Karishma Patel, PhD, MPA

Economist & Strategy Lead | Climate Transition, AI Innovation & Systemic Risk | RAND · World Bank · IDB

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

About

For 15 years I've led the work that gets from research to decision, directing teams, building partnerships, and designing the structures that make complex analysis usable for governments, investors, and institutions operating under uncertainty.

Experience

  • Adjunct Policy Researcher at RAND
    Sep 2017 - Present · 8 yrs 10 mos

    Leading and managing interdisciplinary research projects covering climate transition, AI governance, and systemic risk for federal agencies, state governments, and international institutions. Directing junior researchers and managing external partners across simultaneous projects and funding streams. Responsible for scoping, team coordination, and translating technical work into strategy and policy recommendations for senior government and institutional decision-makers. Selected programs include leading cross-sectoral analysis of AI's implications on financial services, climate, and transportation; climate-budget impact research informing Congressional scoring methodology; and disaster resilience frameworks for cities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Senior Researcher for Systemic Risks at Inter-American Development Bank
    Sep 2025 - Mar 2026 · 7 mos

    Led a team of senior experts to develop a systemic risk strategy for a $64.1B sovereign-guaranteed loan portfolio spanning 650+ projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. Responsible for team coordination, stakeholder engagement, and delivery across the engagement. Designed the framework architecture integrating climate, macroeconomic, political, social, and infrastructure risk and managed the process of translating that framework into Board-level investment and operations decisions.

  • Economist & Climate Risk Consultant at The World Bank Group
    Apr 2021 - May 2025 · 4 yrs 2 mos

    Partnered with country teams and senior management across Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to design infrastructure and climate adaptation investment portfolios. Primary role was decision support in making climate and economic tradeoffs legible for project selection and investment prioritization, building trust with counterparts, and navigating institutional dynamics across complex multi-stakeholder environments, translating technical analysis into decisions that teams could act.

  • Chapter Scientist & Contributing Author at IPCC
    Mar 2019 - Feb 2022 · 3 yrs

    Coordinated and contributed to key sections of the Sixth Assessment Report on climate adaptation, managing inputs from international expert teams across disciplines and geographies. Led the synthesis and coordination work that made global scientific evidence accessible and actionable for policymakers and negotiators, maintaining coherence and scientific rigor across a large, distributed author network under tight timelines.

  • DAI (5 yrs)
    • USAID Biodiversity Results Program (BRIDGE)
      Dec 2015 - May 2016 · 6 mos

      Contributed to designing and developing an ecosystem services toolkit integrating biodiversity priorities into project design, now used by 17,000+ practitioners across 130 countries.

    • NASA and USAID SERVIR Global Collaborative Program
      Oct 2013 - Dec 2015 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Directed the partnership management and demand-side engagement workstream for a NASA-sponsored climate science program operating across 34 countries in Asia and Africa. Built and managed relationships with regional science hubs, government agencies, and local practitioners. Supported the establishment of three regional grant programs and led the institutional capacity-building that made climate science tools valuable to the practitioners who needed them. Contributed to the development of 70+ locally adapted climate services.

    • USAID Capitalizing Knowledge, Connecting Communities Natural Resource Management Program (CK2C)
      Jun 2011 - Sep 2013 · 2 yrs 4 mos

      Designed and convened cross-sector global conferences engaging 2,800+ government, NGO, and private sector practitioners in natural resource management and climate resilience.