Mr. David Smith is the director of the consulting company, Water, Environment and Business for Development. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Botany and Zoology (2000) and an Honors Degree in Limnology (2001) from the University of Cape Town (RSA). He has a Masters Degree in Water and Environmental Management from Loughborough University (UK) (2015) and is currently a PhD candidate at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Environmental Science and Technology. David has led more than 25 projects on environmental studies across the globe for clients such as the European Commission, the World Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the Global Green Growth Institute, the United Nations Development Organisation amongst others.

Tanja Miškova is Ambassador in charge of water diplomacy and circular economy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. During her diplomatic career she served as Director General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, as head of Department for Emerging Challenges, as Ambassador to Egypt, as Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Slovenia and as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Slovenia to Israel.

Johan Schaar is an Associate Senior Fellow with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and the vice chair of the Expert Group for Aid Studies under the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He worked at the World Resources Institute in Washington DC, and was the Director of the International Commission on Climate Change and Development. At Swedish Sida he led the Department for Climate Change and Environment, and the Humanitarian Unit, respectively. He holds a PhD from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and has working experience from the Middle East and SE Asia.

Jeannie Sowers is Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. Her research explores political and environmental change in the Middle East and North Africa and the impacts of war on civilians and ecosytems. Currently, she is a faculty fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, where she is working on a book titled Civilian Infrastructure and Humanitarian Assistance in Protracted Conflicts for Oxford University Press. She holds a PhD from Princeton University and BA from Harvard University, and serves on the editorial board of Global Environmental Politics.

Gidon Bromberg is the co-founder and 27 year Israel Director of EcoPeace Middle East. Mr. Bromberg has written extensively on the relationship between water issues and Middle East peace and has presented before the UN Security Council, UN Climate Summit, US Congress, European Parliament and other international forums. Mr. Bromberg, an attorney by profession, is an alumni of Monash University in Australia, Washington College of Law at American University and Yale University’s World Fellows program.