and American Higher Education (2006); International Organizations and Higher Education Policy: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally? (2009) and The Forefront of International Higher Education: A Festschrift in Honor of Philip G. Altbach (2014).
Roberta received her Ph.D. from the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College; M.A. from Stanford University; and B.A. from Columbia University.

Estrella Merlos joined the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Switzerland in 2013 and is responsible for overseeing UNITAR’s Network of 25 training centres (CIFAL Global Network) located across the globe. She is also responsible for managing several training initiatives on Road Safety, Breastfeeding Education, Disaster Preparedness and Response, Entrepreneurship, Airports and Economic Development. Previously, she served as Executive Director of UNITAR’s training centre in Atlanta, USA. Estrella holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Development Policies and Practices from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland; a Degree on Road Safety Leadership and Management from the European University in Madrid; a Master in Public Administration from Georgia State University in the USA and a degree in Economics from the Central American University in El Salvador. Estrella was a Fulbright Scholar in the United States specializing in public policy, urban planning and economic development. Her areas of expertise include public policy and administration, airport management, disaster response and humanitarian supplies management, Free Trade Agreements and negotiation.

Carlo is the Sustainability Lead at Deloitte Consulting Switzerland. His 25 years’ experience is multi-disciplinary, from professional footballer, Hotel and Resort General Manager, Harvard Instructor, Learning Designer, Leadership Coach and Sustainability Senior Advisor. Carlo has designed and conducted several executive trainings for SDG in collaboration with the UN Global Compact and UNITAR but also with several Universities and Business Schools. Carlo contributes today to several global sustainability coalitions and initiatives, including at the Vatican and the UN, focused on identifying new and better micro and macro indicators for ESG and broader economic measurements. He is also involved in several pre-competitive spaces working on climate emergency plans, decarbonization and circular economy in the fashion and healthcare industry. Carlo has helped organizations with their environmental metrics as well as their decarbonization journeys and net-zero plans.

Physiotherapist, with a Master in economics from Universidad del Rosario. She studied a Master in Health Economics, Policy and Law from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands. She finished her PhD in Social Policy in the University of Birmingham, UK. From 2016 to 2018 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad de los Andes and currently she is an assistant professor in the same university. She is a researcher at Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative since 2014. Her main research topics are disability, poverty, health economics and equity. She has been part of different United Nations experts’ groups working on topics related to disability.

Dr. Naveed Anwar, a Pakistani-born structural engineer and academician, is the Vice President for Knowledge Transfer at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). In this position, he is responsible for creating and managing the ecosystem to facilitate generation of greater value for the society from knowledge created at AIT through knowledge transfer mechanisms. As part of this portfolio, he overs sees the interaction between the institute and the industry, the Entrepreneurship Center, He is also the Executive Director/CEO of AIT Solutions (AITS) and an Affiliated Faculty at School of Engineering and Technology of AIT where he teaches MS and PhD level courses related to Structural/Earthquake Engineering. He is also responsible for the course coordination in Masters and PhD in Structural Engineering, and academic advisor for thesis work of research students at AIT. In over 35 years of professional engagement, Dr. Anwar has the unique opportunity to work in a very broad spectrum of the Civil/Structural Engineering knowledge cycle, in teaching of graduate programs, post graduate research supervision, publications, development of tools and technologies for application, training and capacity building of professional engineers, and direct engagement in hundreds of international projects, all of which feeding back into the teaching, research and development. All of this is done in a truly international setting, spanning over twenty countries, under the umbrella of one the top international universities in the world. Dr. Anwar has been invited as key note speaker in numerous international conferences, has authored over one hundred publications including books, conferences papers, journal papers and magazine articles and reports. He has supervised/co-supervised more than 50 MS and PhD research thesis and taught four academic courses for MS program in structural engineering He has been the key presenter/resource person in over 100 capacity building seminars, workshops, training programs conducted in more than 10 countries and attended by thousands of engineers, in collaboration with several academic and professional institutions. During twenty-three years of work in AIT in various capacity, he has headed and participated in several important initiatives, including the establishment of ACECOMS, AIT Solution, iLab, managing collaboration between AIT and HEC Pakistan, capacity building projects in Afghanistan, task forces on professional programs, campus management, development of AIT Share platform for online and hybrid education. He has been engaged as specialist by ADB, World Bank, UNESCAP, UNESCO and has been part of the team at California based Computers and Structures Inc., His expertise and interest include finite element modeling and applications, advanced concrete design, integration of emerging technologies into structural engineering, a leading position in performance-based design of tall buildings, design and evaluation of bridges, innovations in building technology, Iot, machine learning, mobile computing etc.

