Sanele is a C40 Project Accountant based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She specialises in managing grant funds, budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis to drive informed decision-making.
Sanele holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from the University of Johannesburg, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Wits Business School and is currently enrolled for a Master of Commerce in Strategic Management at the University of Johannesburg.
In her spare time, she likes to read, write, listen to music, practice yoga and play with her dog whom she works hard for so he can have a great life.
Sarah is C40’s Director of Grants. She heads the Grants team, working with colleagues across the organisation to ensure compliance with funder and C40 requirements. In her role, she steers negotiations and signature of funding contracts from governmental, philanthropic and corporate donors. She develops and rolls out processes and guidance for effective grant management across the whole cycle, including for due diligence on grantees and subgrant management.
Sarah has 15+ years of experience in non-profit management and leadership, 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 (South & West Asia) for the Regional & Mayoral Engagement team at C40 Cities, bringing nearly two decades of cross-sectoral expertise to the role. At C40, she spearheads efforts to translate high-level climate commitments into tangible projects across multiple cities.
Previously, Sarika was the Team Lead for the GEF7-funded UrbanShift Country Project at the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). While there, she also led the land, shelter, and transport sectors for the seminal Master Plan for Delhi – 2041, guiding the development of strategic frameworks for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive urban growth. Her policy contributions included the Land, Transit-oriented Development (TOD), and Regeneration policies for Delhi.
An architect with a Master’s degree in housing from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Sarika has also worked with organizations such as UNICEF and contributed to projects funded by multilateral agencies, including the World Bank, JICA, and DFID. Beyond her professional commitments, she enjoys outings with her family or simply unwinding in her free time.
Shannon is the Priority Initiatives and Events Senior Manager, and in this role oversees the seamless execution of world-leading international events aligned to C40 and GCoM’s milestones and priority initiatives.
Before joining C40, Shannon produced high-profile global events for organisations in the social impact and international cooperation spaces. Shannon holds a Master’s in Globalisation and Development from SOAS University of London.
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.
Shirley Rodrigues is a member of the Board of C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 mayors united in climate action, and is Chair of the Breathe Cities Advisory Committee and an Our Common Air Commissioner, where she is working to reduce air pollution harmful to public health and climate.
Previously she was the London Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy between 2016 and 2024 where she headed world-leading initiatives to tackle the climate emergency, reduce air pollution and restore nature in London. This included delivering the Ultra Low Emission Zone, the world’s largest clean air zone of its kind, as well as inclusive programmes and policies to make London a net zero carbon city by 2030 and more resilient to climate impacts.
Before then she oversaw a global climate change grants portfolio at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), developing their first cities strategy and making grants to support climate action in China and Brazil and by international co-operation networks. She has held various executive positions in government including for three London mayors, is a trustee of the Artichoke Trust and is an expert advisor to the Earthshot Prize.
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.
In her role as Deputy Director, Silvia is responsible for overseeing the implementation of ICA projects across all C40 regions, working closely with regional managers and city officials. The C40 Inclusive Climate Action (ICA) Programme offers cities technical and policy support to integrate equity and inclusion into their climate mitigation and adaptation policies and overall urban decision-making processes. These initiatives are co-designed with diverse communities and stakeholders to address structural inequalities and deliver equitable impacts, ensuring that the benefits of climate action are distributed in a manner that is both just and beneficial to all.
Prior to this role, Silvia served as the ICA Head of Global Leadership, spearheading the Women4Climate initiative on climate and gender, as well as C40’s strategic partnerships with the Mayors Migration Council on climate and migration. Additionally, she served as C40’s Head of the Chair’s Office during the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo’s tenure as C40 Chair (2016–2019). Previous roles include Director of the Green Think Tank Fondation de l’Écologie Politique (FEP) in France and Institutional Relations Manager at the French WWF office.
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 is the C40 Regional Technical Advisor for Air Quality, West Africa. He engages with cities to identify local priorities and needs, and to develop high-impact clean air technical assistance projects, through the African Cities for Clean Air (AC4CA) Initiative.
Prior to this role, Simon served as Climate Action Planning (CAP) City Advisor for Dakar, providing technical assistance to the city in developing its Climate Action Plan to identify and deliver high-impact mitigation and adaptation actions, in line with the Paris Agreement.
Before joining C40, he worked as a research associate in climate change, nature-based carbon sequestration and environmental sustainability at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (ISE) of Dakar. He also worked in the consultancy space as a climate advisor and technical coordinator for carbon management projects. Simon also served at the NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS), as climate resilience program officer coordinating the USAID Climate Information Services Research Initiative (CISRI) in Senegal, where he engaged with multi-level stakeholders, local municipalities and advised on the development of the national scale Green Climate Fund program.
Simon holds an MSc in Agro-climatology from the Geography Department, an MSc and a PhD in Environmental Science at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar.
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).
Smrithi Prasad is the Manager, Urban Planning – India, within the Region and Mayoral Engagement team at C40. She brings extensive experience in sustainable urban mobility and planning, with a strong focus on climate action and inclusive urban development.
Before joining C40, Smrithi worked with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). In Guidance Tamil Nadu, she supported the implementation of the state’s Electric Vehicle Policy. Additionally, she led coordination with over 45 cities and 70 startups across India for the Transport4All (T4A) Digital Innovation Challenge, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. This scheme aimed to improve public transport systems.
She has previously worked with GIZ, supporting state-level experts in Tamil Nadu on GIS-based master planning for AMRUT cities. She also contributed to the review of the Tamil Nadu Development Control Regulations (DCR).
Based in Chennai, Smrithi leverages design thinking and strategic planning to foster the development of low-emission, resilient cities. Her work centers on sustainable mobility, urban planning, and policy implementation to advance effective climate strategies across cities.
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.
Solophina is the Manager, Food, Waste, Energy & Buildings and her role is to support both the Food & Waste and Energy & Buildings teams in the overall coordination and delivery of their work plans and to manage the reporting and communications to share lessons learned and make compelling narratives for cities and senior leadership across C40.
Before joining the CSN team, Solophina served as the City Advisor for the Urban Climate Action Implementation program at the City of Tshwane, South Africa. In this capacity, she spearheaded the city-level implementation of high-impact actions across the energy and waste sectors. She also facilitated mainstreaming climate action into city policies and strategic documents.
Prior to joining C40, she worked with ICLEI Africa, where her role involved working closely with city officials and key stakeholders in African cities on planning and implementation of key urban systems thematic areas such as food systems, renewable energy and energy efficiency. She has also worked with architectural practices such as Local Works in Uganda and Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Italy on sustainable building projects.
Solophina holds a Master of Architecture (Sustainable and Energy Efficient Cities) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. As a practitioner in futures and foresight, she is dedicated to applying these methodologies to foster inclusion, reflection, and strategic forecasting in sustainable urban development.