Felicity Cahill

Felicity Cahill, a lawyer and international development practitioner, has had a range of diverse roles with the Cities Programme since she joined in 2011. One of her most significant contributions was her lead research role in a lengthy research project related to the resettlement of the Vila Chocolatão community in Porto Alegre, Brazil (2012-2015). She mapped the history of the resettlement project and the partners, processes and achievement of the cross-sectoral network group that drove a social project alongside the resettlement. The full report was released in 2016. This research was also the focus of Felicity’s minor thesis – When Urban Resettlement Meets Public Participatory Processes, A Case Study of the Chocolatão Slum Community in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Felicity also led the initial development of the new sustainable cities publication, Cities for the Future.

Felicity’s relationship with the Cities Programme commenced with an internship as part of her Masters in International Development at RMIT University. During this period she also coordinated the Cities and Urbanisation stream for the UN Global Compact’s Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012. In 2013, Felicity coordinated the inaugural People and Planet Conference in Melbourne, Australia. She held the position of Manager, City Engagement and Projects from June to December 2016. Achievements during this period included development of the Cities Programme’s new relationship management system, city engagement system and core structure for the new website.

Felicity has a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Class I Honours) from the University of Queensland and a Master of Social Science (International Development) from RMIT University. Felicity has advanced French language skills.