Sharon Pia Hickey is a lawyer and Programme Officer at International IDEA’s Constitution-Building and Climate Change and Democracy programmes. Her work at IDEA includes advancing climate constitutionalism and organizing the Annual Women Constitution-Makers’ Dialogue. Previously, she was the editor of ConstitutionNet, the knowledge hub for the constitution-building community.

Sharon began her career in Ireland, supporting women candidates for political office and advocating for gender quotas in politics. She later worked at Cornell Law School, where she taught in the Gender Justice Clinic, contributing to research, litigation, and advocacy on gender justice and human rights around the world. She also served as Director of Research and Advocacy at Cornell’s Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, managing the Death Penalty Worldwide Database, organising the Makwanyane Institute for Capital Defenders, and co-founding the Alice Project for Women on Death Row.

Sharon graduated from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and earned her LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where she was an editor for the Human Rights Law Review. She is also involved with the Washington Ireland Programme, promoting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and Ireland.