Viable Cities is a network organization and the program office is staffed by KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Lund University, RISE - Research institute of Sweden, and SEI - Stockholm Environment Institute. We are also supported by a number of expert advisors.
The program team is geographically distributed and works from different locations around Sweden. Hemmet is our central node on Campus KTH, Villan is our northern node in Umeå and soon we will also have a southern node, Byn in Lund. KTH is the host organization of the program. Most of the team works part-time for Viable Cities, often in projects with external funding.
Olga Kordas
Program Manager (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
olga.kordas@viablecities.se
Olga has been the Viable Cities Program Manager since 2017 and is also a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Urban Development at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Olga has always been fascinated by science and the beauty of mathematics, while being passionate about issues related to sustainable development, climate and democracy. Her main research interests are complex systems, innovation systems, participatory modeling and reflexive learning aimed at energy and climate transition in cities.
Åsa Minoz
Deputy Program Manager / Innovation Strategist (Viable Cities/KTH)
Mittnoden
asa.minoz@viablecities.se
Åsa has been part of the Viable Cities program management since 2018 and has the role of innovation strategist. She has a background in innovation policy with experience from Vinnova and the Government Offices. For a number of years, she has run her own company in innovation for sustainable social development and is also an experienced process manager and strategic communicator.
Albert Edman
Internationalization Strategist (Viable Cities/RISE)
Norrnoden
albert.edman@viablecities.se
Albert coordinates the internationalization work of Viable Cities and the link to the EU mission platforms NetZeroCities, CapaCITIES and Driving Urban Transitions. He also contributes to the development of the link with the New European Bauhaus. Albert splits his time between Viable Cities and RISE. He has a background in sustainable community development at European and national level from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning and the Swedish Institute for Ecological Sustainability and several Swedish municipalities.
Anna-Lena Ekenryd
Communication Strategist (Viable Cities/KTH)
Mittnoden
anna-lena.ekenryd@viablecities.se
Anna-Lena has experience in journalism, communication and leadership. From helicopter perspective to choice of words, Anna-Lena works to ensure that Viable Cities' communication contributes to a movement for climate-neutral and sustainable cities, partly through a broad presence in digital channels and through a number of events during the year, such as Climate Breakfast and Transition Lab Forum. Anna-Lena also coordinates the Viable Cities communication network KOM2030 and works with the long-term strategic communication work.
Anette Olovborn
Strategic designer (Viable Cities/DML)
The hub
anette.olovborn@viablecities.se
Anette is a committed change leader and designer with a passion for the environment and sustainability. She is driven by the desire to build a society where we live within the limits of the planet and everyone is included with equal value. She has extensive experience in leading organizations and driving service and business development in both the public and private sectors in roles such as manager, service designer, project manager and trainer. Within Viable Cities, Anette works with the initiative on system demonstrators.
Carina Aschan
Project Manager (Viable Cities/RISE)
Norrnoden
carina.aschan@viablecities.se
Carina works primarily internationally within NetZeroCities with a focus on multi-level governance, just transition, collaboration and climate-neutral cities. Carina has many years of experience in international collaboration, sustainability work and innovation in urban development and Smart Cities. She has previously worked strategically with sustainable growth and urban development at the municipal level, but also with business development and infrastructure issues regionally and internationally, as well as with sustainable mobility and fuel and energy issues. Carina divides her time between Viable Cities and RISE Samhällsbyggnad.
Caroline Byh
Communications Officer (Viable Cities/KTH)
Mittnoden
caroline.byh@viablecities.se
Caroline Byh works in the Viable Cities communication team. She has previously worked for, among others, the Swedish UN Association where she was the communications and collaboration manager for the project Glokala Sverige, and project manager for the annual conference Mötesplats Agenda 2030. Before that, Caroline worked at Sluta röka-linjen (Region Stockholm) in various roles including communications, campaigns, events, and collaboration. She has a background as a designer and designer. Caroline is passionate about climate change and is one of the Swedish EU Climate Pact Ambassadors 2025.
Celine Berggreen-Clausen
Project Manager Internationalization (Viable Cities/RISE)
Sydnoden
celine.berggreen-clausen@viablecities.se
Celine works mainly internationally within NetZeroCities with a focus on multi-level governance, just transition, policy development and climate neutral cities. She has several years of experience in smart and sustainable community development from the public and private sector as well as industry-related research in Sweden and Norway. Celine's background is in economic geography and she is particularly passionate about sustainability and impact through involvement and participation, business modeling and interdisciplinarity. Celine divides her time between Viable Cities and RISE.
