People

Sharon is an integral member of CIESIN's Finance and Grants functions, where she plays a key role in supporting both pre- and post-award activities. With a strong foundation in non-profit accounting, Sharon is responsible for assisting principal investigators with proposal preparation and submission during the pre-award phase. Her expertise also extends to managing the post-award lifecycle, where she ensures efficient accounting, management, and reconciliation of sponsored funding.

John Squires is a GIS Specialist in the Geospatial Applications division at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN) of the Columbia Climate School. He currently acts as a technical manager for GPWv5, managing the code development process, including mentoring research staff assistants on code development. John has contributed to numerous SEDAC datasets, including leading publication of the Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM), processing 26 thousand files down to a much more manageable collection of 36 granules by modeling the aggregation of the multi-dimensional data with the end user use cases in mind. He led the development of the interface and data flow for software that integrates solar models and GIS.

John holds a BA in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. Prior to working at CIESIN John spent a decade working as an operations manager for Amazon, helping them run their ordering systems.

Dhwani Laddha is an interdisciplinary designer and urban planner passionate about building more resilient cities. As a Senior Research Staff Assistant at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), she contributes to the GRID3 team, supporting initiatives such as the Zero Dose Child Vaccination Project under the Equity Acceleration Fund in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and ICAP’s Health Innovation Initiatives for HIV and EPI in Mozambique. As part of the Science Applications Division, Dhwani integrates her expertise in urban analytics and communications design to conduct exploratory data analyses of health infrastructure and settlements across Sub-Saharan Africa. She has earned a Master of Science in Urban Planning (GSAPP '24) from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Design (Parsons '21) from The New School.