Mauricio Rodas

About Mauricio Rodas

Mauricio Rodas is a JD from Universidad Católica de Quito, and also holds two master's degrees in government administration and political science, both from the University of Pennsylvania where he received a Fulbright Scholarship. He started his professional career with the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile and Mexico City. Later he worked as a consultant in public policy for the Mexican government. In 2007, he founded and served as the Executive Director of Ethos Public Policy Lab, a think tank based in Mexico that went on to be ranked among the most influential in Latin America by the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.

In 2011, Rodas returned to Ecuador and founded SUMA, a national political party. In 2013, he ran for president of Ecuador; the following year was elected as mayor of Quito from 2014 to 2019. During this period, Rodas was the hosting mayor of the UN's Conference on Urban Sustainable Development – Habitat III. He also had an active leadership role in some of the most important networks of cities worldwide: two terms as world co-president of United Cities and Local Governments Organization (UCLG), member of the global boards of C-40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. He is a young global leader and member of the Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization of the World Economic Forum. In 2019, he was named one of the 100 Worlds' Most Influential People on Climate Action by Apolitical and received the University of Pennsylvania's World Urban Leadership Award.