>Dr. Joe Leitmann is an international specialist on resilience and founder of Rapid Assessment, Planning and Implementation for Development (RAPID) LLC.  He is the Executive Director of the University of California Disaster Resilience Network and provides consulting services to the United Nations, the World Bank and the U.S. Foreign Service Institute.

Prior to retirement from World Bank in 2020, Dr. Leitmann was the Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist, heading teams on Resilient Recovery and Urban Resilience at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.  During his career at the Bank, Joe led or contributed to:

• Spearheading financing for renewable/clean energy and energy for the poor before it was fashionable (in the 1980s)
• Developing the first tools and strategies for urban environment projects, resulting in a multi-billion dollar portfolio
• Leading an innovative program on rainforest conservation that facilitated the return of project lending in the Brazilian Amazon after a 20-year hiatus
• Managing over $1 billion in multi-donor funds for effective post-disaster reconstruction following the tsunami in Indonesia and earthquake in Haiti
• Forging the first integrated climate change program in Indonesia, including early development of REDD+ methods and markets

He has worked in over 40 countries and held long-term assignments in Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Haiti, and the South Pacific (the latter as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer).  Dr. Leitmann holds a PhD in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley and a Master’s from the Harvard Kennedy School.  He is the author of a textbook on urban environmental management (SUSTAINING CITIES), co-author of INVESTING IN URBAN RESILIENCE and numerous articles.