Charlotte G Brynielsson
Sustainability Strategist (Viable Cities/KTH)
Mittnoden
charlotte.g.brynielsson@viablecities.se
Charlotte focuses on supporting the transition towards a holistic approach to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda. She also works with the collaboration of multi-level governance and supporting structures, to scale up and increase the pace of the transition. Charlotte has extensive experience of development and change work from local, regional and international levels, among other things, she has been head of sustainability in Växjö and Kalmar, where she was responsible for the municipalities' work within the framework of "Climate Neutral Cities 2030".
Daniel Dersén
Digitization Strategist (Viable Cities/Internet Foundation)
Mittnoden
daniel.dersen@viablecities.se
Daniel is part of the project management of the Urban Twin Transition Center, which works with digitalization as a tool for the climate transition. He has previously held leading roles in the internet, e-commerce and telecom companies, including as CEO of Spray, Studentkortet, Plus46, Telenor, and others.
Fedra Vanhuyse
Finance and Procurement Strategist (Viable Cities/SEI)
Mittnoden
fedra.vanhuyse@viablecities.se
Fedra is passionate about cities, economics and people, and seeks to combine these topics in her research portfolio. At Viable Cities, she leads work on climate investment planning, which involves developing the concept, designing tools and helping cities understand the economic and financial case for climate neutrality. Previously, she has worked for the UK National Audit Office, a local government in the UK and a labor rights organization in Southeast Asia.
Henrik Søndergaard
(Viable Cities/LU)
Sydnoden
henrik.sondergaard@viablecities.se
Henrik is an experienced international innovation and business development manager with a solid background in information technology, telecommunications and energy. He has also worked in several countries, including Denmark, Germany, Austria and Norway.
Jonas Persson
Project Manager Internationalization - PED (Viable Cities/RISE)
Mittnoden
jonas.persson@viablecities.se
Jonas works with the Viable Cities international initiative, focusing on the Positive Energy District (PED), one of the Transition Pathways within Driving Urban Transitions (DUT). Jonas has several years of experience in the energy transition of cities and districts in both strategic and operational work. Through innovation management, stakeholder-driven collaboration and process and project management, the focus is on increased resource utilization and sector coupling, interaction between different technologies, proptech, energy communities, positive energy districts and the energy issue in the planning process. Jonas divides his time between Viable Cities and RISE, where he works at the Energy and Resources department. He replaces Sara Ghaem who is on parental leave.
Karoliina Pilli-Sihvola
Researcher (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
karoliina.pilli-sihvola@viablecities.se
Karoliina's expertise is climate change adaptation, and her focus in Viable Cities is the integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation. She is working on Climate City Contract 2030 and the Viable Cities international initiative. She has previously worked at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the National Audit Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland.
Lars Johansson
Coordinator Climate Neutral Cities 2030 (Viable Cities/RISE)
Mittnoden
lars.johansson@viablecities.se
Lars works primarily with the 48 municipalities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative, for example with transition support and change management at system level. Lars has a background in politics, public administration, academia, business and the innovation system, and has in various roles and contexts worked with sustainability and climate since 2004. During 2019-2021, Lars worked within Climate Neutral Uppsala 2030 and close to Climate Neutral Enköping 2030 as innovation leader and advisor.
Lena Holmberg
Learning Strategist (Viable Cities/LU)
Sydnoden
lena.holmberg@viablecities.se
Lena holds a PhD in Education with a specialization in the design of learning environments. She is an experienced facilitator and process leader with a background in business, academia, public organisations and civil society and specializes in multi-stakeholder innovation collaboration addressing sustainability challenges. Within Viable Cities, she works on developing actors' transformative learning through various activities, both in Sweden and through international efforts.
Lovisa Vildö
Process Manager (Viable Cities/RISE)
Mid-Node
lovisa.vildo@viablecities.se
Lovisa is a process manager and works mainly with facilitating learning and promoting strategic change together with cities, to contribute to a more effective transition. She has a broad experience of working with innovative governance structures at different levels of society; from local citizens' councils to national, governmental strategies. Lovisa splits her time between Viable Cities and RISE.
