Ms. Sofka Brown is the West Coast Director for the UK Government’s Science and Innovation Network (SIN) in the US, based in the British Consulate in San Francisco, a role she took up in August 2018. The global SIN is a unique part of the UK Government’s overseas representation, working to build international multi-stakeholder science and technology collaborations to address strategically important issues, including addressing the climate crisis through clean tech and future energy advances; global health challenges; and the responsible development of emerging technologies. Ms. Brown is a career diplomat and international policy expert. She was a senior policy advisor to the UK’s National Security Council in 2012-2015, focusing on policy issues related to Africa, the UN, development, and conflict management. She was part of the UK’s representation to the UN Security Council from 2008 to 2012. She is a member of the UK Government’s Project & Programme, and Science & Engineering Professions, and helped to create the UK’s innovative £1bn Conflict, Security and Stability Fund to address issues at the nexus of development and security. Through her career she has also worked on Russia and the South Caucasus; European prosperity; and digital diplomacy.