Our Team

As Head of Implementation in Latin America, Sarah is responsible for the rollout of C40’s UCAP Climate Action Implementation (CAI) Programme in five C40 cities in Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Sarah has worked in the past 13 years in environmental sustainability and climate change both in the private and public sectors.

As the climate change advisor for the Secretary of Environment of the city of Bogotá, Sarah led and coordinated the formulation of the city’s CAP. Prior to this, she was the leader of the Building Energy Efficiency Accelerator program of the World Resources Institute in Bogotá and Colombia, while working at the Colombian Green Building Council.  She also supported the Climate Change strategy for the Housing and Urban sector at the Ministry of Housing, Cities and Territory of Colombia and her first experience in the public sector was at the National Natural Parks office as a sustainable architect and project manager.

In the private sector she has worked as a bioclimatic and environmental sustainability advisor for architectural projects and founded an office for sustainable drainage and water recycling in Bogotá.

Sarah is an architect and holds a specialization in environmental engineering from Los Andes University in Bogotá and a MSc in sustainable design from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.  

Sarah is C40’s Head of Grants. She leads a team supporting the organisation to set up and maintain grant management processes that aim to enable C40 to successfully deliver on contracts with our partners and suppliers and to contribute to our vision of equity-rooted climate action.

Sarah has 12+ years of experience in non-profit management and leadership working in a variety of roles supporting teams that design, fundraise for, manage, implement, and monitor sustainable development programmes on gender justice/women’s rights, climate justice, accountable governance, and conflict and fragility.

Having been on both the granting-in and granting-out ends of the funding spectrum, she has experience in setting up contract management systems that work to support the delivery of impact and at the same time uphold accountability to donors, regulators, as well as civil society partners and communities.

She has also authored and co-authored papers on social justice with a focus on gender equality and is passionate about racial justice and decolonisation.

Sarah is French and Lebanese. In her spare time, she loves reading, writing, learning new things, travelling, and eating her way through every city she finds herself in.

Sarah serves as Research Manager, supporting the Executive Director with research projects, speeches, articles and blogs. Sarah joined C40 after completing an MSc in Sustainable Resource Economics, Transitions and Policy at University College London. Her dissertation focussed on city-level energy projects. She also holds a BA in Middle Eastern Languages from the University of Manchester and has lived and worked in a number of global cities, including Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Alexandria. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys hiking and reading.

Sarika is the Director of Implementation within the Regional & Mayoral Engagement team at C40 Cities.

Previously, she served as the Team Lead for the GEF7-funded UrbanShift Country Project at the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), a premier think tank for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. At NIUA, she led the land, shelter, and transport sectors for the Master Plan for Delhi – 2041. She guided a team of planners in developing baseline assessments and strategic frameworks for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive urban growth. She also contributed to key policies, including the Land Policy, Transit-oriented Development (TOD) Policy, and Regeneration Policy for Delhi.

With nearly two decades of cross-sectoral experience in urban planning, transportation, and environmental sustainability, Sarika has worked with organizations such as UNICEF and NCRPB. She has also contributed to projects funded by multilateral agencies like the World Bank, JICA, and DFID.

An architect by training, Sarika holds a Master’s degree in housing from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Beyond her professional commitments, she enjoys outings with her family or simply unwinding in her free time.

Seneca serves as C40’s Programme Manager, Air Quality and Climate Action Planning. In this role, she works to integrate air quality and air pollution-related health considerations into the C40 Cities climate action planning process. As part of C40’s Air Quality and Climate Action Planning Integration Project, she will be responsible for coordinating the technical air quality impact analyses for seven pilot city projects. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Seneca worked at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as a researcher in the Climate and Air Quality Modelling group, where she worked on projects in both the research and consulting arenas, with a focus on the air quality-climate change linkages that exist within cities and air quality management planning. Previously, Seneca worked as an air quality scientist at the South African Weather Service, where she was responsible for managing data from monitoring networks in South Africa’ nationally declared air quality priority areas and reporting this information to South Africa’s National Department of Environment, Forestries and Fisheries. She was involved in the development and operation of South Africa’s Industrial National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System. Seneca holds an MSc in Atmospheric Science and a BSc Honours in Geography from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Sheriff Sanusi has dedicated his professional experience to helping organisations meet their objectives by supporting them to build and make efficient use of Salesforce platforms. He is based in the United Kingdom but is originally from Nigeria, with a background in MSC Business Information Systems.

Prior to joining C40, Sheriff Sanusi previously worked within the financial sector, medical research industry and the agricultural sector (AGCO), where he helped to improve and enhance Salesforce platforms. Sheriff brings experience working on multiple Salesforce platforms, including sales cloud, service cloud and experience cloud.

