Sophia has several years experience working in waste management and the environmental sector, with a particular focus and passion for recycling and plastic waste and environmental justice. She began her career in Brussels at a trade association representing the plastics industry, where she worked on issues such as chemicals regulation, plastics recycling, and food packaging safety. She has also worked as a research analyst for the Closed Loop Fund, in the Middle East and Mexico on water management issues, and on public health issues for Sub-Saharan African countries.
An Adjunct Professor at The New School in New York City, she lectures an undergraduate class on Sustainable Systems at Parsons School of Design and a graduate class on Sustainable Perspectives and Practices for the M.S. Environmental Policy and Sustainability at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy.
Sophia sits on the Leadership Team of the Ohio Recycling Coalition, is also a member of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board, and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Lighthouse Charter School in the Bronx.
Originally from Toronto, Canada she has lived and worked in France, Belgium, the West Bank, and the United States. Sophia has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, and graduated cum laude from the University of Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) with a M.Sc. in Public Policy in 2010 and from Columbia University with an M.S. in Sustainability Management in 2016. She is fluent in French and can speak Bengali and Arabic.