Deepa Vedavyas is an award-winning community leader in sustainability and resilience, whose cross-sector work bridges local action and global impact. As the inaugural Director of Resiliency and Sustainability at the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), a council of governments serving 249 rural and urban communities across Ohio, she launched NOPEC’s first sustainability platform and set historic commitments to advance a just and equitable energy transition. She also recently completed her Master’s in Sustainability at Harvard University, with a focus on cities and communities, and continues to catalyze systems-level solutions for a more sustainable and just future.
Her leadership has advanced transformative initiatives, Cleveland’s Clean and Equitable Energy Future Plan, and the Cleveland’s LEED for Cities and Communities Silver Certification in 2021. While at the Cleveland Foundation, Deepa also pioneered the first SDG learning cohort for 20 Ohio foundations, the first ICLEI Resilient Cities Leadership Cohort for Ohio cities mobilizing SDG alignment, federal and philanthropic resources to support climate education and resilient communities.
As co-chair of the UN SDSN USA Working Group on Diversity, Equity, and Justice for Sustainable Development, she is a co-author of Code-Name Hope: A Voluntary Local Review of the Black Community in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. She is also co-author of Why 2025 Must Be the Year of Leaving No One Behind published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Deepa has represented her region globally at COP27, COP28, The World ESG Forum and ICLEI’s World Congress, while serving in organizations including the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Planning Association at varying capacities.