Get to know our Experts

Xuan is a coastal resilience and flood management specialist with over 20 years of experience across Asia, North America, and the Pacific. With a PhD in Engineering from Tohoku University and advanced degrees from Sweden and Vietnam, he brings deep expertise in hydrodynamic modeling, sediment transport, and climate impact assessment. His work spans large-scale flood control projects, shoreline evolution studies, and climate-resilient infrastructure planning in Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, and beyond. A prolific researcher and published author, Nguyen is known for integrating advanced modeling with practical design to support sustainable, climate-smart development in vulnerable coastal and riverine systems.

Penny Dutton is a social specialist with 30 years of experience in water supply, sanitation and hygiene programs across the Asia Pacific region. Her ADB experience spans 15 projects and includes research, behaviour change communications, gender equity and social inclusion. She has participated in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of sanitation projects, while working with utilities, government ministries, and NGOs. Recently she helped develop guidance materials for ADB staff on City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation. Previously Penny reviewed CLTS progress in 14 countries in Asia Pacific for UNICEF; and led World Bank water and sanitation service delivery assessments for Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. She was WaterAid Myanmar Country Director from 2015 to 2018. Penny has a Masters degree in Social Planning and Development, a Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion, and completed the Planning and Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies course from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Expertise:
Safe drinking water and sanitation

Peter is an expert on integrated water resources management at different spatial scales with emphasis on water for food issues, climate change, decision support systems, simulation modeling in combination with data mining and remote sensing. Peter has about 20 years of experience working in The Netherlands and overseas (as a resident in Sri Lanka and Turkey). Non-resident assignments include: Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and USA.

Richard is a coastal resilience and natural hazard specialist with over 30 years of experience across the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. As Technical Director at Tonkin + Taylor, he has led climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and nature-based coastal design projects in more than 30 countries. A Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and Chartered Professional Engineer, Richard brings deep expertise in multi-hazard risk assessment, shoreline adaptation planning, and early warning systems. His work bridges engineering precision with community engagement—advancing resilient infrastructure and climate-smart development in vulnerable coastal regions.

Currently an international specialist smart data solutions within the climate resilience consultancy team of Royal HaskoningDHV. His experience ranges from high-level advising about digital transformation roadmaps to the actual implementation of cloud based geo-spatial data platforms and decision support systems. Applying his knowledge and skills in remote sensing, GIS, spatial data analytics, BIM and cloud technology fundamentals the focus is always to help clients and organizations to support their data and information workflow challenges and help them to leverage the power of digital technologies and become more data driven. As a specialist in this field he worked in many different roles (from team leader to key expert) in international projects in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.

Dr. Prathapar is a globally recognized water resources specialist with over 40 years of experience in climate-resilient agriculture, groundwater management, and nature-based solutions. His work has advanced sustainable water systems across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, including large-scale managed aquifer recharge, salinity control, and flood mitigation using ecological approaches. With a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University, he has held senior roles at CSIRO, IWMI, Sultan Qaboos University, and ADB. Dr. Prathapar is known for integrating hydro-economic modeling, remote sensing, and green infrastructure to design adaptive, low-footprint interventions that restore natural hydrological functions while supporting livelihoods and food security.

Seiichi has over a 18-year of professional experience in strengthening water sector development (e.g., water, wastewater, solid wait management). He specializes in climate resilient resources management addressing sound policy and regulatory framework, risk reduction and sets out the rationale in development along with integrated approaches (e.g., IWRM, RBM, WUA, EU WFD, etc.) through dialoguing in areas of technical, political, and institutional assistance to national governments, public and private sectors. He has worked in the United States, Japan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Guyana, Pakistan and Myanmar in consideration of climate change adaptation and mitigation which lead to be integral part of the bankable projects, while ensuring safeguarding, due diligence, and SEIA, EIA, IEE, IPP, RAP and Code of Practices. His familiarity extends to (Paris Agreement/declaration), Hyogo and Sendai Framework, UNCCD, mainstreaming RAI, and Food Security into development practice. He also earned a certified DRR Specialist (S1633608) in Japan.

Stephanie has over 30 years of international public service experience. She specializes in climate change adaptation, mitigation, and water resources management, with cross-cutting experience in executing climate change strategy monitoring, evaluation and plan development, adaptation and risk reduction planning, training, digitization, human rights/safeguards monitoring and planning, and hands-on capacity building activities. She brings decades of leadership (working regionally since 1994), management, strategy, and public policy services as well as advisory experience gained from work with reputable international organizations including GCF, GEF, ADB, European, Nile River Basin Initiative, Black Sea Commission, Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, Lake Chad River Basin Commission, UN system in the Pacific, UNDP, UNEP, UNICEF, WB, FAO, and UNFCCC.

Steven has 27 years of experience in progressively senior and varied roles at Atkins, HR Wallingford and the Met Office. He has been engaged in climate risk assessment in the Water Sector since the late 1990s and has developed the risk assessment methods and tools used by the water industry as well as led the UK’s first national Climate Change Risk Assessment, published in 2012. He also developed CRA Knowledge Products for ADB on the WEIDAP project in Vietnam. Over the last decade, he developed extensive experience working in Asia on climate change and water resources for ADB, World Bank and EBRD, including similar strategic work for "172307SC 117504 REG: Scaling up Adaptation Finance through "Type 2" Adaptation and Resilience Projects -Adaptation Specialist (Agriculture and Water Sector)" and "Implementing the Regional Cooperation and Integration Operational Plan" as a Climate Change Specialist and ongoing work with Sustainable Development and Climate Change to deliver Climate Change Risk Assessments, most recently for urban water services and agriculture projects in India. He has also been engaged in similar work with EBRD, EIB and occasionally IsDB, which provides insight into current trends in MDB climate finance, Paris Alignment, promotion of digital tools and nature- based solutions. On several projects he has been leading innovation in weather and climate services, including development of stochastic models of drought (used by all UK water companies), use of remote sensing in irrigation projects (EBRD, Central Asia) and the development of weather and climate services for the Water-Energy-Food sectors in Southern Africa (UE ClimSA project).

Terry is a senior expert in flood and water resource management with over 30 years’ experience gained from projects in South and Southeast Asia, Australasia, Europe, North and South America and Africa. His specialist expertise includes hydrological and hydraulic modelling for flooding, drainage and river basin management studies, decision support and warning systems and applications to climate change impact assessments and adaption strategies. He is currently Team Leader for the Flood Risk Management Information System in Can Tho, Vietnam, part of a major climate flood risk adaptation programme funded by the World Bank. Terry holds a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Adelaide and a Masters in Computational Hydraulics from IHE Delft in the Netherlands.