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Neil Patel

Urban Economist · Water Security & Climate Adaptation

I'm an economist with experience delivering water security, sanitation, and hygiene (WSSH) programs in 30+ developing countries across Africa, LAC, and Asia. I specialize in infrastructure advisory and have advised on water supply projects valued at over $1B+. I have a master's in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from MIT, and a bachelor's in Business Honors & Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin.

You can check out the various projects I'm working on here. I'm always interested in exchanging ideas and collaborating on new initiatives – feel free to reach out if you want to chat.

Current Roles / Projects
Work

Manager, 50L Home Coalition — I lead U.S./Americas operations and scaling strategy for the 50L Home Coalition – a joint initiative between the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Economic Forum. We are a global platform of public and private sector leaders working to mitigate future Day Zero crises by reducing household water footprints to under 50 liters per day.

Volunteer

Deputy Manager, ROCKBlue's Access to Capital, Oversight and Reporting Nexus (ACORN) || Financial Advisor, Lusaka Water Supply & Sanitation Company — I am the deputy manager for ROCKBlue's ACORN initiative, which provides pro bono advisory services to partner water utilities in Lesotho, Zambia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in structuring and financing bankable infrastructure projects that expand access to clean water. In addition to this, I serve as the finance and economics expert within ROCKBlue's dedicated advisory team to Lusaka Water Supply & Sanitation Company (LWSC), which serves 3 million people in Zambia's capital city.

Volunteer

Steering Committee, UNESCO's Groundwater Youth Network — I am a founding member of the steering committee for UNESCO's Groundwater Youth Network, a body of 2,000+ young water professionals from 115+ countries. I've advocated for youth inclusion in the SDGs at the United Nations' General Assembly, UNESCO, the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development, the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, and ECOSOC

Volunteer

River Ranger, Urban Rivers — Urban Rivers is a non-profit that manages the Wild Mile, a floating eco-park that restores native vegetation, habitat, and greenspace along the Chicago River. Most weekends, you can catch me here leading walking tours and field trip activities for the community.

Writing

River in Reverse — I write a Substack about innovative approaches to designing equitable, climate-resilient, and ecologically vibrant cities around the world through river restoration projects.

Research

Research — My research uses deep learning to unlock novel datasets on water and sanitation access in data-scarce contexts like rural areas and informal settlements. My aim is to provide governments and water service providers with cheap and scalable AI tools to target, monitor, and sustain WASH services in neglected areas. I was previously a research affiliate with the MIT Senseable City Lab and MIT D-Lab.

Work History
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Senior Associate, Castalia Advisors — I advised utilities, governments, private investors, and donors on developing, financing, and managing $250M+ water and desalination infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

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WSSH Specialist, DAI and Tetra Tech — I was a technical project manager for a $231 million portfolio of USAID-funded WSSH programs, including: USAID/Philippines Safe Water, USAID/El Salvador Water Services Project (WSP), USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN), USAID/Uganda Sanitation for Health Activity (USHA), and USAID/Haiti Eau.

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Project Analyst, USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN) 2 — I led data analytics, monitoring, and impact evaluation efforts for a $73M program operating in India, Kenya, and Ghana to mobilize financing for climate resilient water and sanitation services.

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Consultant, USAID Africa Trade & Investment, USAID Fragile Waters, and UK Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate — I was a data science and project finance consultant to donor and government clients on a variety of water, biodiversity, and climate adaptation programs.

See where I've worked →