Ángel Cabrera is the 12th president of the Georgia Institute of Technology. One of America’s leading research universities, Georgia Tech serves 44,000 students through top-ranked graduate and undergraduate programs ranging from engineering and science to business, computing, design, and liberal arts, and receives more than $1.2 billion in research awards every year. Cabrera came to Georgia Tech on Sept. 1, 2019, after serving for seven years as president of George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia. During his presidency, GMU joined the top tier of research universities in the Carnegie Classification and was the fastest growing institution in the state. Before leading GMU, Cabrera was president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of Arizona State University, and dean of IE Business School in Madrid. Cabrera has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, a “Star of Europe” by Bloomberg Businessweek, a “Henry Crown Fellow” by the Aspen Institute, and a “Great Immigrant” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He has received honorary degrees from Miami Dade College and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Cabrera serves on the boards of the National Geographic Society, Harvard College Visiting Committee, Atlanta Committee for Progress, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Bankinter Innovation Foundation in Spain. He has served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the advisory boards of Georgia Tech and Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, and three publicly traded companies. Cabrera earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology and cognitive science from Georgia Tech, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds a B.S. and an M.S. in computer and electrical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Dr. Arturo Condo is President of EARTH University, an innovative global institution educating leaders for sustainable development, especially for rural areas of the world. At EARTH, Dr. Condo has led the design and implementation of the school’s 5-year Strategic Plan. He has guided the creation of EARTH Futures, a new global platform at EARTH which seeks to advance transformational leadership education and develop innovative solutions to transform the lives of millions in rural areas of developing regions. He served as President of INCAE Business School between 2007 and 2015, and for two decades, he was Dean of the MBA, Director of the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) and professor of strategy, competitiveness, and sustainable development. He has a Doctorate from Harvard Business School in business strategy and competitiveness and was recognized as a “Distinguished Scholar” in his MBA at INCAE. In 2006, he was named to the Inaugural Class of the Central American Leadership Initiative (CALI), an Aspen Institute Fellowship. In 2007, the World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized him as a Young Global Leader (YGL).
Join St. Joseph's University for a demonstration of the UGC SDG Dashboard and learn more about how UGC member institutions can engage with the Dashboard. This session will be highly interactive.
Presenters

David Steingard, Ph.D., is Director of the
SDG Dashboard initiative and Associate Professor of Leadership, Ethics, & Organizational Sustainability at the Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph’s University, USA. The
SDG Dashboard is a collaborative, online platform that empowers higher education institutions to report and share their best United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impact practices. David also leads a partnership with Cabells to produce the
SDG Impact Intensity academic journal rating system powered by artificial intelligence and data analytics. David is also involved in United Nations affiliated initiatives including Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), SDG Publishers Compact, and Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI).

Michael Collins is the Lead Graduate Assistant of the UN SDG Dashboard at
Saint Joseph's University. His role involves creating, maintaining, and embedding
client dashboards. He is a 2022 graduate of Saint Joseph's University with a degree
in Business Intelligence & Analytics, and is currently in pursuit of a MBA at SJU
with a concentration in Data Analytics.
Day 2: Tuesday, October 4
This panel addresses the pressing challenge of global conflict/war in Ukraine, its effects on SDG progress, and how higher education can partner with other sectors to support humanitarian efforts.
Presenters

In February 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Joyce Msuya of Tanzania as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Ms. Msuya brings more than 20 years’ experience in international development and finance, spanning strategy, operations and partnerships, and with diverse assignments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Prior to taking on her current role, Ms. Msuya served as Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. Between 2018 and 2019, she served as UNEP’s interim Executive Director at the Under-Secretary-General level, leading the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly and mobilizing resources to support its mission. Ms. Msuya has held several senior leadership roles at the World Bank Group, including that of Special Representative and Head of the World Bank Group Office in the Republic of Korea, Regional Coordinator at the World Bank Institute, based in China, and Special Adviser to the World Bank’s then Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. She also led strategy and operations for the International Finance Corporation in Africa and Latin America, covering the manufacturing, agribusiness and services sectors. Ms. Msuya is fluent in English, Swahili and Pare, and conversant in Mandarin.

