Dr. Orly Ronen is the Head of the Laboratory for Innovation and Urban Sustainability at the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University. She is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability and established the Center for Local Sustainability, where she also served as the organization’s CEO.

Dr. Ronen specializes in urban climate policy. She is part of the founding team of Tel Aviv University’s Climate Initiative and serves as an advisor to the President’s Climate Forum. In 2021, she developed the framework for climate change preparedness for local authorities on behalf of the Climate Change Directorate of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Energy. She also served as the professional advisor to the Climate Accelerator for local authorities and authored the climate action plans for the Tel Aviv-Yafo, Jerusalem, and Herzliya municipalities. In addition, she is currently working with the Eilat municipality and the Western Negev Cluster in preparing their climate action plans.