Tegan Blaine was the Senior Climate Change Advisor and Climate Change Team Leader in USAID’s Bureau for Africa, where she set the strategic direction for USAID’s climate change investments in Africa and oversaw a team that provided thought leadership and technical support to USAID missions on climate change. She has also served as Vice President of the Life of the Extremes Impact Initiative at the National Geographic Society, worked on climate change and international development at McKinsey & Company, served as a policy advisor on water at the U.S. Department of State, and taught math and physics as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania, East Africa.
Tegan has a Ph.D. in oceanography and climate from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an Sc.B. in applied mathematics/biology from Brown University. She is currently an independent consultant.
With climate change impacts being felt across many parts of the world – particularly in fragile states and those least able to manage the risk – climate change has become a central part of the global sustainable development agenda. The concept of climate-resilient development is bringing core climate science into development strategies and programs, and posing significant questions about how development investments are made and how results are measured. This course will investigate the science of climate change, the impacts for developing countries, and the theoretical foundations of policy responses. It will also delve into the practical opportunities and challenges related to addressing climate change in developing countries and integrating climate change considerations into existing development approaches. The course readings and discussions will draw from a series of practical case studies showcasing efforts to translate theory and policy into concrete program activities.
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