Karina V. Korostelina is a Professor and a Director of the Peace Lab on Reconciling Conflict and Intergroup Divisions at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, GMU. She conducts research on the dynamics of identity and power in protracted conflicts. Her recent interests include the study of national and community resilience, reconciliation, and role of memory and history in conflict and post-conflict societies. She has been Fulbright New Century Scholar and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Eckert Institute, National University of Singapore, East-West Center, Institute for Advanced Studies at Waseda University, Northeast Asia Foundation, Central European University, and the Bellagio Center of the Rockefeller foundation. She has received 44 grants from such Foundations as MacArthur, Luce, Spencer, Ebert, and Soros, the US Institute of Peace, US National Academy of Education, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of USDS, USAID, INTAS, IREX, and Council of Europe. The results of her research are presented in more than 90 articles and chapters. She is an author or editor of 16 books including authorship of Neighborhood Resilience and Urban Conflict (2021), Trump Effect (2016), International Insult: How Offence Contributes to Conflict (2014), Constructing Narrative of Identity and Power (2013), History Education in the Formation of Social Identity (2013), Why they die? (2012), The Social Identity and Conflict (2007). Among her edited books are: History Can Bite – History Education in Divided and Post-War Societies (2016), History Education and Post-Conflict Reconciliation (2013), Forming a Culture of Peace (2012), Civilians and Modern War (2012), Identity, Morality and Threat (2006).

Ambassador Sarah Mendelson is Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and Head of CMU’s Heinz College in Washington DC. She served as US Representative to the UN ECOSOC from October 2015 to January 2017 leading on development, human rights, and humanitarian affairs. At USAID from 2010-2014, she led on democracy, rights, and governance. Mendelson’s current work centers on the next generation that will deliver the Sustainable Development Goals – Cohort 2030. At CMU, she co-chairs the University’s Sustainability Initiative. The author of over 70 publications, she graduated from Yale University and received her PhD from Columbia University.

Jocelyn Wyatt is a social innovation thought leader and an entrepreneurial executive with more than 20 years of experience. She is skilled at building teams and organizations working in complex, global environments, with a focus on impact, growth, and innovation. She has been a CEO for the past ten years and has served on the boards of organizations such as Airbnb.org and Marketplace. Jocelyn currently serves as the CEO of the global humanitarian organization, Alight, whose purpose is to inspire and unleash the abundance in every person. In her role as CEO, Jocelyn leads Alight’s 3,000 person team across 19 countries. She spends her time developing the vision and strategy and overseeing the implementation of Alight’s programs to serve displaced communities around the world. She works closely with Alight’s Board of Directors, partners, affiliates, and donors and oversees a $65 million annual operating budget. Prior to Alight, Jocelyn was the co-founder and CEO of IDEO.org, a nonprofit design studio with a mission to design a more just and inclusive world. Jocelyn grew IDEO.org to become a 75-person, global organization with studios in Nairobi, New York, and San Francisco. A keen community builder, she co-founded Design Vanguard, a community of design leaders driving diversity in design, and founded the Social Enterprise Jobs Group, which has a membership of 13,000 people around the world. In 2012, she was named a Top 100 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy Magazine. Jocelyn also served as an Aspen First Movers fellow for social intrapreneurs. Jocelyn speaks widely about social innovation and has been invited to address forums including the Aspen Ideas Festival, Skoll World Forum, and Women in the World. She has been published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and profiled in FastCo, DevEx, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and Fortune. Prior to building IDEO.org, Jocelyn led IDEO’s social impact practice where she managed the dissemination of the HCD Toolkit and built relationships with foundations, INGOs, and social enterprises. Prior to joining IDEO in 2007, Jocelyn worked in Kenya as an Acumen Global Fellow. She also served as VisionSpring’s interim country director in India, where she helped increase the distribution of low-cost reading glasses to rural communities. And before that, she worked at Chemonics International, a contractor for USAID. Jocelyn earned a BA in Anthropology from Grinnell College and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Gbemi is the Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon University Africa. In her role, she provides administrative, strategic, and operational leadership to drive the institution’s vision of educating the next generation of African technology leaders and supporting the acceleration of inclusive digital transformation of Africa. A global citizen, Disu has 15 years of experience in higher education, financial services, and energy sectors in several countries across 4 continents, and is also one of the founding members of the University Global Coalition which aims to increase the awareness and role of higher education institutions on the SDGs.
Day 3: Wednesday, October 5
No sessions in recognition of Holiday
Day 4: Thursday, October 6
This session features leaders of colleges/universities who have made significant progress on the SDGs discussing how to develop an institute-wide SDG approach and sharing thoughts on engaging leadership at your university.
Presenters

Professor Zeynep Gürhan Canlı is the Acting President and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Koç University. She served as the Dean of the College of Administrative Sciences and Economics (September 2017-August 2021) and the Director of the Graduate School of Business (February 2018-August 2021: March 2010-February 2016). Her research interests include consumer information processing in relation to branding and corporate image (brand relationships, co-branding, brand extensions, brand communications, corporate social responsibility), consumer experiences and sustainability. She completed her Ph.D. in marketing at New York University, Stern School of Business in 1997. Prior to joining Koç University, she was a faculty member in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She has published several articles in leading academic journals. She received a number of awards and was tenured at the University of Michigan in recognition of her productivity and quality of her research. She served as an associate editor for the Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Consumer Psychology, and a senior editor for the International Journal of Research in Marketing. She is on the Editorial Review Boards of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and International Journal of Research in Marketing.

