Christina Bennett is CEO of the Start Network, a global membership of more than 50 international, national and local NGOs working to transform humanitarian assistance through locally-driven action, innovation, fast funding and risk-based financing. Christina has 20 years of experience in humanitarian policy and practice, including field work in Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Sudan. Previously, Christina was head of the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute, and the Head of Policy Analysis and Innovation at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  She is the author of From the Ground Up: It’s About Time for Local Humanitarian Action (2020) and Time to Let go: Remaking Humanitarian Action for the Modern Era (2016) among other publications. Christina is a board member of the Risk Informed Early Action Partnership and is a frequent writer and speaker on conflict and humanitarian aid.