Frank Sperling's academic and professional interests are driven by the desire to understand and contribute to innovative and practical solutions for sustainable development. In his current role as Senior Project Manager at the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) he is engaged in a number of initiatives focused on the transformation of food systems. Most recently he has been co-leading the resilient food systems theme of the IIASA-ISC Consultative Science Platform, which explores the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for sustainable development. Prior to joining IIASA, Frank brings over 15 years of experience in mainstreaming environmental and climate risk management into development strategies and practices. He has worked for several international organizations. For example, as Chief Climate Change Specialist of the African Development Bank he led and task-managed thematic work on green growth, focusing on concept development and operational guidance. Further engagements include work as Senior Advisor at WWF on REDD+ and the World Bank, where he focused as Environmental Specialist on adaptation to climate change and linkages to disaster risk reduction and sustainable land management. Throughout his career he has been very interested in science policy interface and engaged in reviews on the evolving knowledge on global change, including lead and contributing author roles with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Frank has also been a member of delegations of government, multilateral and non-governmental organizations to international environment and development policy processes, including the UNFCCC, UNCCD and the Rio+20 process. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and University of Washington focused on environmental and biological sciences. His work experiences includes the Americas and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.