Engineering action for climate, nature and people
About Us
We work to accelerate the innovation, adoption, and scaling of people-centred, nature-positive infrastructure solutions that support sustainable development. By placing engineers at the forefront of climate action, ICSI connects practical expertise with urgent global needs, developing and scaling solutions that deliver real-world impact where it matters most.
Our Core Values
Action & Innovation
Knowledge-sharing
Leadership
Inclusion & Partnership
Future-focussed
Our approach to engineering change
We break down silos between key infrastructure stakeholders to spur action on mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. We do this through three main avenues:
Infrastructure choices are often made without engineering expertise at the table. We change that, championing the engineering perspective and turning technical evidence into language that decision-makers can act on.
Good advocacy needs good evidence. We produce the data, frameworks, and practical guidance that show what resilient and sustainable infrastructure looks like and how to deliver it.
We need engineers with the right skills, in the right places. We address capacity gaps in the workforce, equipping engineers to deliver resilient, nature-positive, and inclusive infrastructure.
Advocacy makes the case. Research proves it. Capacity building delivers it.
Our Team
Savina Carluccio
Executive Director
Savina Carluccio
Executive Director
Savina is the Executive Director of the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI) and a fervent advocate of the role of civil engineers in tackling our society’s biggest challenges.
She is an experienced Civil Engineer and infrastructure practitioner with almost two decades of experience advising government, infrastructure owners and operators, multi-lateral development banks and NGOs to develop and implement inclusive, sustainable and resilient infrastructure that is fit for the future.
Prior to taking her role at ICSI, she worked as an Associate Director and infrastructure advisor at Arup and she was the Head of Guidance and Standards at the Resilience Shift. She also serves a member of Institution of Civil Engineers’ Advisory Board on sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
UK
Gemma Cowan
Senior Project Manager
Gemma Cowan
Senior Project Manager
Gemma is the Senior Project Manager for Resilience Rising and ICSI. Prior to this, she worked as Communications Manager for The Resilience Shift and ICSI.
Gemma has communications experience in the commercial and development sectors, and spent many years working with marginalised groups in Cape Town’s townships, sharing their stories and working alongside them to create sustainable socio-economic change in their communities. She is skilled in external communications, advocacy, strategy, and project management. Prior to joining The Resilience Shift, Gemma took a career break to complete an MSc Sustainable Development, focusing her research on the effect of gender equity on apparel value chains. Gemma’s core interests lie at the intersection of social justice and climate change issues; she applies a systems approach to problem-solving and believes that solutions to these challenges need to be inclusive, community-led and holistic.
UK
Fruzsina Csala
Project Coordinator
Fruzsina Csala
Project Coordinator
Fruzsina is a Project Coordinator at the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI).
Before joining ICSI, she gained experience managing diverse urban-scale projects promoting sustainability, climate resilience, and social inclusiveness. At the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, she was a project manager and researcher for the GreenInCities Horizon Europe project, which focused on the co-design and implementation of nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation. Previously, Fruzsina was a communication trainee at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy. Prior to that, she was responsible for public engagement and citizen participation in large-scale rail infrastructure projects in Budapest, Hungary.
Fruzsina holds a double MSc in Urban Studies from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Université Libre de Bruxelles, as well as a BA in Art and Design Theory from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest.
George Karagiannis
Risk and Resilience Director
George Karagiannis
Risk and Resilience Director
George is responsible for the development of a risk and resilience programme in the organisation, leading on multiple projects and initiatives including the Turning the World Risk Poll into Action project, funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
From 2019 to 2022, he was Greece’s Deputy Secretary-General for Civil Protection. Before that, he was Technical Officer at the European Commission Joint Research Center, where his area of expertise revolved around emergency management, critical infrastructure protection and hybrid threats. Prior to joining the Joint Research Center, he was a Disaster Management Consultant. He has worked in four countries, developed two strategic national risk assessments, helped organize over 60 exercises, developed a dozen emergency operations plans and responded to disasters in the field. He also was a Research Scientist at the Technical University of Crete in Greece, where his interdisciplinary research lay at the intersection of systems engineering and disaster resilience.
