Juan José Guzmán Ayala advises the policy and finance pillar at the center on heat and disaster risk finance (DRF). He joined the center in February 2023, where he leads the development of DRF solutions for extreme heat. The increased incidence and magnitude of extreme heat events, such as heat waves, may result in a sudden increase of health-related expenditure, social program spending, energy costs, among others, representing a significant source of financial burden. Combining his experience in blended finance, climate financial risk, and public health, Juan José is well positioned to develop robust solutions and match-making opportunities between concessional and grant funders, insurers, and stakeholders in need of insurance to address heat-related risks.

For the past six years Juan José has been working at the intersection of human wellbeing and climate finance. After a short stint in investment banking, he joined ISF Advisors, where he supported the development of innovative blended finance structures for agricommodities benefitting smallholder farmers and SMEs in the Global South. At Transforma, a Colombia-based think tank, he co-led the development of the country’s first climate-related financial risk disclosure initiative, as well as the Latin America desk of the International Climate Politics Hub. He has since supported various governments, NGOs, financial institutions, and private corporations on the development of climate risk analyses, and climate finance and diplomacy strategies, in Colombia and the United States. Since 2020, he is a contributor at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Originally from Colombia, Juan José holds a B.A. in Economics and Sustainable Development from Columbia University in the city of New York and is currently completing a dual master’s in public administration, and public health, at the same university, where he also serves as a Planetary Health Ambassador. He is an avid runner, a fan of ethnobotany, and a passionate climate activist.