Stephanie Hodge – Profile Summary
Independent Evaluator | Sustainable Development & Climate Change Expert | Strategic Advisor
Stephanie Hodge is a globally recognized evaluation and technical expert with over 30 years of experience in sustainable development, climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction (DRR), gender equality, and institutional capacity building. She has led and contributed to over 80 evaluations for the UN system (UNDP, UNEP, UNICEF, UN Women, OIOS, UNOPS), GEF, GCF, ADB, World Bank, and others.
Field Expertise:
- Climate Change & Resilience: Expertise in adaptation/mitigation, climate-smart agriculture, DRR, ecosystem-based adaptation, and strategic alignment with UNFCCC, NDCs, and SDG targets.
- Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management: In-depth work across GEF focal areas including sustainable land management, coastal ecosystems, international waters (PEMSEA, LMEs, fisheries), and ABS protocols.
- Gender Equality & Humanitarian-Development Nexus: Pioneer in gender-responsive evaluations, especially linking gender and climate action, with work in crisis contexts and fragile states.
- Governance & Institutional Development: Evaluation and advisory roles for e-governance, decentralization, transparency, and interagency coordination (e.g., UNSDCF, UNDAFs).
- Education & Inclusion: Background in inclusive education, environmental education, and education in emergencies, integrated with CCA and DRR.
- Capacity Building & Knowledge Management: Led training, strategy development, and institutional strengthening across regions.
Geographic Reach:
- Experience in 140+ countries across Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
- Frequent leadership of complex evaluations in post-conflict or climate-vulnerable regions (e.g., South Pacific, Sahel, Western Iran, and the Caribbean).
Professional Hallmarks:
- Known for methodological rigor, adaptive management, results-based evaluation, stakeholder consultation, and strategic synthesis.
- Frequent Team Leader/Chief Evaluator roles; often engaged to design theories of change, lead field missions, and develop strategic insights.
- Past full-time staff roles with UNDP (1994–2004) and UNICEF (2008–2014), plus consultancies through 2025.
Recent Notable Engagements (2023–2025):
- Evaluation of UNEP's Shepherding Programme in South Africa
- Final Evaluations for GEF Projects in Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia
- Midterm and Final Evaluations of UNSDCFs in Rwanda, Maldives, and the Pacific
- UNOPS climate strategy mapping (global)
- GEF/UNDP evaluations across biodiversity, ABS, DRR, and climate portfolios