Shilpa serves as Manager of Climate Implementation at C40 and supports the cities in the South and West Asia region in implementing climate action plans and scaling up non-C40 engagements. Her role also encompasses supporting engagement, mainly with Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Prior to joining C40, Shilpa worked with organisations such as Palladium Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), South Asia, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) supporting pivotal government initiatives focused on urban governance, innovation, and climate at the central and the local body level. With MoHUA and NIUA, she was part of the prestigious India Smart Cities Fellowship Programme, where she worked on various innovative initiatives for the Smart Cities Mission and supported the local urban bodies in the cities for climate action through the Climate Centre for Cities. Shilpa helped set the baseline for preparing the climate action plan for Pune city with GCoM. She also spearheaded and implemented various locally-led sustainable and climate initiatives with Palladium Consulting India for Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Additionally, she has also volunteered with non-governmental organisations in the education and climate sectors.

Shilpa holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Anna University, Chennai, and a postgraduate degree in Advanced Construction Management from National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR), Pune. Outside of work, she enjoys taking early morning strolls, reading books, practising dance routines, exploring new smoothie recipes, and dabbling with some amateur painting.

Shivani serves as C40 Senior Manager Waste and Methane based in Ahmedabad, India.

Shivani is an environmentalist with experience in Industry and Government Departments such as the Climate Change Department of the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat Urban Development Mission. She was a part of the first Gujarat State Action Plan on Climate Change development team and has worked on NGT (National Green Tribunal) and NITI Aayog projects pertaining to the Urban Development Department viz., River Action Plan, Composite Water Management Index, etc. Worked with Smart and Amrut mission cities of Gujarat to monitor project progress, reforms, and other innovative initiatives. She has worked on projects by the Climate Change Department of the Government. of Gujarat, such as the calculation and report preparation of lifestyle-based carbon footprints.

Shivani has worked in academics as a visiting faculty member at Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU), Gandhinagar, The M.S. University of Baroda and Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. 

Shivani holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Visva-Bharti Central University, Santiniketan, West Bengal and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the M.S. University of Baroda.

Shreya Nair is the Manager of Mobility at C40 Cities, supporting cities in the South & West Asia region within the Laneshift Programme. This initiative focuses on developing a roadmap for electric highways connecting major metro cities in India. In her role, Shreya engages with business and industry stakeholders to advocate for targets and commitments toward transitioning their existing transport needs to zero-emission options.

Before joining C40, Shreya gained experience at organisations such as Mumbai First, BSAG McLarty Associates, and PRS Legislative Research. Her work encompassed governance, legislative research, policy advocacy, and stakeholder management across various levels of city, sub-national, and central government. She has also contributed to national election campaigns and served as a legislative research assistant to a member of the Indian parliament.

Shreya holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College, India. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring parks and gardens around her city and developing new recipes to cook.

Shuang serves as the Senior Manager of Communications and Strategic Engagement in C40’s China office, to develop the communications function and strengthen the engagement with member cities. In this role, she advocates C40’s impact on external partners and stakeholders, identifies communication opportunities and approaches, leverage two-way communications of cities’ best practices between China and the global audience. Before joining C40, Shuang worked as Program Manager of Giti Group United in Diversity Foundation for 8 years.

She engaged cross-sector leaders to jointly step forward and take on sustainable development challenges through “Innovative Dynamics Education and Action for Sustainability (IDEAS)” leadership programmes with Chinese government, MIT Sloan and Tsinghua University. She also led communication and partnership engagement work from China side for major events hosted by the foundation, identify pathways for the foundation for pre-development of programmes, advocate programme outcomes to relevant government partners. Previously, Shuang worked in the WWF China office for policy research and advocacy, focusing on promoting the Ecological Footprint concept and Green Economy to policymakers as well as wide stakeholders. Shuang holds an MA in International Development from University of East Anglia and a BA from China Agricultural University.

As Head of the Chair’s Office, Silvia works with the Chair of C40, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, her team in Paris, and the C40 Executive Director team to set the Chair’s strategic vision, implement the Chair’s priorities and coordinate Steering Committee engagement. Silvia manages Chair-level external communications and leads the Women4Climate initiative, designed to advance and support the emergence of the next generation of female climate leaders in C40 Cities.

The former director of green Think Tank Fondation de l’Ecologie Politique-FEP (France), Silvia has worked for several years at the French WWF office as the Institutional Relations Manager, responsible for the National Energy Transition Bill. Silvia graduated in International Relations from the University of Trieste (Italy), and holds a Masters degree in Urban Sociology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences/EHESS-Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris, France).

Simon serves as Technical Lead for Transport at C40. In this role he provides technical expertise on transport and helps embed transport and urban planning programmes in cities’ climate action plans.

Prior to joining C40 Simon worked within the Transport Strategy team at Transport for London (TfL) on the development of air quality and environmental policy for the Mayors Transport Strategy and London Environment Strategy. He led the policy development for the T-Charge, the early introduction and expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone, the Mayor of London’s scrappage scheme for microbusinesses and charities, and TfL’s Zero Emission Zone guidance.

Simon holds an MSc in Transport Planning and Management from the University of Westminster and a BA in History from the University of Warwick.

