Meet the Columbia World Projects team.
Director
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Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA
DirectorRead Full Bio arrow_right_altDr. Wafaa El-Sadr is the director of Columbia World Projects and Executive Vice President for Columbia Global. She is also the founder and director of ICAP at Columbia University and...
Senior Leadership
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Cristiane Costa
Chief Operating OfficerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altCristiane Costa brings more than 20 years of experience designing and managing complex global development programs. As CWP’s Chief Operating Officer, she focuses on transforming organizational...
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Ira Katznelson
Deputy Director for Research & EngagementRuggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia UniversityRead Full Bio arrow_right_altIra Katznelson is Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History at Columbia University. His 2013 book, "Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time," received the Bancroft...
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Peter Twyman
Deputy Director for ProjectsRead Full Bio arrow_right_altPeter has over 25 years of experience designing, implementing, and directing highly impactful public health and social development programs in the U.S. and internationally.
Communications
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Cassandra Ziegler
CommunicationsRead Full Bio arrow_right_altCassandra joined Columbia World Projects (CWP) at its inception in October 2017. During the first three years she worked on the project’s team helping to build programmatic frameworks...
Development
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David R. Murray
Director of DevelopmentRead Full Bio arrow_right_altDavid is an enthusiastic face-to-face fundraiser and philanthropy evangelist with 25 years of global experience across the non-profit sector. He is responsible for managing charitable...
Fellows
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Hiba Bou Akar
Columbia World Projects FellowAssistant Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia UniversityRead Full Bio arrow_right_altHiba Bou Akar is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, and is leading GSAPP’s newly-established Post-Conflict...
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Jonathan Papoulidis
Columbia World Projects FellowGlobal Director, Fragility and Resilience, Food for the Hungry Inc.Read Full Bio arrow_right_altJonathan Papoulidis is Global Director of Fragility and Resilience, Food for the Hungry Inc. where he provides broad leadership on the Agency’s policy, programming and partnerships for...
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Partha Chatterjee
Columbia World Projects FellowProfessor Emeritus of Anthropology and MESAAS, Columbia UniversityRead Full Bio arrow_right_altPartha Chatterjee is a political theorist, political anthropologist and historian. He graduated from Presidency College, Calcutta, and received his PhD from the University of Rochester.
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Yuen Yuen Ang
Columbia World Projects FellowPolitical Scientist and Expert on China and Emerging EconomiesRead Full Bio arrow_right_altYuen Yuen Ang is a political scientist at the University of Michigan and an expert on China and emerging economies. Professor Ang was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow for...
Finance & Administration
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Antonio Pagán
Director, Finance and AdministrationRead Full Bio arrow_right_altTony came to Columbia World Projects with more than 25 years of development and management experience from various responsibilities in public health and social service organizations.
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Cheryl McIntyre
Associate Director, Human ResourcesRead Full Bio arrow_right_altCheryl has more than 25 years of people, process, and program management experience in higher education and the health care and finance industries, and she returned to Columbia...
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Liam Noonan
Assistant Director, FinanceRead Full Bio arrow_right_altLiam has served Columbia University for two decades as a financial administrator for the Office of the President, the School of Social Work, and the university’s central Accounts Payable.
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Sarah Haw
Manager, Financial AdministrationRead Full Bio arrow_right_altSarah comes to Columbia World Projects from the Center for Climate Systems Research at the Earth Institute, where she was the Administrative Coordinator for over five years.
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Katherine Fayn
Senior Human Resources ManagerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altKatherine joined Columbia World Projects in March 2020 as Business Manager. Prior to Columbia World Projects, Katherine served as Human Resources & Faculty Affairs Generalist at the...
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Aneka Roberts
Senior Project Officer for OperationsRead Full Bio arrow_right_altAneka joined Columbia World Projects in May 2022. Prior to joining, she worked at Avenues: The World School where she was the Program Operations Manager – Global Extensions.
Leadership Development
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Lisa Dolberry Hancock
Director, Learning and InnovationRead Full Bio arrow_right_altLisa joined Columbia World Projects in 2018. She was previously a Vice President at Goldman Sachs where she was head of employee community engagement, leading the creation of pro...
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Daniella Sarnoff
Director, Social Impact LeadershipRead Full Bio arrow_right_altDaniella joined Columbia World Project in July 2022 after over a decade at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), directing the International Dissertation Research Fellowship Program...
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Zachary K. Wong
Assistant Director, Obama Foundation Scholars ProgramRead Full Bio arrow_right_altZachary is the Assistant Director of the Obama Foundation Scholars Program. His prior work at Columbia University includes serving as the Manager of Communications and Projects for...
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Rainah Umlauf
Project OfficerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altRainah joined Columbia World Projects in 2019. Previously, she worked at Trinity Wall Street where she coordinated justice, advocacy, and outreach programming on a range...
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Marissa Oliver
Project Officer, Learning and InnovationRead Full Bio arrow_right_altMarissa joined Columbia World Projects in October of 2022. Prior to joining CWP, she served as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Specialist for the global digital music group...
Special Initiatives
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Christine Hunt
Special Initiatives Project OfficerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altChristine Hunt has over a decade of experience in global health and public service specifically around partnership engagement and the management of both international projects and collaborative...
Postdoctoral Researchers
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Ariam L. Torres
Postdoctoral Research ScholarRead Full Bio arrow_right_altAriam L. Torres Cordero joined Columbia World Projects as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar to support and advance research and engagement initiatives in urban and water governance, climate...
Projects
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Ann Bourns
Director, Project ManagementRead Full Bio arrow_right_altAnn joined Columbia World Projects in April 2019 as Director, Project Management. She has spent most of her career working with non-profit and for-profit organizations and universities...
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Sarah Silliman
Associate Director, Project ManagementRead Full Bio arrow_right_altSarah joined Columbia World Projects in July 2019. As part of the project management team, she works across projects to support their success and enable project teams to productively work...
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R. Yamir Gomez Carrasco
Project OfficerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altYamir joined Columbia World Projects as a Project Officer in July 2022. Prior to joining CWP, Yamir was a Program Manager at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University where...
Research & Engagement
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Thomas Asher
Director, Research & EngagementRead Full Bio arrow_right_altThomas Asher is director of research and engagement at Columbia World Projects. In that capacity he builds networks that gather researchers, practitioners, and government officials...
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Ron Kassimir
Senior AdvisorRead Full Bio arrow_right_altRon Kassimir is Senior Advisor at Columbia World Projects, providing leadership and support for the Research and Engagement portfolio of work. He previously served as Vice President...
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Anna Marchese
Senior Program AssociateRead Full Bio arrow_right_altAnna came to Columbia World Projects from the American Council of Learned Societies, where she administered fellowship programs aimed at strengthening scholarship in the humanities.
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Madeline Neighly
Columbia Center for Political EconomyProject DirectorRead Full Bio arrow_right_altMadeline Neighly is the Executive Director of the Columbia Center for Political Economy at Columbia World Projects.
Strategies & Partnerships
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Darragh McConnell
Director, Strategies & PartnershipsRead Full Bio arrow_right_altDarragh joined Columbia World Projects in 2020. Prior to this, she worked in senior management and organizational strategy roles driving multi-sectoral partnerships and building innovative...
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Nicolas Makharashvili
Senior Planning and Development OfficerRead Full Bio arrow_right_altNicolas has over 10 years of experience in designing, implementing and managing evidence-based public health and social development programs in the United States and internationally.