President Garza has a bachelor’s degree on Computer Systems from Tec of Monterrey and a PhD on Computer Science from the State University of Colorado. Throughout his 30 years of service at Tec, Garza has occupied several academic and executive positions such as director of Research and Graduate Program; dean of Information Technology and Electronics and dean of Engineering School at the Monterrey Campus. He was also General Director of San Luis Potosi’s campus, rector of the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey and Vice-Rector of Undergraduate position from which he led key academic initiatives related to the improvement of students and professors, and the development of Model Tec21. Subsequently he was named Academic Vice-Rector of the Institution. Since July 1st, 2017, Garza is Rector at Tec de Monterrey, a private non-profit university part of the 35 best private universities of the world according to the QS ranking. It has 31 campuses in Mexico and presence in 13 countries, almost 90 thousand alumni and more than 10 thousand professors. Garza has been a research professor in the Information Technology and Electronics department, imparting lectures in disciplines related to technology, both in university and masters and PhD levels. As a researcher he participated in the definition and development of projects financed by prestigious national and international institutions such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, European Commission and National Council of Science and Technology, and CONACYT. Some of his research projects have been developed in collaboration with international institutions such as Virginia Tech, Southwest Research Institute and Colorado State University. Author of multiple articles and consultant of different corporations’ projects, he was recognized on two occasions with the Distinguished Professor Award. He was President of the Global Engineering Deans Council’s, an initiative created with support of the American Society for Engineer Education and the International Federation of Engineer Education Societies. In 2012, Garza received the Honoris Causa doctorate from the American University of Nicaragua. He’s an active member of professional associations and organizations such as ASEE, IEEE, ACM, Sigma Xi y Phi Kappa Phi.

Suzanne Fortier served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University from September 2013 to September 2022. Prior to her appointment as Principal, she was President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), following holding positions as Vice-Principal (Academic), Vice-Principal (Research) and Professor of Chemistry at Queen's University.
A native of St-Timothée, Québec, Canada, Professor Fortier graduated from McGill with a BSc (1972) and a PhD in Crystallography (1976). Her research work has focused on the development of mathematical and artificial intelligence methodologies for protein structure determination.
Professor Fortier was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018 and is also an officer of France’s National Order of Merit. She holds honorary doctorates from Thompson Rivers University, Carleton University, and the University of Glasgow.
Professor Fortier currently serves as Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), is a Member of the Board of Governors of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, the University of the People and the HEC Paris International Advisory Board.
Join panelists in discussing the importance of universities driving partnerships to accelerate climate action and climate solutions across sectors: public, private, academia and non-profit. Each panelist will present how they partner with local communities, business, universities, and non-profit organizations to drive climate solutions with time for audience discussion.
Presenters

Perla has a Bachelor Degree in Law from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and a master degree in International Law from the Universities of Chile, the University of Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute. She has been a professor of Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at Tec. She served as Head of the Environment Office of the municipality of San Pedro Garza García in Nuevo León. She was the Coordinator of the Monterrey Alliance for Climate Action (an initiative of the World Wildlife Fund). She is a climate action speaker and columnist and Project Manager of
Ruta Azul, the Sustainability and Climate Change Plan of Tecnológico de Monterrey.

L. Beril Toktay is the Brady Family Chaired Professor of Operations Management, Regents’ Professor, the faculty director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, and the interim executive director of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems. A Distinguished Fellow of the INFORMS Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society, her research focuses on sustainable operations and supply chain management. She has co-developed award-winning interdisciplinary educational programs such as Serve-Learn-Sustain, which offers students academic opportunities to advance sustainable communities, and the Carbon Reduction Challenge, a competition focused on empowering students to become part of the climate change solution. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce selected her as a 2019 E3 Impact Award Finalist, an award that recognizes “visionary individuals advancing sustainability in Atlanta.

