Deputy Executive Director, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)

Marcella Ohira is the Deputy Executive Director and Director for Capacity Building at the Inter- American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). She has a Master of Arts degree in International Relations, International Economics, and Science, Technology, and the Environment from the Johns Hopkins University/The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, DC, USA and Bologna, Italy, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Brasilia, Brazil. Marcella has designed and launched innovative capacity building programs at the IAI to foster science-policy interface, science advise, and diplomacy, transdisciplinary research training, and the development of multinational networks, such as the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) Fellowship Program; and the Inter/Transdisciplinary Training and Seed Grant program for IAI’s 19 member countries. She has also led and organized over 50 IAI training events on several global environmental change issues of policy relevance. Marcella has managed a number of IAI initiatives and grants from the MacArthur Foundation, the US National Science Foundation, and other organizations. She also conducts negotiations and develops partnerships with national and international authorities and institutions. She is responsible for proposing strategies, programs and activities to promote global change research, capacity building and the uptake of science to support decision-making. She worked in international technical cooperation at the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and the Division of Technical and Technological Cooperation of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, Marcella also worked at the US NOAA ́s Office of Global Programs (OGP) in support of regional global change organizations. Marcella Ohira has also served as a consultant to other public and private companies.