Sadaf is the Director of Studies at the Ridge View Residential College, where she teaches interdisciplinary courses about urban sustainability, placemaking, and built heritage, using experiential formats. She is an accomplished outdoor educator, and her contributions have been recognised with several university teaching awards (individual and team). She has led curriculum development for undergraduate programmes and successful collaborations with institutional and industry partners to enhance youth engagement on sustainability. In 2024, she was selected as a Fellow of the NUS Teaching Academy. She also provides strategic guidance as part of the steering committee of the ASEAN University Network on Ecological Education and Culture (AUN-EEC) since 2019, to enhance collaboration for sustainability education initiatives among ASEAN IHLs, youth, and public stakeholders.
Sadaf is a licensed architect from the School of Planning and Architecture (India), with a Master's in Architecture & Urban Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her academic and research interests are anchored by a decade of professional experience in architecture and
Masterplanning. She has worked on diverse projects in SouthEast Asia with an emphasis on placemaking and sustainability, ranging from masterplans for biodiverse locations like Bali (Indonesia), Ream National Park (Cambodia), and Xixi Wetlands (China) to urban redevelopment projects near heritage sites such as Halong Bay, Vietnam and Jal Mahal Jaipur, India. She has managed projects at the intersection of architecture, urban design and landscape, with world-renowned design firms such as Steven Holl Architects, Arata Isozaki & Associates, and David Chipperfield Architects.
Beyond the formal demands of academia, Sadaf regularly organises activities to enable students to explore heritage, culture and the arts. She actively fosters an environment of care for students that prioritises their wellness with informal support frameworks. In her free time, she fondly reminisces about the world before social media.