Dr. Blake Ratner is Executive Director, Collaborating for Resilience—a non-profit focused on systems change for inclusive environmental governance and resilient rural livelihoods. CoRe partners to build capacity for multi-stakeholder dialogue and catalyze governance innovations from landscape to national and regional scales that build resilient economies, sustain critical ecosystem services, and strengthen climate adaptation.
Dr. Ratner has published widely on rights, equity, and accountability in environmental decision-making, drawing on insights from action research to inform both policy and practice. He served two terms as a GEF STAP panel member, leading advice on environmental security, multi-stakeholder dialogue, blue economy investment, and innovation and risk, as well as contributing to guidance on transformation and resilience, among other topics. In his role as Strategic Advisor, he is leading preparation of STAP advice on GEF strategy for the next replenishment cycle (GEF-9).
Dr. Ratner is a past Director General of WorldFish, the CGIAR research institute, and held prior posts with the World Bank and the World Resources Institute. He was based in Southeast Asia for 13 years (Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia), and has led program implementation in China, Guatemala, India, Laos, Myanmar, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. He is fluent in French, Spanish, and Khmer, and holds a Master’s in development administration and Ph.D. in environmental sociology, both from Cornell University.
