Khafi is a Climate Infrastructure Specialist working to ramp up PPIAF's climate engagement. Her work helps deepen the technical quality of PPIAF's climate adaptation and mitigation advisory work, establish the central support mechanisms that help grantees introduce climate and environmental considerations in the policy and planning of private participation in infrastructure (PPI), enable access to climate finance, and support the development of guidelines on climate-smart approaches in PPI.
Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Khafi has lived in six countries. She has over 13 years of experience working in academia, government, and international development banks in the design, management, and quality assurance of a range of climate-risk resilient investments in several developing countries. She has also been involved in building technical capacities of local stakeholders to effectively address disaster and climate risks by leading in-country workshops and designing university-level seminars.
Khafi earned a PhD at McMaster University, Canada. Before moving to Washington, D.C., she worked at the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure of Trinidad and Tobago, where she founded the nation's first Coastal Protection Unit. She was the Minister's Technical Advisor on water policy matters, flood risk management, and climate-adapted coastal infrastructure.