Patricia McCarney is President and CEO of the World Council on City Data (WCCD) and is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada. She has served as Associate Vice President, International Research and Development at the University of Toronto.

Professor Patricia McCarney received her Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1987. Before joining the University of Toronto, between 1983 and 1994, Professor McCarney worked as a professional staff member in a number of international agencies, including the World Bank in Washington, and the United Nations – HABITAT in Nairobi.

Leading the World Council on City Data, Patricia McCarney is building a globally standardized data base for cities worldwide inviting cities to build city data in conformity with ISO 37120, the first international standard for city data. As host of this new knowledge platform, the WCCD is positioned to be the leading global city data base with standardized, verified, comparable and open city data for a growing network of smart and prosperous cities. Dr. McCarney has been working with Local2030 and the United National Executive Office of the Secretary General to build a data framework for ‘Localizing the SDGs’, since cities across the globe are pivotal actors in building, and measuring, progress towards the 2030 Agenda.