Katerina (Kate) Cerna
Senior Manager
Katerina (Kate) Cerna is a Senior Manager at Agulhas with over 12 years’ experience in international development, with a focus on governance, climate, nature and sustainable development. She is an experienced evaluator and researcher, providing evidence, analysis and facilitation support to donors, multilateral development agencies, foundations, NGOs and civil society organisations.
Kate currently leads the 2025 evaluation of the Youth Negotiators Academy, which builds the capacity of young people to participate effectively in global environmental negotiations and other multilateral decision-making spaces. She is also project manager and climate finance expert for the mid-term evaluation of the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Implementation Facility (PMIF), supporting countries to design, pilot and implement carbon pricing instruments aligned with their development priorities.
Over more than a decade at Agulhas, Kate has worked as deputy team leader, expert, senior researcher and technical manager on complex, multi-country evaluations, primarily under the Agulhas Climate Hub. Her clients have included the UK’s Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), The Elders, the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and the Clean Air Fund (CAF).
Key work skills
Kate has particular expertise in designing and applying qualitative and quantitative tools for research and evaluation, including document review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, political economy analysis, sense-making workshops and social network analysis. Kate has led and contributed to theory-based, strategy, process and portfolio evaluations, using approaches such as outcome harvesting and contribution analysis, and has supported clients to develop and strengthen monitoring, evaluation and learning systems.
Other interests
Outside of work, Kate loves to travel and explore the outdoors, whether by hiking, tackling new trails, mountain biking or diving. She also appreciates time to slow down, curl up on the sofa and enjoy a good book.
