Dr. Anthony Socci is the senior lead for international resilience and adaptation policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of International Affairs (OIA) in Washington, DC. For nearly a decade, Dr. Socci has helped coordinate and facilitate several US government
and international efforts aimed at building urban and local government capacity, particularly in developing countries in Africa and Asia, to adapt to climate changes, become more resilient and
develop more sustainably.
Beginning nearly a decade ago, Dr. Socci worked with a host of international partners to facilitate the implementation of the principles of the Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC), a pledge on the part of nearly 1000 elected local/urban government officials to take local action to build urban resilience and adapt. Nearly a decade later the DAC remains one of the longest systematic efforts to help catalyze action on adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development at the local and regional level largely in the Global South.
Several years ago Dr. Socci began working with the GAN (UN Global Adaptation Network) on an initiative aimed at facilitating the delivery of information and know-how between communities in possession of such knowledge and communities in need of that very knowledge and know-how, in developing countries through a process referred to as “adaptation learning exchanges.”
Since 2016, Dr. Socci has work with several international partners, to help introduce and socialize the EPIC (Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities) model to local governments and universities in developing country cities, especially in Africa and Asia, as an effective, time-tested tool for enhancing local government and community capacity to adapt, become more sustainable and build resilience.
The EPIC framework matches city and local government needs with the technical know-how and innovation of students and university teachers/researchers to address a broad spectrum of sustainability related issues. Today, there is a vibrant and expanding regional EPIC network in Africa and ideally, a soon-to-be regional EPIC network in Asia.
Dr. Socci formerly served as a long-standing member of the Durban Adaptation Charter’s steering committee and as a member of the planning committee for ICLEI’s (Local Governments for Sustainability) Resilient Cities Congress. He also formerly served as a long-standing
member of the UN Global Adaptation Network (GAN) steering committee and as a member of the EPIC Network Advisory Committee. He also previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors for George Mason University’s Research Foundation and as a member of the advisory
council for George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth.
Dr. Socci is currently on administrative leave from the US EPA and is scheduled to retire from EPA at the end of 2025.