Jesse DeMaria-Kinney is the Head of Secretariat of the Adaptation Research Alliance. He has 15 years of experience working at the interface of science-policy-practice in Asia, Africa and Latin America with international and local NGOs and the United Nations. His work has focused on the thematic areas of climate change adaptation, nature-based solutions and Research for Impact, including multi-stakeholder process design and facilitation. Previously, Jesse co-founded PlanAdapt, a network-based organisation focused on climate risk management & adaptation, and coordinated and managed Oxfam’s role as the Research-for-Impact (or research-into-use) lead partner in the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) consortium. Jesse holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies - Biology and Master's degrees in both Environmental Health and Decentralised International Cooperation.