Sushmita Shekar

Research Affiliates


Sushmita Shekar is an Urban design professional at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and holds a Master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, New York. Trained in Architecture, Urban Design, and Urban Strategy, she has worked on professional urban projects in six-plus countries with a consistent focus on sustainability, carbon reduction, and livability. As a licensed Architect in India, she worked on complex master planning projects, notably with Pritzker Prize Laureate Balkrishna Doshi.


Sushmita is a Consultative Delegate for Asia Initiatives at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), where she delivers both written and oral statements at various UN convenings, including UN-Habitat and UNDP. She participated in the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum 2023 held at the UN Headquarters in New York, which aimed to accelerate the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.


In 2022, she was a Fellow at the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, where she researched on localization and implementation of UN SDGs. She is also a Junior Board Member of Asia Initiatives, a non-profit organization that works with global communities to improve their neighborhoods and well-being. In 2021, Sushmita Shekar was nominated by Metropolis magazine as Future 100 designers in the US and Canada region.