Clarissa Brocklehurst is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering of the Gillings School of Global Public Health of the University of North Carolina, and an affiliated faculty member of the university’s Water Institute.

She is a water supply and sanitation specialist with experience in setting the direction of large-scale programmes, direct management of projects and programmes, and facilitating policy debate. Clarissa started her career working on the water and sanitation needs of indigenous communities in Canada and the US. She managed water and sanitation projects in Togo and Sri Lanka before becoming the Country Representative for WaterAid in Bangladesh, and a Regional Urban Specialist for the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) in South Asia.

Between 2007 and 2011 she was the Chief of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Section, overseeing UNICEF’s water and sanitation programming in 100 countries and playing a role in development of strategy and advocacy for the global water supply and sanitation sector. She acted as an advisor to the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, providing policy advice and building capacity of decision-makers, including Ministers of Water and Finance, to understand the opportunities and trade-offs of investment in water and sanitation.

Clarissa chairs the Strategic Advisory Group of the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program that tracks global progress on water and sanitation, and is a member of the Supervisory Board of IRC WASH. She works in a consulting capacity with several sector agencies.