Ms. Shahilla Shariff has been a corporate lawyer for over twenty years - most recently as a Senior Legal Adviser to the Jardine Matheson Group, the Asian-based conglomerate. A member of the New York Bar, Ms. Shariff has had extensive international legal experience and is a founding member of Karamah. She has been based in Hong Kong for many years but was previously in the US and the Middle East.

Ms. Shariff has been a Governor of the Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centre Foundation in Hong Kong since its inception in 2006. Patterned on a highly successful UK model, the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres are a unique concept in cancer support, integrating iconic architecture, art and landscape to create transformative healing spaces. Life Lines, her award-winning first collection of poetry, was published by Proverse Hong Kong in November 2012. Her poetry has been featured in various anthologies and journals.

Ms. Shariff has lived and traveled extensively around the world and is fluent in a number of languages. She has an enduring interest in cross-cultural issues and inter-faith dialogue.

Ms. Shariff was educated at Harvard College, Harvard Law School and Cambridge University, where she was a Commonwealth Scholar.