George earned his Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from Saint-Etienne School of Mines in France. He also holds degrees in Civil Engineering, Disaster Management and Business Administration, and is a Certified Emergency Manager by the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Greece
Katie Momber
Senior Programme Manager
Katie Momber
Senior Programme Manager
Katie is Senior Programme Manager at the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI), where she is responsible for the coordination and delivery of projects and activities in ICSI’s portfolio.
Prior to joining ICSI full-time in July 2024, Katie held a dual role of Climate Community Manager at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and Programme Manager at ICSI. Katie worked in ICE’s Engineering Knowledge team for over 4 years, managing projects and networks of experts under the sustainability theme.
Her experience of working on sustainable and resilient infrastructure knowledge production at both ICE and ICSI has nurtured a keen interest in how collaboration across the value chain can promote infrastructure that delivers additional societal and environmental benefits. Katie’s previous professional experience has been in the UK Charity Sector, and prior to this she completed an MSc at UCL on Environment, Politics and Society, and also has a Human Geography BA.
UK
Our Board
Seth Schultz
CEO, Resilience Rising
Seth Schultz
CEO, Resilience Rising
Seth is CEO of Resilience Rising. A globally recognized innovator and thought leader, he has a long track record of building consensus and initiating change in the field of sustainable development, urban climate action and resilient infrastructure. He is a passionate advocate for solutions that advance a safe, resilient and sustainable future, the need for transformative decarbonisation and long-term resilience.
Over the past two decades, Seth has worked with many of the most leading and innovative organisations in this space to turn theory into practice, including the Louis Berger Group, the US Green Building Council, the Clinton Foundation, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Global Covenant of Mayors, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Resilience Shift.
Seth shares his expertise through involvement with various boards and advisory councils, is a sought-after speaker and guest lecturer, and has authored numerous articles, reports, blogs and thought leadership pieces around the world.
Michael S. Bruno
Board Chair, Resilience Rising
Michael S. Bruno
Board Chair, Resilience Rising
Michael S. Bruno is the Provost at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to his appointment, he was the Dean of the School of Engineering and Science, and Professor of Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. He was also the Director of the Center for Maritime Security, a Department of Homeland Security National Center of Excellence. Dr. Bruno’s research and teaching interests include ocean observation systems, climate change, and community resilience. He is the author of more than 100 technical publications in various aspects of these fields, including the book, The Urban Ocean, published by Cambridge University Press in 2018. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Bruno is also a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He received the Denny Medal from the Institute of Marine Engineering in 2007. Dr. Bruno holds a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a PhD degree in Civil and Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Tom Lewis, PE, JD
Board of Directors, Resilience Rising
Tom Lewis, PE, JD
Board of Directors, Resilience Rising
Tom Lewis is a national and international climate, resilience and sustainability business leader and senior advisory consultant representing and working with private sector organizations, governmental organizations, and non-profit/non-governmental organizations in various capacities.
His most recent focus has been for WSP USA and WSP Global, as a CRS business line leader and working across the company in various capacities inclusive of its Future Ready, innovation and ESG programs.Prior to its acquisition and integration by WSP in 2019, Tom served as president of Louis Berger U.S. and a corporate board member, and prior to that as its lead executive on environment services, emergency management, disaster response and recovery, sustainability, and climate resilience working across the U.S. as well as globally. Across his 35-year professional career, Tom has also served on a variety of organizational and advisory boards and committees promoting sustainable and resilient infrastructure, environmental stewardship, emergency management and disaster recovery. This specifically includes the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure, Resilience First, the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Sustainability Advisory Board, and the Disaster Recovery Contractors Association. Tom holds both a BS and MS in Civil Engineering and a JD with focus on environmental law/regulation. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) and passed the bar in multiple states.
Our Story
ICSI was formed at the end of 2019 when global leaders came together to identify the biggest barriers to infrastructure climate adaptation and resilience and to understand how the engineering community could act as a catalyst for action. It culminated in a signed declaration to move forward through a ‘Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure.’