Steve Winkelman brings 20+ years of senior leadership experience convening decisionmakers to shape scalable and equitable solutions to climate change and resilient urban development. He served as Executive Director of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund from 2020-2025. Steve excels in bridging silos across public, private and philanthropic sectors and cultivating partnerships to solve complex problems with curiosity, humor and joy. He has supported senior government officials in more than 25 countries [see map below] with policy and project development, finance, implementation, evaluation and capacity building.
Steve introduced the “Green Resilience” concept to advance synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Steve specializes in assessing and communicating the economic, environmental and community benefits of sustainable urban development policies to bolster support for implementation. He is co-author of the books Growing Cooler and Growing Wealthier, which increased policymaker support for smart growth and transit-oriented development due to their climate change and economic benefits. He led development of the Colombia Transit Oriented Development (TOD) NAMA for the Center for Clean Air Policy, securing €14.7 million in climate finance from the NAMA Facility, and led delivery of technical cooperation in partnership with FINDETER, the national development bank of Colombia.
An informative and engaging public speaker, Steve has provided expert testimony to U.S. Congressional committees and has been a featured presenter at many executive briefings and conferences. His work has been covered by media outlets such as: the Atlantic, ClimateWire, CNN, E&E TV, Grist, Huffington Post, Montreal Gazette, National Geographic, National Journal, New York Times, La Presse and the Wall Street Journal. He was a founding member of the US National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board Special Task Force on Climate Change.
At the Center for Clean Air Policy (1998-2016) Steve served as Director of the Transportation and Adaptation Programs, and supported CCAP as a consulting Project Manager (2017-20). Prior to CCAP Steve managed ICF’s Climate Wise industrial energy efficiency work for the US EPA (1994-98). At Argonne National Laboratory (1991-92) he designed, built and tested a magnetically levitated vehicle (maglev). His first transportation job was as a crew member for a hot-air ballooning company in France (1988). Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota. He splits his time between Ottawa and Montréal.
Steve is available for speaking engagements. Get in Touch.
