Victoria Herrmann is a storyteller and geographer working with communities around the world on climate change adaptation. As a National Geographic Explorer, Assistant Research Professor at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute, she has spent the past decade leading research initiatives and directing capacity building programs to support communities adapt on the front lines of the climate crisis and safeguard their cultural heritage. Victoria is the Director of Preserving Legacies: A Future for Our Past, a National Geographic project that empowers communities worldwide with the scientific knowledge and technical training to implement climate adaptation plans to safeguard their cultural heritage.  A recognized expert in Arctic climate policy, Victoria has testified before the US House and Senate, served as the Alaska Review Editor for the National Climate Assessment, and was named as one of the ‘World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy’ by Apolitical. She has previously served as the President and Managing Director of The Arctic Institute, a White House Fellow, a Fulbright awardee to Canada, a Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellow, and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, where she received her PhD.

Will oversees key educational and programmatic elements of Preserving Legacies, including climate and heritage literacy and adapting risk assessment methodologies to diverse sites and places. He is an archeologist with a focus on island cultures, and heritage management specialist working at the intersection of climate change and cultural heritage. He firmly believes in the power of heritage as an enabler for meaningful and sustainable climate action. He is currently a focal point for climate change at the International Council of Monuments and Sites and head of its Climate Action Working Group. He teaches at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he lives with his family. He has been involved in a range of projects exploring themes of climate communication, vulnerability assessment, and integrating culture into climate policy. He remains an active field archeologist with a project in the Shetland Islands exploring culture and identity on the margins of the European Neolithic. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Lond and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Khansa enables all project logistics of Preserving Legacies' operations in over 20 countries. An architect by training, Khansa Bouaziz began her career at the National Heritage Institute in Tunisia, working on four different heritage sites, three of which were World Heritage Sites. Her academic background is varied and multifaceted, having studied architecture, urbanism, archaeology, heritage conservation and site management. Most of her research is related to desert studies, heritage interpretation technology and climate resilience. Currently, Khansa is a doctoral researcher at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany, where she's based. Her research focuses on ethnic minorities, cultural tourism and climate change in southern Tunisia. She's also a member of the executive bureau of ICOMOS Tunisia.

Andrew Potts coordinates the Secretariat of the Climate Heritage Network, which is hosted by the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The CHN is an international network of community organisations, cultural operators, government agencies, universities, civil society, and businesses committed to unlocking the power of culture from arts to heritage to help people imagine and realise low-carbon, just, climate resilient futures. Andrew formerly served as the Coordinator of the ICOMOS Climate Change and Heritage Working Group. A lawyer by training, his law practice originally focused on arranging public and private finance for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and then expanded to financing for culture-based sustainable development projects more generally. He has made culture and climate change his focus since 2015. 

Salma spearheads the integration of cutting-edge climate heritage science and methodologies, delivering training in climate model and data downscaling. Through her work, she fosters co-creation, inclusivity, and integration of plural knowledge systems into Preserving Legacies workshops, and facilitates partnerships between communities, heritage professionals, and climate science organizations. Salma holds a double physical and environmental engineering degree from the University of Liege, Belgium, and Ecole Centrale Paris, France. Her interdisciplinary PhD research at the University of Southampton focused on the risk, vulnerability, and resilience of coastal Natural World Heritage Sites and communities to climate change and sea-level rise. Salma has collaborated with esteemed researchers, participated in international research projects, and published in premiere journals including Environmental Research Letters and Nature Climate Change. Salma has consulted for local governments and international organizations, including the IPCC, ICOMOS, UNESCO, the World Bank, and UNDP, on heritage, climate change, waste management, coastal management, and environmental issues. She actively promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion and has received recognition for her engagement in public outreach, fundraising, and collaborate projects. In her personal life, Salma raises awareness about climate change, participates in political actions, supports various causes, and enjoys activities such as tending to a collective garden, exploring nature, and playing saxophone. Through her multifaceted pursuits, Salma embodies an unwavering commitment to co-creating positive change and forging a more sustainable and vibrant future for all. Get in touch with Salma at Salma.Sabour@heritageadapts.org.