As UB’s inaugural chief sustainability officer since 2011, Ryan McPherson has created a culture of innovative and collaborative sustainability at UB and implemented strategies to help position the university as a sustainability leader in the community, state and nation, as well as across higher education. Among his chief priorities has been setting 10 key strategies to implement within the next decade as part of the university’s climate action plan. He also has worked to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals across campus and New York as part of the broader work to create the next generation of change agents who are building the future we seek. In part under McPherson’s oversight, UB has already achieved one of its sustainability goals: 100% of the electricity the university uses comes from clean, renewable sources, an achievement that has helped UB reduce its carbon footprint by 35% and put the university on the path to climate neutrality by 2030. During McPherson’s tenure, UB has received the Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, won the New York State Department of Environmental Excellence Award, and most recently in April of 2021 was rated No. 1 in the world—among 566 colleges and universities—by the Times Higher Education Impact Assessment among universities in taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. As UB’s chief sustainability officer, McPherson is working to create a culture of innovation and collaboration to implement strategies to help position the university as a sustainability leader in the community, state and nation, as well as across higher education.

Teresa Parejo-Navajas, PhD., serves as the Head of Sustainability with IBERIA since October 2019. Previously, she developed an extensive academic carrier as Associate Professor of Law at Carlos III University (Madrid, Spain), specializing in environmental and climate change law. She collaborated with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (Columbia University), and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), during the time she lived in New York.
Hi! I'm Emiliano Sánchez, a Computer Science student. I'm currently focused on learning how technology and cultural innovation can help reduce the effects of climate change in my community and the world. I'm curious and passionate about nature and concerned about the potentially catastrophic events for humanity. My ideology is driven by post-humanistic philosophy theory.
This session will discuss the challenges of reaching SDG 2 by 2030, the possible paths towards achieving that Goal, and the role of universities in taking humanity forward around sustainable food systems. It will also discuss and highlight the value of global university partnerships in support of SDG2 (and all SDGs). The session will highlight some innovations that will help in achieving the goals of SDG2, discuss the gaps, and engage on how universities can play an active role in reducing the gap.
Presenters

Ermias Kebreab is a renowned scholar and skilled administrator with extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and animal science. Alongside his leadership of the World Food Center, Dr. Kebreab serves as the Associate Dean of Global Engagement in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, and through both positions he oversees the advancement of the college's international goals while working in collaboration with extensive internal and external partnerships to magnify the grand challenges facing our global food systems. Dr. Kebreab is the Sesnon Endowed Chair in the Department of Animal Science. He has conducted extensive research in developing strategies for using feed additives to reduce methane emissions from livestock and has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications. He is chair of the United Nations FAO Technical Working Group on Feed Additives, a committee member for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States and also serves on the NAS Committee for Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle. He is a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2019 Update on Good Practices Guideline in Chapter 4, "Emissions from Livestock and Manure Management." Dr. Kebreab is a recipient of the 2018 Bouffault International Animal Agriculture award and the 2014 American Feed Industry Ruminant Nutrition award from the American Society of Animal Science. Dr. Kebreab has previously served as the Associate Vice Provost of Academic Programs for Global Affairs and as the Deputy Director for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis. Hailing from Eritrea, Dr. Kebreab received his B.Sc. in biology from the University of Asmara, followed by a M.Sc. in integrative biology and a Ph.D. in ecological modeling from the University of Reading, UK.

José Eduardo Villalobos Leandro is a soil and water science professional passionate for agriculture. He currently works as a professor of Soils Science at EARTH University in Costa Rica. He has specialized in the integration of information layers at different levels (soil, plant and remote) for an accurate diagnosis of site-specific situations on agricultural farms. During the last few years, as coordinator and co-director of the precision agriculture center at EARTH University, he has worked hand in hand with farmers throughout Costa Rica and lately on Guatemala, allowing them to optimize their productive efficiency through applied precision agriculture techniques focused mainly on nutrition and water management. Some of the crops in which it has supported nutrition and water management are: cane, rice, melon, forestry, coffee, cocoa, papaya, grass, mango, cotton, among others. Throughout his career he has accumulated experience in nutritional management in the cultivation of sugar cane working for companies in the state of Florida USA and in Panama. In addition, he has participated as a thesis advisor and has been part of research teams in Costa Rica and the USA, allowing him to be the author and co-author of different documents. José Eduardo Villalobos Leandro obtained his master's degree from the University of Florida USA in 2014.

