Polly Ericksen leads the International Livestock Research Institute's program on Sustainable Livestock Systems. She has over 18 years of experience working on agricultural development, natural resource management and global environmental change in developing countries. This includes experience working for the World Agroforestry Centre, Catholic Relief Services, a research fellowship at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), and five years at the University of Oxford working with the Global Environmental Change and Food Systems (GECAFS) initiative of the Earth Systems Science Partnership. Ericksen has served as the ILRI focal point for the Dryland Systems and CCAFS programs.