Economy Archives - ClimateWorks Foundation

Helen Mountford

Helen Mountford is the president and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a global platform for philanthropy to innovate and scale high-impact climate solutions that benefit people and the planet. She brings almost 30 years of global experience at the intersection of environmental action, economic development, and climate policy to her role.

Before joining ClimateWorks, Helen was the vice president of climate and economics at World Resources Institute where she led global teams to advance policies and economic approaches to successfully address climate change. Helen was also the program director for the New Climate Economy project, a flagship initiative of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate that provided independent and authoritative evidence on actions which can both strengthen climate ambition and deliver social and economic benefits.

Helen previously was the deputy director of environment for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She worked at OECD for over 16 years advising governments on policy reforms and overseeing work on green fiscal reform, climate change finance and economics, fossil fuel subsidy reforms, green growth, water pricing, biodiversity incentive measures, and economy-environment outlooks and modeling. Prior to joining the OECD, Helen managed recycling schemes in England and worked for an NGO in Australia.

Helen holds Masters degrees in Environmental Economics from University College London and Environmental Management from the University of Melbourne. She has a BA in Philosophy and History.

Rebecca Fisher

Rebecca Fisher is the Drive Electric Program Director. She has almost 15 years of experience in sustainable international development, climate finance, and electric vehicle technology and policy.

Prior to moving back to the West Coast, Rebecca was a climate finance negotiator for the Obama Administration, representing the United States during the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals negotiations. Before joining ClimateWorks, Rebecca worked on light-duty EV grant programs and policy development at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. She previously served on the National Board of Directors of the U.S. Electric Vehicle Association and currently sits on the board of Charge Across Town.

Rebecca holds a Master of Environment Economics and Sustainable International Development from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brandeis University.

Siddarthan Balasubramania

Siddarthan Balasubramania is a Principal Strategist at ClimateWorks Foundation, advising ClimateWorks and partner foundations on their strategies, programs, and partnerships.

He is an expert in climate change mitigation and adaptation, including green policy, international energy policy, and low-carbon development. Siddarthan was previously a Senior Advisor at ClimateWorks, where he acted as a bridge between international and Indian philanthropies around climate change and energy.

Siddarthan came to ClimateWorks after serving as the India Country Representative for the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international organization promoting global green policies. Siddarthan worked at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, D.C., where he served as Director of the major emerging economies initiative in climate change and energy programs. He brings knowledge of techno-economic analysis of green growth opportunities from previous roles as a senior advisor on climate change to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Royal Norwegian Embassy (NORAD). Siddarthan also managed an extensive portfolio of environment and natural resource management projects as a deputy program manager at the Department for International Development (DFID).

Siddarthan holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in India.

Jan Mazurek, Ph.D.

Jan Mazurek, PhD directs the Aviation and Carbon Dioxide Removal initiatives. She has worked on energy and environmental initiatives at the federal and state level for 30 years. Prior to ClimateWorks, Dr. Mazurek was appointed by then-Governor Schwarzenegger to serve as Science and Technology advisor to the California Air Resources Board. Dr. Mazurek recently served in her spare time on the Biden Climate/Energy/Environment Policy Committee. Before CARB, Dr. Mazurek was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, advising on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency toxics, pesticides, and children’s health issues. She has published two books with the MIT Press and Johns Hopkins University presses, respectively, and more than 100 other publications, including op-eds in major U.S. newspapers. Dr. Mazurek has testified on environmental policy matters before U.S. Congressional subcommittees. She holds a doctorate from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Surabi Menon

Dr. Surabi Menon is a leading climate scientist with over 25 years of experience in the field of climate change and vice president of Global Intelligence at ClimateWorks Foundation.

At ClimateWorks, Surabi plays a pivotal role advancing climate philanthropy by offering a global perspective on climate solutions, identifying investment trends, funding gaps, and action on high-impact opportunities. In 2023, Surabi served as the Executive Director of Partnerships for the UAE government for the Conference of Parties (COP28) in the UAE.

Surabi is currently a member of the advisory council of the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium, and Chair of the Science Advisory Council for the Carbon Technology Research Foundation, based in Oxford, UK. She was a charter member of the U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (2012-2018) and has served on many other Boards and advisory councils.

Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Surabi was a climate scientist at Columbia University and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and later a staff scientist and leader of the Heat Island Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California. She has published numerous peer-reviewed publications and co-authored the 2007 IPCC report that was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. She has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science and an MBA in Sustainable Management.