João Rego is a flood specialist, coastal engineer, and disaster risk specialist working as a consultant for the World Bank in Southeast and West Africa. He has Licenciatura, Masters, and Ph.D. degrees from University of Lisbon (Portugal) and from Louisiana State University (USA). João is presently based in Cork, Ireland. João’s career prior to joining the World Bank included 12 years as Marine and Coastal Advisor for the Dutch institute Deltares, based in Delft, The Netherlands, and five years as a research fellow based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is also a father of two young girls, who are starting to challenge his view of the world and serve as motivation to leave it better than he found it.