About

DISCLAIMER:  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF MY CURRENT OR PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS IN ANY WAY OR FORM.

I work at the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany supporting the international climate change negotiations on capacity building for developing countries and Article 6 of the Convention (education, public participation and outreach).

I was previously the Enhancing the Field Director at the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA), a network of over 200 private foundations working to support environmental work. I led EGA’s efforts to expand and encourage sustainable and inclusive practices throughout philanthropy, encourage responsible investment practices among foundations and facilitate collaboration with other sectors outside of environmental philanthropy.

During a bit of a sabbatical from doing international development/environmental work, I worked as the Hispanic Initiative Director at Junior Achievement of New York, where I planned and implemented the first effort to infuse diversity into the organization’s business model through creating an advisory council made up by high-profile Latino leaders in New York City.

I got my start at the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN), where I started as an intern, later became its Liaison to the United Nations, and finally became its Associate Director. This amazing opportunity allowed to promote youth participation at all levels of decision-making by creating partnerships and implementing programs with a variety of international development agencies.  Among many things, I led the organization’s work in promoting youth participation in environmental policy processes such as the UN Commission on Sustainable Development following the Johannesburg Summit and at the World Trade Organization. While at the GYAN, I also co-founded the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, a UNAIDS and UNFPA-supported alliance of young people working to battle the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I still remain involved with GYAN as an advisor to TakingITGlobal, its parent organization.

Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to work through short assignments with governments such as the regional government of Nuevo Leon in Mexico and the National Assembly of Wales, non-governmental organizations such as the Open Society Institute (OSI), and UN agencies such as the UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok and UNDP Guyana.

I have also spoken at dozen of events on issues related to youth participation, sustainable development, social entrepreneurship and climate change. If you are interested in hearing me speak at your event, please e-mail me at luis@luis-davila.com

I have a BS (Cum Laude) in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University (USA), and graduate coursework from the Inter-American Institute for Social Development, University of Ghent (Belgium), Charles University (Czech Republic) and the European Academy of Bolzano (Italy). I also am a StartingBloc fellow, an amazing organization promoting social entrepreneurship and innovation.