Sheila graduated in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste, Italy, and holds a Master degree in Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex, UK. In 2003 she joined the United Nations HQ in New York as Public Information Assistant. At UN/HQ she held different positions in Public Information and Humanitarian Assistance within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA). In 2016 she joined the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General covering media relations and press conferences.

She returned to Italy in 2019 and since then she served as Communication/Project Officer for several EU projects in the fields of Science Diplomacy, Transport and Environment.

Sheila has held collaborations with The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).

She currently assists IAP with the Science Education Programme and the Science in Exile initiative.