Leila Yim Surratt is Director of Strategic Partnerships for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. In this role, Leila is responsible for strengthening and growing partnerships that support local leaders and implement innovative urban solutions.

Prior to this role, Surratt served as the Director of Strategy and Engagement for P4G, WRI’s Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals by 2030 initiative. She was responsible for engaging with partner countries, businesses, financiers and civil society to support and accelerate innovative public-private partnerships.

Before joining WRI, Surratt served as Chief Operating Officer and Interim-CEO at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), where she led efforts to support developing countries in Latin America and Asia to strengthen and implement their NDCs in the energy, waste and transport sectors. Surratt also directed CCAP’s research and policy analysis on climate finance and policy development, and previously managed CCAP’s domestic climate policy initiative—a multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on developing pragmatic solutions for climate change in the United States.

She previously worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Texas and in the Administrator’s Office in Washington, D.C., where she evaluated all major air quality rules prior to promulgation. In addition to her policy experience, Surratt brings private sector expertise, having worked in several industries as a management consultant for Bain and Company and as a software product manager at McKesson-HBOC.

Surratt holds an MBA from Stanford University, where she focused on public and private sector initiatives relating to the environment, and a BA in Economics with high honors from Yale University. She is passionate about hiking, National Parks and spending time with her husband and three children.