Makena Coffman is the Director for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Institute for Sustainability and Resilience. She also serves as Chair of the City and County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission. A Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Coffman teaches graduate courses in climate change and low carbon cities. Her research interests include greenhouse gas mitigation, energy policy and alternative transportation strategies. She is a Research Fellow with the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization, holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.