NOTE: Session 21.2, Big Picture Questions on Climate Migration Policy has been canceled, however, one of the presentations will be combined with the Keynote Address. This keynote session will feature Sarah Rosengartner and Laurie Ashley in conversation.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Sarah Rosengaertner
PANELIST
Laurie Ashley, Resilience and Climate Adaptation Specialist
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
2:00pm-2:30pm EST
Session 20.1
What's in a concept? Unpacking Climate Mobility.
Sarah Rosengaertner
Deputy Managing Director, Global Centre for Climate Mobility
BIO
Sarah Rosengaertner is the Deputy Managing Director of the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM). She leads the GCCM’s regional initiatives in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean and directs its Knowledge & Policy Hub. She was a Fellow at the Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility and regularly serves as a Lecturer at Columbia University.
Before joining the GCCM, Sarah was a senior advisor at the Open Society Foundations, where she helped create city-based coalitions such as the Mayors' Migration Council, the Mayors Mechanism of the Global Forum on Migration & Development, and the Africa-Europe Mayors Dialogue.
Previously, Sarah advised UN agencies, governments, and global leaders including The Elders and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Migration, the late Peter Sutherland. She played a coordinating role in aligning stakeholders' policy proposals for the Global Compact for Migration and has co-authored several agenda-setting global policy reports related to migration governance.
Sarah began her career at the UN Institute for Training and Research, conducting workshops for the New York diplomatic community. She holds degrees in political science from the Free University of Berlin and Sciences Po Paris.
Laurie Ashley
BIO
Laurie Ashley is a Climate Resilience Specialist with over 20 years of experience globally. She specializes in advancing climate resilience considerations in decision-making and serves as an advisor on policy and programming. Laurie has advised USAID and its partners on climate adaptation policy and programming, represented the United States on the UNFCCC Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG), and led climate and migration efforts at USAID. Her background includes designing, implementing, and advising climate adaptation and resilience strategies and programs in food and water security, climate information services, and more.
ABSTRACT
A reflection on approaches to climate and migration from the USAID experience Climate-related displacement and migration have implications across the spectrum of development and humanitarian focus areas including livelihoods, food and water security, education, and governance. USAID addressed climate-related displacement and migration by working with communities and migrants to limit displacement and support safer and more productive migration pathways, including in sending and receiving communities. As climate impacts increasingly drive displacement and migration, we can glean insights and lessons from the USAID experience and aspirations.