Célia Saada

Célia Saada is a French-Algerian MIA candidate at Columbia SIPA concentrating in International Security Policy and Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy, with a specialization in International Conflict Resolution. Before joining SIPA, Celia worked at the Permanent Missions of the Maldives and Oman to the United Nations, as well as with the UN Institute for Training and Research, supporting multilateral diplomacy and high-level negotiations across the UN system.

At SIPA, as president of the Conflict Resolution Collective, she has coorganized high-level panels on women in diplomacy and the conflicts in Sudan and Syria. She also contributes to The Morningside Post, SIPA’s leading student journal, where she coleads a faculty interview column exploring global affairs through the lens of Columbia professors. Academically, her recent research focuses on adaptive mediation strategies, including an analysis of the Ukraine-Russia negotiations spearheaded by the Trump administration.

Célia also spent last summer in Bogotá as a fellow for the Institute for Integrated Transitions, contributing to peacebuilding and transitional justice efforts in Colombia. In parallel, Célia is also interning with the International Crisis Group and working as a teaching assistant for Professor Rachel Vogelstein. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career at the intersection of diplomacy and conflict resolution, working to advance inclusive peace processes in multilateral or field-based settings.