Chris Lara

Background

About Chris Lara

I aim to leverage my unique experience to make a positive impact on communities in need. I harness the power of systems thinking to guide teams towards achieving the most effective solutions and outcomes. My professional journey is anchored in testing strategies to tackle pressing global emergencies, with an emphasis on those amplified by treat multipliers such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. My eager interest is to unearth and examine our potential to navigate volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments, particularly in the face of multi-dimensional and overlapping emergencies. With a career spanning over fifteen years in the humanitarian, development, and peace (HDP) sectors, my journey within the multilateral system has been diverse and enriching. From junior roles to senior management positions, I've had the privilege of serving both at the United Nations headquarters and in field operations across multiple continents and contexts. Throughout my civil service career, I've worked in significant crisis interventions. In 2010, assisting coordination efforts for Haiti earthquake response and Pakistan floods with UN-OCHA Geneva and backed hurricane preparedness initiatives in the Caribbean with UN-OCHA New York. Subsequently, I delved into political affairs and program management for UN peace operations’ Ottawa Treaty implementation in Colombia, and protection of civilians in East Africa. In 2014, I served as a UN crisis manager and coordinator for the Situation Room at the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in West Africa. This experience required me to handle leadership responsibilities under extreme conditions during the peak of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Sierra Leone. Post EVD epidemic, I transferred (secondment) to the World Health Organization (WHO), aiding to recovery initiatives, districts’ coordination, and strategic planning. As a senior policy advisor, I have played a pivotal role in implementing science diplomacy and fostering cross-sectoral strategic partnerships at the Duke University Global Health Institute and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. I have also advised the United Nations Secretariat and specialized agencies such as WHO, UNFPA, and UNHCR on inter-agency coordination policies and global operations, guiding and executing actions on critical issues like the Ukraine situation contingency planning. Currently, I work with the U.N. Resident Coordinator system, focusing on strategic planning and development coordination in emergencies.