Maria Tengvard
Internationalization Strategist (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
maria.tengvard@viablecities.se
Maria has many years of experience in international collaboration and leading climate, energy and business development initiatives from a Quadruple Helix perspective. She has previously worked strategically with export promotion, urban development and climate policy at municipal, regional and national level. At Viable Cities, Maria works mainly internationally within NetZeroCities and CapaCITIES, with a focus on multi-level governance, collaboration and climate-neutral cities.
Marie Ivarsson
Strategist (Viable Cities/RISE)
Middle node
marie.ivarsson@viablecities.se
Marie is a strategist and works within Viable Cities with internationalization, policy development, analysis and high-level relations. She has a long background in innovation and research policy and international cooperation at regional, national and EU level with experience from the Government Offices and Region Västra Götaland.
Olena Tatarchenko
Administrator (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
olena.tatarchenko@viablecities.se
Olena is a research engineer in sustainable technologies. She has previously been involved in research and administration of several international projects such as Climate Neutral Urban Districts in Europe (CLUE), Central Baltic Cooperation in Energy Efficiency and Feasibility in Urban Planning (ENEF), and Alive and KICing - Products and Services of Living Smart City Energy Lab. Olena works in Viable Cities on financial and practical matters, planning and administration.
Olle Dierks
Head of Large Scale Investments and Chairman of Team Sweden Smart Cities (Viable Cities/KTH)
Mittnoden
olle.dierks@viablecities.se
Olle leads, among other things, system demonstrators for climate-neutral cities and an initiative for cooperation between Sweden, the EU and the US for climate-neutral cities. Olle is Chairman for Team Sweden Smart Cities, one of about ten sub-groups within the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Team Sweden, coordinated by Viable Cities. He shares his time as a specialist on partnerships for innovation and investment at UN-Habitat.
Patrik Rydén
Collaborative Strategist (Viable Cities/LU)
South Node
patrik.ryden@viablecities.se
Patrik is one of Viable Cities' veterans. Patrik has more than 15 years of experience working with innovation and development. Within Viable Cities, he coordinates the work with calls, is the spider in the web when calls are planned, opened and closed, and not least, he is the one who can answer questions from all stakeholders. Patrik works 50 percent for Viable Cities from his position at Lund University.
Per Grankvist
Chief Storyteller (Viable Cities/What We Know)
Middle Node
Per works to explain things in a thoughtful and entertaining way that creates understanding, relationship and commitment. He is working on developing a storytelling method that will increase engagement and understanding of the climate transition in cities and communities.
Rebecka Engström
Researcher (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
rebecka.engstrom@viablecities.se
Rebecka works on exploring and conceptualizing how cities can demonstrate systemic change in the energy system beyond pilot and demo projects - for example in system demonstrators - and how their transformative potential can be evaluated along the way. She also builds on her previous research on how climate adaptation, resilience and risk perspectives can be built into the transition work in cities from different perspectives.
Sara Brave
Analyst (Viable Cities/KTH)
Middle node
sara.modig@viablecities.se
Sara works with analysis and follow-up of Climate City Contract 2030. She has a long background in research and innovation policy, with experience from Vinnova and the Government Offices. She has also run her own company in innovation for sustainable social development and worked as a consultant with design-driven development of services, organization, strategy and systems. Sara is passionate about people's potential and power to learn, grow and co-create a sustainable society.
Sofie Sandin Lompar
Analysts and researchers (Viable Cities/LU)
Sydnoden
sofie.sandin-lompar@viablecities.se
Sofie is involved in the Climate City Contract 2030 process, where she follows climate policy developments and trends at local and global level, and analyzes the development of Climate City Contract. She will also be involved in refining the policy lab format to address practical challenges and drive actionable changes. Sofie has both experience and passion for environmental policy instruments and their evaluation, and she will split her time between the Viable Cities program team and research at Lund University.
Vanja Östman
Project Manager (Viable Cities/RISE)
Norrnoden
vanja.ostman@viablecities.se
Vanja is an intermediary and process leader who supports ecosystems between different actors from different spheres of society. She coordinates the work with our over 140 member organizations. Vanja connects Viable Cities with, among other things, the Transition Gap initiative, the societal transition in northern Sweden and the regional dimension. Vanja has her base position at RISE, at the unit Societal Transformation. Vanja has previously worked in municipal operations, in recent years as growth manager at Örnsköldsvik municipality.
Parents on parental leave
Sara Ghaem, Project Manager Internationalization, (Viable Cities/RISE), available from April 2024.
Madeleine Bergman, Communications Officer, (Viable Cities/KTH). Available from February 2025.
Viable Cities expert advisors include:
