Our Team.
We are a diverse team of meteorology, communication and urban climate resilience experts. We have all either grown up or spent a large part of our working lives in some of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world. Please find details of our board here.
Our team has geographic expertise of climate and urban risk in the Asia- Pacific (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji and the Pacific Islands), Africa (Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Togo, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria), the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco), Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mark Harvey is the Founder and CEO of Resurgence, a global social enterprise that supports urban climate risk reduction and resilience. Resurgence clients and partners include the World Bank, UNDRR, the Met Office, FCDO, the Red Cross Climate Centre and Climate KIC. He has over 30 years experience of international climate, environment and humanitarian partnerships.
Mark is currently leading DARAJA, an award winning weather, climate and early warning services initiative, which has won awards from the Global Resilience Partnership and British Expertise International.
Mark is a member of the Urban Expert Group advising the UNDRR ‘Making Cities Resilient’ 2030 Campaign, and a contributor to the World Disasters Report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
He is a co-founder of the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network. Mark has degrees from Oxford and Harvard Universities, where he obtained a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) and won a William Starr Innovations Fellowship.
MARK HARVEY
Founder & CEO
Sunayana has world class expertise in digital media communication, technology and design. Following an early career at Facebook India, her focus is on the integration of information technology in disaster risk management. Her background in communications and marketing, and data analysis provides her a unique skill set for disaster risk communication.
MA in Disasters, Adaptation and Development from King’s College London
SUNAYANA SEN
Director of Programmes and Operations
Having qualified as an accountant over 25 years ago, with a BA (Hons) and MBA, Rob progressed to Finance Director roles within the private, public and third sectors. He then took on more wide ranging, general leadership roles. Having founded and sold his own business in the last few years he is ideally placed to support the growth of Resurgence.
BA (Hons) Accountancy University of Central Lancashire.
MBA Open University.
ROB HEZEL
Finance Director
Danila Gjini brings over 13 years of experience in funding, capital management, and strategy, including serving as a global lead for climate mitigation finance initiatives at J.P. Morgan Investment Banking. Her work focused on embedding decarbonisation objectives into financing and capital allocation decisions.
At Resurgence, Danila focuses on climate resilience and adaptation finance, shaping sustainable funding strategies that enable inclusive, community-centred solutions. She is also a champion for the responsible and ethical use of generative AI and digital technologies to improve climate risk communication and ensure critical information reaches communities most exposed to climate shocks.
DANILA GJINI
Lead, Climate Finance Innovation
Robert advises across the full spectrum of issues related to how weather forecasters can best meet the information needs of vulnerable communities. Following on an earlier career as an international correspondent for Reuters and IRIN, and supporting BBC Media Action’s humanitarian information programming, for the past five years Robert has been working with the UK Met Office and Resurgence to improve the format, content and reach of forecasts for farmers, fishermen and urban residents in East Africa.
ROBERT POWELL
Advisor, Climate and Weather Communications
Dilupa Nanayakkara is a strategic communications and marketing leader with over 20 years of experience spanning commercial media, climate resilience, and international development. She has built brand strategies, led multimedia campaigns, and delivered high-value partnerships across media organisations, global consumer brands, and climate-focused international programmes.
Most recently, Dilupa serves as Communications and Marketing Lead at Resurgence, where she supports global early warning and resilience programmes, including the award-winning DARAJA service. She leads brand visibility, strategic storytelling, and high-level donor communications, amplifying impact through multimedia campaigns and managing digital channels. She has extensive experience in video production and multimedia content creation, having produced over 20 short films across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, and Jamaica.
Dilupa brings proven expertise in securing strategic partnerships and driving revenue growth, having delivered over £250k in advertising partnerships and developed enterprise revenue streams across sectors. Her cross-platform communications expertise—developed through her early career with News UK, Bauer Media, and global brands including P&G, Unilever, and Coca-Cola—enables her to translate complex climate science into compelling narratives that drive engagement and action.
She contributes to global climate storytelling as an international conference event coordinator at UN Climate Weeks including COP26-COP29, co-authoring climate publications and organising expert workshops. She manages communications with organisations including Race to Resilience and the UK Met Office’s WISER programme, while maintaining an ongoing volunteer commitment to Virgin StartUp since 2016. She holds expertise in brand building, digital strategy, and business development, combining creative thinking with a results-driven approach to inspire meaningful climate action.
DILUPA NANAYAKKARA
Communications and Marketing Lead
Pascal Mukanga is an African urbanist committed to leading change that improves quality of life, strengthens climate resilience, promotes justice and inclusion, and fosters collaborations towards sustainable futures in cities across the East African region. His extensive experience includes leading participatory planning, public spaces, locally-led climate adaptation, early warning systems, infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem-based adaptation projects with communities living in areas most vulnerable to climate change.
Currently, Pascal oversees the implementation of the award-winning DARAJA early warning service in Kenya and Ethiopia while supporting its expansion across Africa, leading on-ground coordination with national meteorological services, city system actors, and community-based organisations to ensure weather and climate information products and services are co-produced, trusted, and used by communities and city sectors vulnerable to climate change.
As part of the Resurgence team, he brings his expertise in strengthening local forecasting systems and connecting climate science with everyday decision-making to advance climate preparedness for vulnerable cities and communities. Pascal holds an Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of Nairobi and is an Urban Climate Leadership Three Cairns Fellow with the Yale School of the Environment.
PASCAL MUKANGA
Project Manager – DARAJA
Esraa Elgadi is a project manager and architect with extensive experience in community resilience, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and climate change adaptation. She holds a degree in Architecture, an MBA, and certifications in project management and total quality management.
Currently, Esraa serves as a project manager at DARAJA East Africa, where she leads operations in Tanzania and supports DARAJA’s work in Kenya and Uganda. She is presently leading the DARAJA Sudan Emergency Forecasting and Early Warning Service, a nationwide initiative that supports conflict-affected communities across Sudan in preparing for extreme weather events. In this role, she coordinates with national institutions, humanitarian partners, and local communities to deliver clear, timely, and accessible weather forecasts and early warnings, complemented by practical preparedness guidance. Her work enables communities to reduce risks from floods, extreme heat, and other weather hazards while navigating the additional challenges posed by conflict and displacement.
Previously, she contributed to national recovery and resilience efforts in Sudan as the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport’s delegate to the Supreme Committee for Flood Risk Mitigation in 2020. She also served as the National Transport Sector Lead for Sudan’s Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework (PDNRA), conducted in collaboration with the World Bank, UNDP, and WFP. Additionally, between 2022 and 2023, she led a community-based climate resilience research project on Tuti Island, focusing on heritage conservation, local knowledge systems, and climate risk assessment.
ESRAA ELGADI
Project Manager – DARAJA
Joseph Manzvera is a multi-award-winning Applied Agricultural Economist and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) expert with extensive experience working across rural settings and urban vulnerable communities in climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, and agricultural policy. His work emphasises community-centred, evidence-based solutions through applied research and participatory approaches that generate stakeholder-driven insights and locally relevant outcomes.
Joseph has been widely recognised for his innovation and research excellence, receiving honours including Africa’s Brightest Young Minds (2017), the RUFORUM Young African Innovator Award (2018), the Outstanding Research Award from the Research Council of Zimbabwe (2019), the RUFORUM Young Scientist Award (2022), and the DOCTAS Research Fellowship Award from PASET RSIF with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (2024).
As part of the Resurgence team, he brings his expertise in climate services, agricultural economics, and applied MEL to support evidence-based decision-making for climate preparedness in vulnerable cities and communities.
He holds a PhD in Applied Agricultural Economics and Policy from the University of Ghana, an MSc in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, and a First-Class BSc Honours Degree in Agricultural Economics and Management from Bindura University of Science Education, alongside a strong portfolio of peer-reviewed publications and policy briefs.
JOSEPH MANZVERA
Lead, Monitoring Evaluation & Learning
Sarrah Fofanah is an operations and finance professional with experience across UK charities and international NGOs. She brings a strong background in financial management, governance, and operational systems, supporting organisations to operate efficiently, transparently, and in line with donor and regulatory requirements. She enjoys building practical systems, improving processes, and helping teams understand their finances so they can focus on delivering meaningful social impact.
SARAH FOFANAH
Admin & Finance Associate
With an architecture background Oscar has worked as a consultant, advisor and co-ordinator for projects with humanitarian organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Intern-American Development Bank (IADB).
Through Oscar’s early career and volunteer experience, he has also worked in several countries of Latin America.
He holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation Sustainable and Emergency Architecture, which has enabled him to support and advise various urban upgrading initiatives and humanitarian infrastructure projects related to Shelter, Water & Sanitation.
MSc in International Cooperation, Sustainable & Emergency Architecture
International University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
OSCAR CARTAGENA
Programme Associate, Latin America & Caribbean
Urban planner and international project and brand management specialist. Prior ten-year career experience in the healthcare industry (Philippines and China), with expertise in commercial, operational, strategic development, and stakeholder management. Has worked on key projects with a focus on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction and resilience planning.
Masters in International Planning and Sustainable Development, Urban Risk and Resilience
JENNIFER JOY CHUA
Regional Advisor South East Asia
Ishna works at the intersection of climate policy, finance, and systems delivery, translating research and financial frameworks into scalable climate and development outcomes. She has collaborated closely with development finance institutions, investors, and global development organisations across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ishna holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, where her academic training focused on development economics and econometrics.
ISHNA R.
Project Coordinator, Asia
Emma Visman works independently with a range of multi-partner, climate resilience building consortia as well as being a Senior Researcher at King’s College London. Combining operational experience and practical policy development, she supports risk communication and monitoring, evaluation and learning to strengthen integration of climate risks within planning across timeframes and decision making levels.
EMMA VISMAN
Senior Advisor, Impact and Learning