Simon Sambou serves as C40’s City Adviser for Dakar. In this role, he is responsible for providing technical assistance in updating the city’s climate action plan to deliver mitigation and adaptation outcomes and inclusive low-carbon development in line to the Paris Agreement.

Simon has previously worked as a lecturer at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (ISE) and Climate Action Facilitator at the Group of Action and Initiative for an Alternative Development (GAIA). He was responsible for carbon assessment and monitoring at the Project for Sustainable and participatory management of traditional alternative energies (PROGEDE 2). Simon has also worked with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as a Program Officer coordinating the USAID’s Learning Agenda Project “Climate Information Services Research Initiative (CISRI)” in Senegal where he worked closely with local municipalities and as Climate Change Technical Advisor for the development of Green Climate Fund program. He holds a Masters degree in Geography, a MSc degree and PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD).

Sisekelo is the Business Planning & Reporting Team Assistant in the Business Planning, Measurement & Innovation Department. In this role, she is responsible for producing robust and compelling data and visualisations for C40 decision-makers as well as C40 member cities.

Before joining C40, Sisekelo worked as an analyst for a developmental management consultancy. She has been involved in several transport industry development and green energy projects in various regions of South Africa.

Sisekelo completed her studies in Social Sciences at the University of Cape Town, with majors in Environmental Science and Anthropology. She further went on to study Business Management, also at the University of Cape Town.

Hajar serves as the C40 Community Resilience Adviser for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Prior to joining C40, she served as a Town Planning Officer at the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur, where she managed the Local Agenda 21 portfolio, focusing on community empowerment projects.

Hajar also brings extensive experience in local plan and strategy development from her time at a leading local urban planning and design consultancy in Kuala Lumpur.

Hajar graduated with a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Siya Sauka has more than 10 years of experience in the fields of climate change, natural (and water) resource management and environmental sustainability. She has focused on research, analysis and advisory in both the public and private sector, and has also worked closely with national governments, research institutions, multinational corporations, and international development finance institutions.
Prior to C40, Siya worked as an Engagement Manager at Pegasys (a development focused management consultancy), and as a Climate Researcher at the South African Institute of International affairs (an international affairs think tank). She has worked extensively on climate research and climate resilience. Her expertise also includes disaster risk assessment and reduction, carbon and water accounting, renewable energy, and promoting a green, inclusive and circular economy. Recently, she developed an interest and focus on the integration and use of data and information for effective decision-making in climate adaptation, particularly in developing countries.
Siya holds an MSc in Geography from the University of the Witwatersrand (dissertation focused on a Flood risk assessment for the Crocodile River, Mpumalanga), and is in the process of finalising her PhD application (focused on Analytical Approaches for Climate Adaptation and Decision-Making in the Face of Uncertainty).

Snigdha Garg serves as the Head of Adaptation Research and Performance. In this position, she is responsible for managing adaptation research projects of C40 and mainstreaming adaptation across C40’s projects and programmes. Before joining C40, Snigdha graduated from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a Master in Environmental Management. She previously worked with ICLEI South Asia for three years on building climate resilience strategies, disaster risk reduction, developing climate change mitigation and adaptation plans for cities, and bench-marking basic services against national standards for South Asian cities. She has experience in sustainability consulting, project management and urban resilience. In addition, she also holds a Master of Environmental Studies from TERI University, India and a Bachelor of Science from Delhi University, India.

Stefania oversees C40’s Food Strategy as part of the Climate Solutions & Networks Initiative. Before joining C40, Stefania worked as a policy advisor and project manager at the Mayor’s Office of Milan (2011-2015), where she focused on the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and overall Food Policy for the city. In particular, Stefania helped design measures and liaised with local and international stakeholders. Stefania also worked as a World Health Organization (WHO) consultant for policy alignment and aid coordination in the health sector in Moldova (2011-2014) and Tajikistan (2006-2009). She has a PhD in Institutions and Policies from UCSC, Milan, and an MSc in Political Economy of Late Development from the London School of Economics.

Stelios Diakoulakis joined C40 in April 2018 and he is based in Athens. He is the Deputy Regional Director for Europe and closely works with the Regional Director in providing support to European member cities regarding their overall participation in C40 activities ensuring they benefit from their membership – both at political and technical level – and also comply with C40 Participation Standards. He is responsible for the delivery of projects of strategic importance for C40 such as the cities’ commitment to ambitious climate targets as well as the development and implementation of Deadline 2020 compliant climate action plans. Prior to joining C40, Stelios worked as Senior EU Policy and International Affairs Advisor to the Mayor of Athens. He has significant experience in European policies and institutions having offered his services for many years in the European Parliament and the Greek Foreign Ministry while he has also worked as a consultant at a private company specialised in the development of strategic regional programs and impact assessments in the EU Cohesion Policy framework. He has studied Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business and holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Reading, UK. He speaks English, French and Greek.