ACEF Speaker 2021

Zonibel Woods

Senior Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development) Gender Equity Thematic Group Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC),
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Zonibel Woods has dedicated over 30 years to address barriers to gender equality and create opportunities for women and girls to live healthy, productive lives free from discrimination and violence. She has extensive and diverse expertise in gender and development and sustainable development, including in the areas of gender mainstreaming, strategic planning, policy analysis and development, training, technical assistance, and capacity building. Zonibel has worked for civil society organizations such as the International Women’s Health Coalition, leading the organization’s global policy work. As the Program Manager for the Ford Foundation’s Global Initiative on HIV and AIDS, she supported the leadership on HIV and AIDS organizations working all over the world. Ms. Woods has extensive experience on environment and sustainable development issues which has spanned over three decades since her involvement in the 1992 Earth Summit. She has been based in the Philippines since 2012, where she worked as a gender consultant focusing on gender and climate change. In 2020 she joined the Asian Development Bank as Senior Social Development Specialist. In her free time, she works on animal welfare. She holds a Master of Arts in Environmental Practice from Royal Roads University. Zonibel has written and published a number of articles and reports on gender, sexual and reproductive health, and climate change.

Session/Event:

  • Spotlight Session: Women Powering the Future: Innovation and Resilience (ADB)