Patrick Cortbaoui is an agricultural engineer, food security consultant and project manager with over 15 years track record in providing solutions to alleviate food insecurity in different regions of the world including North America, Latin America & the Caribbean, Africa, Middle East and Asia. This is done through the establishment and implementation of pre-/post-production technologies and sustainable food management strategies and programs that meet the requirements of the producer, the retailer and the consumer while improving resource-use efficiency along agri-food value chains. He has wide expertise in management encompassing Research-for Development, Partnership Building and Resource Mobilization, Strategic and Operational Planning, Communication and Outreach Management, and Team Mentoring and Training. He currently serves as the Managing Director at the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security of McGill University, strengthening the Institute’s role and partnership between academia, the private sector, governments and NGOs. In this capacity, he oversees all operations, functions and activities of the Institute. He is responsible for giving the proper strategic direction and implementing a high-quality vision. Dr. Cortbaoui received his PhD. in Bioresouce Engineering from McGill University. His interest was to develop and validate engineering solutions to reducing post-harvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables thereby increasing food availability without compromising the environment.

Georg Lietz is a Professor of International Nutrition at Newcastle University. His expertise lies in the area of human nutrition, with specific focus on fat soluble vitamins, fatty acids and related micronutrients. His group is known both nationally and internationally for our research on diet-gene interactions as an important factor in the determination of high inter-individual variations, as well as in determining total body stores of vitamin A by using the isotope dilution technique. Earlier on in his career, he was involved in the four centre FINGEN trial, the first UK based prospective genotyping study for the ApoE gene to investigate how n-3 fatty acids could influence cardiovascular disease risk depending on ApoE genotype. He led a research project within the European Nutrigenomics Organisation NUGO involving seven different European laboratories, which revealed through the application of genome-wide expression analysis, that β-carotene supplementation down-regulated genes affecting lipid and glucose metabolism related pathways. A milestone discovery in his research group was the discovery of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms in the beta-carotene monoxygenase (BCO1) gene. Recently, he initiated collaborations with colleagues in international nutrition (John Hopkins University and UC Davis, California) to determine if a range of single nucleotide polymorphisms can influence the effectiveness of plant-based provitamin A carotenoids to increase vitamin A status in at-risk population groups.

Leandro Luiz Giatti is an associate professor at the Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. He has international expertise in sustainability and health, health promotion, participatory research approaches and the urban water-energy-food nexus. His experience is characterized by interdisciplinary studies and with main efforts dedicated to socioenvironmental vulnerable groups, and studies in the Brazilian Amazon Region. Giatti is a member of the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP, and associate editor of the journal Ambiente & Sociedade (SCIELO - Brazil). In his academic research projects has advised thesis and dissertations of graduate students and also has supervised post-doctoral partners.

Joanna Regulska
, Vice Provost and Dean of Global Affairs and professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Davis, has led large-scale programs that transform institutions, establish collaborative partnerships, and substantially improve globally focused services for students, faculty, and staff, for over 30 years. Regulska oversees Global Affairs at UC Davis, where among several initiatives, she leads these visionary priorities: striving to provide all students with valuable global learning experiences before graduation through a Provost’s Priority of
Global Education for All; and
engaging with the UN Sustainable Development Goals as part of UC Davis’ commitment to solving global challenges. In 2019, she was honored as the
first-ever recipient of the Senior International Officer Award from the Institute of International Education. A respected scholar, Regulska’s research concentrates on women’s political activism, grassroots mobilization, decentralization, democracy and democratization, with a focus on Europe and the Caucasus.
Day 5: Friday, October 7
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development shares a blueprint for peace and prosperity, but the Goals remain painfully out of reach. Recent work on Goal 17 emphasizes the need for transformational partnerships that catalyze multidimensional impacts through mobilizing systems including higher education. Moving beyond the role of convener, universities can integrate engagement through key drivers including research, teaching, innovation, and experiential learning. If actualized, such partnerships can benefit organizations addressing the SDGs within the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems, while also supporting institutional needs. This session explores the promise of multi-stakeholder partnerships through an evolving partnership supporting social innovation in rural Tanzania. Presenters will share a flexible framework for facilitating and assessing virtual and in-person engagement along with perspectives from key stakeholders including faculty, partners, students, and NGO leaders. This session will challenge us to embrace the promise of transformational engagement and re-imagine partnerships as pathways to our collective sustainability.
Presenters

Dr. Huber serves as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning and Director of the Experiential Learning Network (ELN) at the University at Buffalo. For nearly 20 years she has designed scalable engagement models that support student growth and community impact while leveraging higher education resources. In 2018, she led the creation of the ELN Project Portal, an award-winning web-based model that connects students with mentored projects and awards digital badges in Global Collaboration, Mentored Research, Innovation, and Sustainability. The Portal features engagement with NGO leaders in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, and addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals through virtual collaboration and the pursuit of “adding value” through Experiential Learning. These efforts build on a 14-year partnership with NGOs in the Mara Region of Tanzania and a yearly study abroad trip focused on social innovation and women’s empowerment. She is a frequent writer, facilitator and speaker and hosts a
blog site.

