Rebekah Shirley

Dr. Rebekah Shirley is the Deputy Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute, where she develops research to support local implementation of sustainable development solutions. Shirley was previously WRI Africa’s Director for Research, ensuring WRI’s methods, data and outputs are of the highest-quality, and directly supports the delivery of these findings to targeted audiences through high-level engagement and local-level partnership.

Before coming to WRI, Shirley held a five year tenure as the Chief of Research at Power for All, a coalition of more than 300 renewable energy practitioners working towards universal electricity access. Over this time Shirley built the Platform for Energy Access Knowledge (PEAK), a novel energy research engine forged through industry-academic partnership with a mission to make data accessible, understandable, and usable by the public and policy influencers alike, across the continent. Her team developed a reputation for its sharp, timely, digestible insights, thought leadership and collaborative approach to research.

For her work bringing local research insights directly to the public dialogue on energy access, Shirley was named Africa Utility Week’s 2018 Outstanding Young Leader in Energy, an ESI Africa 2019 Elite Energy Industry Leader, and a GWEC 2020 Revolutionaries finalist.