Patty Fong, Program Director, Climate and Health & Well-being, brings two decades of experience with strategic philanthropy in climate and sustainability. She has been Program Director at the European Climate Foundation (ECF), a major philanthropic initiative established by several global foundations. Recruited in 2007 to help establish the foundation, she was founding COO until August 2012. In parallel, Patty lead the strategy development and implementation for ECF’s portfolio on Energy Efficiency and, more recently, on Buildings and Urban Systems, which includes a focus on the social justice and human rights dimensions of the clean energy transitions, as well as the potential of the circular economy to systemically address decarbonization and resource use. Over the years, she has established and supported many multi-stakeholder coalitions and campaigns across Europe. In 2009, she co-founded — and until 2018, served on — the Steering Committee of the EU Coalition for Energy Savings, which unites business, professional, local authorities, and civil society organizations to make energy efficiency and savings the foundation of energy policies in Europe. That same year, Patty also co-founded and serves on the board of the Buildings Performance Institute Europe, the first pan-European think tank dedicated to energy performance in buildings.

From 1998 to 2005, Patty helped launch and manage the Energy Foundation’s China Sustainable Energy Program (now EF China), the first major philanthropic initiative on climate and energy in China. She currently resides in the Netherlands and has also lived and worked in China and Latin America. Patty has Bachelors degrees with highest honors in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University. She is also a graduate of the THNK School of Creative Leadership’s Executive Leadership Program. She enjoys cooking, eating, learning about new cultures, exploring local markets and spending time with her family.