Dan Nyaronga is a Professor of Psychology and Human Development at State University of New York (SUNY)-Empire State College. His research focuses on experiential learning as well as physical and mental health outcomes. Dr. Nyaronga completed both his Doctorate and Master of Science degree in Lifespan Development from Iowa State University. His Bachelor’s degree in Community Development is from Daystar University, Nairobi. He previously worked in California as a post-doctoral research fellow at U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health and Alcohol Research Group (ARG) in the Bay area, focusing on the epidemiology of alcohol use and alcohol disparities.
In addition, Dr. Nyaronga worked as a senior Research Associate for the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University (Indiana) focusing on PTSD. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Council on Family Relations (NCRF). Dr. Nyaronga has co-authored several books, book chapters, and published in a number of peer-reviewed journals. He has won several research awards and he serves as a reviewer (ad hoc) for the Center for Global Development (CGD), Sage Publications, Journal of Substance use, and Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Journal.

Kennedy Mahili is Executive Director of Community Life Amelioration (CLAO) in Mwanza, Tanzania. He holds an Education degree from St. Augustine University of Tanzania and focuses on empowering marginalized communities through social innovation, community technology, and education. His signature programs engage individuals with albinism, women without formal education, and vulnerable youth in beekeeping, poultry raising, brick making, eco-latrines, biosand water filters, and other sustainable technologies. Kennedy also trains NGO leaders committed to building capacity for their own communities. He envisions a world that values every individual, especially the most vulnerable, and is dedicated to the potential of collaboration. Kennedy will be hosting the 2023 UB study abroad group and will be engaging them in the construction of a water catchment tank towards further collaboration and innovation. He invites new collaborations related to engagement and the SDGs.

Christopher Romano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University at Buffalo as well as a researcher within SMART (Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotics Community of Excellence). His research and creative practice is focused on the theoretical and pragmatic bridges that connect material and structural ingenuity with architectural experience. As a methodology – he pursues research inquiry through hands‐on investigation, installation, architectural fabrication, and one‐to‐one production. He is also licensed architect in the State of New York, NCARB Certified, LEED accredited and director of Studio NORTH, an independent research office dedicated to assembling diverse teams of technical specialists that deliver innovative responses to projects that require a high degree of architectural and engineering integration. This work has been recognized with a number of awards which include the AIA New York State Design Award, Architects Newspaper Fabrication Award, Architects Newspaper Product Award, and Architizer A+ Award.

Sally Crimmins Villela is an international educator laser-focused on inclusive global learning that develops global citizenship for a sustainable future. As Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs and Senior International Officer of the State University of New York, her responsibilities include education abroad, international student and scholar services, international academic programs and curricular internationalization, including the renowned SUNY Center for Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), the pre-eminent university-based virtual exchange organization. Along with her team, she led the system-wide visioning process,
Global Learning for All: Educating for a Sustainable Future. She and the team work closely with leadership throughout SUNY’s 64-campus system to implement inclusive global learning at all levels of tertiary education.
Having studied, worked and resided in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Portugal, Sally has taught Portuguese language at both Union College and the University at Albany, and English as a Foreign Language at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, Brazil. She attended the University at Albany where she received her BA in Spanish Linguistics, conducted MS studies in TESOL and advanced graduate studies in language acquisition. Sally recently completed her second elected term on the Executive Committee of the Commission on International Initiatives of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). She serves on the Commission on Internationalization and Global Engagement of the American Council on Education (ACE).
Advancing the SDGs in higher education takes a variety of forms, and several networks work to connect partners in this effort. How can these higher education SDG-focused networks, with the same essential mission, both differentiate themselves in this space and support and build upon the work of their allied networks? This session features participants from several global networks focused on the SDGs in higher education in a facilitated discussion. Through conversation with these leaders and session participants, we ask the question of how networks can most effectively partner to tackle the complexity and interconnectedness of the SDGs through the lens of SDG17: Partnerships.
Presenters

Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he holds the rank of University Professor, the university’s highest academic rank. Sachs was Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Chair of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor at Sunway University, and SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres. From 2001-18, Sachs served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Ki-moon (2008-16), and António Guterres (2017-18).

