América Bendito is a civil engineer with MSc and PhD in Structural Engineering. Working in UNESCO in the Disaster Risk Reduction Unit. She has played a leading role in various projects mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, and has more than 20 years of inter-disciplinary experience as university professor, researcher, advisor, and consultant in Venezuela, Spain, Italy, USA, Kenya, Rwanda, El Salvador, and Fiji. She has identified multi-risk maps co-developed with key stakeholders through a transdisciplinary process, and rooted in updated building codes, as a priority entry point to ground resilience and support sustainable development. She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Knowledge Action Network on Emergent Risk and Extreme Events (Risk KAN), which is a Future Earth Global Research Network and a joint initiative of the Future Earth, IRDR, WCRP and WWRP programs.