Julianne Polanco builds partnerships for Preserving Legacies and the communities the program supports to reach further in our collective impact. Julianne is a heritage professional with more than two decades of experience, from the international to local levels, focused on building rehabilitation, historic site stewardship, cultural heritage, climate change, and public policy. Her extensive work in the natural resources, environmental, and land conservation arenas has been on behalf of a member of Congress, California Governors, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. Currently the California State Historic Preservation Officer, Julianne oversees preservation laws, working in collaboration with Tribal nations, adjacent communities, federal and state agencies, and non-governmental organizations, to steward cultural and historic resources. She is dedicated to helping ensure that the stories of all communities are present in the rich and beautiful mosaic of our shared history. A primary focus of her work is on the intersection of cultural heritage and climate action, the voices of communities to create a just, low carbon, resilient future. Julianne is a founding member and Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Climate Heritage Network and a Fellow of the Urban Land Institute's Sustainability Council. Julianne Polanco has served as a commissioner on the California State Historical Resources Commission Since 2005, for the last three years as chair, and as Director of Cultural Resources for Lend Lease since 2006. She was Senior Preservation Specialist at the Presidio Trust from 1999 to 2006, and Assistant to the Vice President for programs at the World Monuments Fund from 1998 to 1999. Her professional work as also included serving as Advisor to the Chairman of California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Délie Ronsin-Quéchon joined the ICOMOS Secretariat in June 2022, as Project Assistant. She is charged with following-up the administrative and financial aspects of ICOMOS’ projects, and supporting their coordination. ICOMOS is the lead coordinating partner and financial manager of the Preserving Legacies project grant, and Délie acts as the ICOMOS liaison. Her past experiences also include coordinating national and international projects linking Cultural Rights, Climate Action, Territorial Cooperation and Social Economy within a network of cultural associations.

Sarah’s (Ngāti Whakaue) role as Education and Knowledge director is to develop key climate literacy and heritage training pedagogy, with a particular focus on democratizing knowledge, making it more accessible globally and integrating different knowledge systems into heritage practice. She is a trained archaeologist and heritage management specialist, with a particular passion in utilising plural knowledge systems to collaboratively explore and design transformative and equitable adaptation actions and pathways for communities and their heritage. This also includes mobilising the effective power of heritage in wider climate action and justice narratives. She has collaboratively worked on a number of research projects with international organizations (ICOMOS, ICCROM, UNESCO, IPCC), and is also part of ICOMOS Climate Action Working Group, all with a focus on working through the complexities and synergies of climate change action and heritage. She has also taught and developed courses at University of Waikato in the world’s first Bachelor of Climate Change.

Michael Snyder is a photographer, filmmaker, and educator exploring the dynamic relationship between environmental and cultural change. As Media and Communications Director, he is responsible for overseeing our visual storytelling and public engagement goals. An environmental and climate scientist by training, Snyder uses his combined knowledge of visual storytelling and conservation to create narratives that drive social impact. His work has been featured by outlets such as National Geographic, The Guardian, and The Washington Post. He's been honored by awards such as the Portrait of Humanity Award, the Decade of Change Award, The Welcome Prize for Photography, and the LensCulture Portrait Awards. Snyder is a Pulitzer Grantee, a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication at Syracuse University's Newhouse School in New York. In 2021 he was a featured speaker at the United Nations Climate Conference. In 2022, the University of Edinburgh named him one of its most “influential alumni making a significant contribution to climate science and justice.”

Elizabeth Carpio is a marketing content creator who focuses on environmental storytelling. As a creative pioneer in sustainable storytelling, she elevates communities, cultures, and ecosystem conservation. She has worked as a freelancer covering stories ranging from independent documentaries to environmental initiatives in the U.S. Capitol. She has co-founded two companies, DCREA LLC, a boutique digital marketing agency that has worked with renowned clients globally; and Miel Yabo, a raw honey production company that explores the intersection between cultural and environmental conservation impacts in Venezuela.

Tina is an architectural conservator and with a decade of experience in managing non-profits. With over 20 years experience in managing diverse projects with varied stakeholders in New York and Manila, she will manage six sites with the process of achieving a values-based climate change risk assessment. Tina completed her M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, and was Senior Conservator at Integrated Conservation Resources, Inc., New York City, where her projects included the United Nations Building complex, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Federal Reserve Bank. She then founded her own firm, T. Paterno Conservation Inc., with projects such as the Times Square Theater, New York. Returning to the Philippines, she co-founded the San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation, Inc. as was its executive and technical director. A primary focus of this work was extensive fundraising, managing a global technical team of over 100 volunteers, diagnosing deterioration, and co-creating a sustainable organization. For this work, she was awarded the Outstanding Manila Medallion of Honor, conferred by the City of Manila. As the immediate past president of ICOMOS Philippines from 2017-2023, she spearheaded initiatives towards organizational sustainability, graduation of over 42 interns, and building of Institutional partnerships with UNESCO, the academe and civil service organizations.