This event was initially scheduled for Thursday, January 23, but due to the recent Los Angeles fires, it has been postponed to Thursday, February 6. Thank you for your understanding.

Dr. Maria-Elena Giner, United States Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, is shaping policy at the intersection of international relations, environment infrastructure, and border collaboration. Appointed in 2021, Dr. Giner is the second woman and first Latina to hold this role.

Drawing on her extensive experience in environment infrastructure and transboundary water policy, Dr. Giner will discuss the critical work of the International Boundary and Water Commission, the current state of U.S.-Mexico cooperation, and the challenges and opportunities ahead for our shared water resources.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a leader driving cross-border solutions. Space is limited to 20 guests. Register today.

Guest Speaker

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Maria-Elena Giner was appointed in 2021 to serve as the United States Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico. Dr. Giner, the second woman and first Latina to hold the post. She previously served as General Manager of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), an institution that developed environmental infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border in association with the North American Development Bank. During her tenure at the BECC, she focused on policies that addressed U.S.-Mexico cooperation on water, energy, and climate change. With the support of the BECC staff, she led the development and financing of $9 billion in environmental infrastructure, benefitting about 100 communities and over 10 million residents.

Dr. Giner is well regarded among state agencies and local communities in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and the six Mexican border states. In addition, she has published extensively on water policy and transboundary bilateral cooperation.

Dr. Giner's education includes a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a registered professional engineer, first-generation college graduate, and daughter of an immigrant. Dr. Giner is from the border region and attended Loretto Academy High School in El Paso, Texas. She is bicultural and bilingual.

The International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the two countries and settling differences that arise in their application. The Commission operates and maintains flood control levees, international storage reservoirs, diversion dams, wastewater treatment plants, and boundary monuments at various locations on the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition to its Headquarters in El Paso, Texas, the U.S. Section has offices at San Diego, California; Nogales and Yuma, Arizona; Las Cruces, New Mexico; El Paso/American Dam, Ft. Hancock, Presidio, Del Rio/Amistad Dam, Laredo, Falcon Heights/Falcon Dam, and Mercedes in Texas; and Washington, DC.

Moderator

 Duncan Wood, PhD, is the President and CEO of the Pacific Council and has worked in international relations and policy for over 35 years. He is an internationally renowned specialist in the geopolitics of energy, supply chain policy, critical minerals, Mexican politics, and US-Mexican ties. He has frequently given testimony to the U.S. Congress, is a widely quoted media source, and has published extensively on a wide range of global issues.  He is the author or editor of 12 books and over 30 chapters and articles.

Born in Kent, England, he studied politics at Leicester University before pursuing graduate studies in political science at McMaster University and Queens University, both in Ontario, Canada. In 1996, he received his PhD and moved to Mexico City to work at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, where he became a professor of and Director of the program in International Relations. After 17 years in Mexico, working on international banking supervision, energy policy, and North American integration, he became the Director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. In 2021, Dr Wood was promoted to Vice President for Strategy and New Initiatives at the Wilson Center and worked alongside the Board of Trustees to design a new strategic plan for the center.

Over the past decade, he has served as co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption and has worked closely with the WEF on energy policy.  He is a board member of Transparency International, Signos Vitales (a Mexican public policy research organization), and Foreign Affairs Latinoamerica and is an editorial advisor to El Universal newspaper. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and a Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); an editorial advisor to Reforma newspaper; Technical Secretary of the Red Mexicana de Energia; a consultant with McLarty Associates, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Horizon and Eurasia Group; and owner of a speakeasy in Mexico City.