Sharon Maria Sajan is an architect and urban planner by profession, presently with IIHS Practice Programme. She is passionate about creating resilient and liveable urban spaces, and also has experience in research, teaching and programme management.
She began her career as a researcher at Thanal, an environmental NGO based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. At Thanal, she led the work on ‘Greenhouse gases emission profile of Kerala – 2018–19; Baseline assessment for a low carbon economy’, with the climate action team. Grassroots-level initiatives were undertaken in Wayanad district with the support of the LSG Department, and a handbook for greenhouse gas emission estimation focusing on local self-governing bodies was prepared.
Sharon was also associated with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Delhi, where she anchored the CDRI Fellowship Programme. She handled a multi-disciplinary pool of professionals and experts from across the globe in two cohorts, managed the CDRI Fellowship review process, and provided key support for in-house development of the website of the CDRI Fellowship Programme. She also has experience in teaching postgraduate (planning) and undergraduate (architecture) courses.
At IIHS, she works closely with the School of Systems & Infrastructure and the School of Environment & Sustainability.
