Sarah (Sally) Timpson

Sarah (Sally) Timpson is a consultant with extensive experience in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she served in senior policy positions, initiated and managed two multi-country programs, and coordinated UN system activities in Costa Rica, Argentina, and the Philippines. In the latter post, she led the expansion of UNDP support to environmental conservation, including WWF-Philippines in work leading to the establishment of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

Timpson established an NGO division that promoted collaboration with and strengthening of national civil society organizations in developing countries. She led a team that set up the UNDP/Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program (SGP), which is a model for “localization,” working in 125 countries through national multipartner committees that support local community and civil society initiatives to address environmental challenges from the bottom up.

She also initiated a global program for the Promotion of the Role of Women in Water and Environmental Sanitation Services (PROWWESS). In addition, she was active in establishing the multipartner environmental Equator Initiative, based in UNDP, and serves on the advisory committee for its Equator Prize.

Timpson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and since retiring from UNDP has engaged in consultancies for various environmental NGOs. She also serves on the board of several other organizations. Timpson holds degrees from Smith College and Johns Hopkins SAIS.