Ángel Cabrera is the 12th president of the Georgia Institute of Technology. One of America’s leading research universities, Georgia Tech serves 44,000 students through top-ranked graduate and undergraduate programs ranging from engineering and science to business, computing, design, and liberal arts, and receives more than $1.2 billion in research awards every year.
Cabrera came to Georgia Tech on Sept. 1, 2019, after serving for seven years as president of George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia. During his presidency, GMU joined the top tier of research universities in the Carnegie Classification and was the fastest growing institution in the state. Before leading GMU, Cabrera was president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of Arizona State University, and dean of IE Business School in Madrid.
Cabrera has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, a “Star of Europe” by Bloomberg Businessweek, a “Henry Crown Fellow” by the Aspen Institute, and a “Great Immigrant” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He has received honorary degrees from Miami Dade College and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Cabrera serves on the boards of the National Geographic Society, Harvard College Visiting Committee, Atlanta Committee for Progress, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Bankinter Innovation Foundation in Spain. He has served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the advisory boards of Georgia Tech and Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, and three publicly traded companies. Cabrera earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology and cognitive science from Georgia Tech, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds a B.S. and an M.S. in computer and electrical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Florencia Librizzi is an international attorney and a sustainable development professional with 15+ years of experience. She has served multiple leadership positions in the global higher education and sustainability space including her roles as Senior Advisor to Sulitest, Guardian for the Global Responsibility Leadership Initiative (GRLI), and as a co-Chair of the United Nations Higher Education for Sustainability Initiative (HESI) where she helped scale up the impact of higher education for the SDGs by bringing together and mobilizing key stakeholders. In previous years, she served as the Head of Program and Partnerships, SDG Academy, leading the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and led global strategic initiatives at the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, United Nations Global Compact Office, two of the largest UN launched global academic networks. Florencia also served in multiple capacities as a legal advisor, attorney, mediator, human rights practitioner and as an academic and researcher. Currently, Florencia also serves as the Director of Civil Society Engagement at the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP), an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to provide pro bono legal services to governments, civil society organizations and social enterprises in the Global South, to advance the rule of law and economic development that is inclusive, just, accountable, and sustainable. Florencia received her first law degree magna cum laude from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, School of Law. She earned her Masters of Laws (LL.M.) at NYU School of Law. She is a member of the New York Bar and has served on the Board of Directors, and Advisory Boards of several non-for-profit organizations. She has addressed issues of education, policy and leadership for sustainable development to diverse audiences in all continents around the world.

María Cortés Puch is the Vice President of Networks of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
She joined SDSN in 2013 and currently leads its efforts to build a global network of universities, research centers and civil society organizations that pursue sustainable development locally through research, public education, executive training, convening of social stakeholders and incubation of solutions. Maria represents the SDSN as Commissioner to the Pathfinder Lancet Commission and co-leads the SDSN Europe, contributing to its publications, such as the 2021 Europe Sustainable Development Report. She co-edited the 2020 SDSN guide Accelerating Education for the SDGs in Universities.
Prior to joining the SDSN, María worked for UNESCO at the Science Policy and Sustainable Development Division for two years. Previously, she coordinated the European energy and transport programs at the Polytechnic University in Madrid, and worked for two years as a Scientific Officer at the Spanish Office for Science and Technology in Brussels, analyzing EU policies for international cooperation, transport and energy. She began her professional career with the National Institute of Aerospace Technology in Madrid as a Technology Transfer Officer.
Maria holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (Fulbright scholar) and BSc. and MSc. degrees in Physics from the Complutense University in Madrid (with one year at Paris VII as an Erasmus scholar). She currently lives in Madrid with her family.

Gift Achuenu is a purpose-driven individual with a keen interest in Sustainable Development Goals. He has led and served across Youth-led organizations locally and internationally pioneering sustainable development projects and initiatives. He is a member of staff of the Youth Sustainable Development Network; putting youths at the forefront of sustainable development.

A special thank you to the 2022 UGC conference planning committee:
Arturo Condo, President, EARTH University (Committee Chair)
Afroditi Anastasaki, Partnerships Consultant, Office of Executive Director, UNITAR
Stefano Battilossi, Associate Professor, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Sally Crimmins Villela, Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, State University of New York
Drew Cutright, Senior Strategy Consultant, Georgia Institute of Technology
Gbemi Disu, Executive Director, Carnegie Mellon University Africa
Silvia Gallart Parramon, Directora, Undidad de Relaciones Institucionales y Desarrollo Sostenible, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Luis Gillen, Professor, EARTH University
Samuel Karanja, Strategy Consultant, Georgia Institute of Technology
Emine Mavi, Adjunct Instructor, Koç University
Joanna Regulska, Vice Provost and Dean – Global Affairs, Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, University of California, Davis
Paola Visconti Arizpe, Líder de Vinculación Estratégica, Tecnológico de Monterrey

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