Biography
Padmi Ranasinghe is a doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of Texas (UT) at Arlington, United States of America (USA), focusing on water management and climate change impacts in urban settings. She completed her Master of Science (MSc) degree in Environmental Science with academic excellence at the City University of New York-College of Staten Island and her second master’s degree in Regional Development and Planning at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was selected as a candidate for the United Nations University- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Climate Academy 2021-2022, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - International Sediment Initiative (UNESCO-ISI) training workshop 2021 on “River basin sediment monitoring and management.” Her current research focuses on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for climate change risk reduction, water management, and resilient cities. Her research interests include but are not limited to, climate change, water management, eco hydrology, urban resilience, forestry, environmental policy, and sustainable urban development. She is passionate about the use of scientific approaches and space-based technologies for urban planning, solution-oriented actions, and policy implementation to avoid the most severe consequences of the water crisis because of climate change, thereby contributing towards a better and safer world.
Padmi is currently a Graduate Research Assistant for the Institute of Urban Studies (IUS) within the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Policy at UT Arlington. At the IUS, she is involved in projects across Texas pertaining to urban watersheds and urban green space planning and management. Previously she was an environmental consultant to the Environmentally Sensitive Areas in the Kala Oya River Basin Project, as well as water and environmental-related projects in Sri Lanka. She also worked on green infrastructure and stormwater management projects as a Wet Weather Planning and Water Quality Policy Analysis Graduate Intern at the New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection. She served as an AmeriCorps national service member at the New York City Mayor's office and was affiliated with numerous city agencies. She was highly involved with Million Trees NYC, an urban forestry initiative program.
Her work focusses mainly on SGD 6- Clean Water and Sanitation, SGD 11- Sustainable Cities and Communities, SGD 13-Climate Action, SGD 14-Life Below Water, and SGD 15- Life on Land.
Padmi is a nature photographer in her spare time and enjoys traveling and exploring different ecosystems.
