Kurt Shickman

Executive Director, Global Cool Cities Alliance

Kurt Shickman is the Executive Director of the Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA), a non-profit dedicated to accelerating the use of passive cooling solutions in urban and rural communities around the world to enhance their resilience to extreme heat. GCCA works with over 40 global cities as part of the Cool Cities Network, with a focus on knowledge sharing, awareness raising, research, and policy development. He serves as an expert to the Clean Energy Solutions Center and has led projects for the U.S. Department of Energy, Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Clean Energy Ministerial. Kurt is the lead author of the Primer for Cool Cities: Reducing Excessive Urban Heat, published by the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program and the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities program, which details passive cooling options for cities and a roadmap for developing and implementing policy promoting heat resilience. Prior to launching GCCA in 2011, Kurt was the Director of Research for the United Nations Foundation's Energy and Climate Team. Kurt holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from Wake Forest University.