Associate, Arup; MA, Environmental Management, Duke University
With a background in ecology, sociology, political science and economic development, Leitch is a systems thinker whose passion for shaping a better world has guided her career. From working with rainforest communities to advising global CEOs and heads of government, Leitch is proud to work in urban resilience and climate action, impacting the development of these fields as they emerge as the central challenge of our time. Leitch contributes to shaping this new area of expertise as the convergence of climate change, decarbonization, technological disruptors and demographic change impacts people. Her work has focused on shifting traditional engineering and design practice to advance resilience and social value in city climate action planning and on developing integrated, whole-systems approaches across the value chain to improve cities for everyone. Leitch’s more recent work has focused on centering racial equity in resilience and climate action at the city and community scale and in master planning and infrastructure delivery. She is the Head of Programmes for The Resilience Shift, an initiative of Arup and Lloyd’s Register Foundation to accelerate the resilience of critical infrastructure. She recently finished a tenure as Arup Americas’ sustainable development manager and manager of Arup’s global skills network on city resilience, accelerating the sustainability impact of Arup’s work. Leitch’s biggest passion outside of work is sailing, having crossed the equator while joining her parents on their four-year circumnavigation of the Earth. She believes the teamwork of sailing and respect for each other and the environment can teach us a lot about working together on this planetary ship we call home.
