Monica Araya, Ph.D.
Policy Adviser | Strategist | Board Director
Climate, Environment, Economy
For over 25 years, Monica has worked with leaders in government, business, philanthropy, and advocacy on accelerating climate action with a focus on Latin America, Europe and the U.S.
She worked as a strategist of several initiatives, boards, and international campaigns. She is a Director of the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI)’s Governing Board, and a member of Advisory Board at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She is a member of Drive Electric’s Steering Committee composed of key strategic philanthropies. She helped develop Costa Rica’s national decarbonization plan, was a Special Adviser to the High-Level Champion for Climate Action at COP26. Her TED talks on climate solutions have over five million views.Before Monica was Distinguished Fellow at ClimateWorks Foundation. For her work on electrification, she was included in the list of “BBC 100 Women” in 2021.
Most recently, Monica was the Executive Director of the European Climate Foundation's (ECF) international programs and a member of the organization's Executive Management Team. She oversaw work and grant-making on trade, diplomacy, decarbonization plans, and global climate politics in that capacity.
Previously, Monica worked at the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica, Climate Change Capital, the UN negotiations and E3G. In Costa Rica she co-founded Costa Rica Limpia, a citizen group, which successfully advocated for a national fossil-free plan 2018-2050. She obtained at Masters in Economic Policy at the National University in Costa Rica and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Management from Yale University.
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