Manal serves as Communications Lead for UrbanShift at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She oversees UrbanShift's communications and brand strategy, content production, event promotion and social media engagement, collaborating closely with the program's global partners.
Prior to joining WRI, Manal worked as a writer and editor at National Geographic's sustainable travel enterprise in Washington, DC. Before that, she served as creative director at a boutique marketing agency in Madrid, Spain. Manal has worked in independent broadcast media in New York City as well as in development communications at a USAID-supported nonprofit in Pakistan. She also has experience in academic research and field archaeology.
Manal holds a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Social Sciences from the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. She lives with her husband and houseplants in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she manages her condo building's community garden and composting initiative.
Latest content
UrbanShift Annual Report
UrbanShift's inaugural annual report serves as an inspiring portfolio of the program's first year in action as well as a handbook for our strategy to achieve sustainable, low-carbon growth in more than 23 cities across three continents.
Transforming Pune, one neighborhood at a time
Pune's Chief Knowledge Officer talks about some of the inspiring initiatives – from electric buses to urban farms – that the Pune Smart City Corporation is implementing to make the city smarter, greener and more resilient.
Kigali: On the path toward green, climate-resilient growth
Faced with a fast-growing urban population, the Rwandan capital is working to transform itself into a model green city. We spoke with Mayor Pudence Rubingisa about his sustainability goals and priorities for Kigali.
UrbanShift hosts first City Academy in Kigali, Rwanda
The three-day workshop brought together participants from 20 African cities to learn about and exchange ideas on climate action planning and nature-based solutions as tools to create greener, more resilient cities.
