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Sonal Shah (economist)

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For the actor, see Sonal Shah (actress).

Sonal Shah
Personal details
Born (1968-05-20) May 20, 1968 (age 56)
Mumbai, India
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Chicago (BA)
Duke University (MA)

Sonal R. Shah (born May 20, 1968) is an American economist and public official. She is the CEO of The Texas Tribune, a politics and public policy-specific nonprofit news organization headquartered in Austin, Texas.[1] Shah served as the National Policy Director for Mayor Pete Buttigieg's run in the 2020 United States presidential election. From April 2009 to August 2011, she served as the Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the White House.[2][3]

Shah was the founding executive director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation at Georgetown University.[4] Previously, Shah was a member of the Obama presidential transition team and was the head of Global Development Initiatives, a philanthropic arm of Google.org.[5]

Early life

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Sonal Shah was born in Mumbai, India. She moved to the US in 1972 at the age of four, and grew up in Houston, Texas.[6] She graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in economics in 1990 and received a master's degree in economics from Duke University.[7][8]

Career

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Public service

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Shah held a variety of U.S. Department of Treasury positions from 1995 until 2001. She was the director of the office overseeing strategy and programs for sub-Saharan Africa, which included debt relief, development programs and World Bank/International Monetary Fund strategies. She worked with the Ministries of Finance in Bosnia and Kosovo to design the post-war banking system. During the Asian financial crisis, she served as a senior adviser to U.S. Treasury officials who were coordinating the U.S. response.[9]

In November 2008, Shah was appointed a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Project to prepare President-elect Obama to assume the presidency on January 20, 2009.[10] After her appointment to Obama's team, Shah rejected reports that linked her to Hindu nationalist groups.[11]

In April 2009, Shah was appointed director of the newly created White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.[12] The objective of this office is to coordinate governmental efforts to aid innovative nonprofit groups and social entrepreneurs to address pressing social problems.[13] Shah is also working with the National Security Council to bring a global perspective to these efforts.[12]

In July 2019, Shah joined the presidential campaign of South Bend Mayor, Pete Buttigieg as national policy director.[14]

After Joe Biden secured the nomination in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Shah served on the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force.[15]

In February 2022, Shah was sworn in as Chief Commissioner of the newly created President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (PACAANHPI).[16] In March 2022, Shah was appointed as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.[17][18]

Private and nonprofit sector

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From 2001–2003, Shah served at the Center for Global Development as Director of Operations and Programs, helping set up all aspects of the strategy, infrastructure and operations.[5] In 2001, with her siblings Roopal and Anand, Shah founded the nonprofit Indicorps, which, akin to the Peace Corps, is a service fellowship for young Indians in the diaspora to perform grassroots and community volunteer work in India.[19][20][21]

From 2003–2004, she worked at the Center for American Progress as an associate director, advising current and former congressional and government executives on a wide variety of issues including trade, outsourcing and post-conflict reconstruction.[22]

In 2004, Shah joined Goldman Sachs as a vice president, where she worked on green initiatives, which included informing clients and bankers on alternative energy opportunities and advising them on how to implement environmental, social and governance criteria for all investments.[23][24]

In 2007, Shah joined Google.org as the head of Global Development Initiatives, and worked closely with Executive Director Larry Brilliant in guiding global economic development efforts.[25] She also worked extensively on the growth of small and medium sized enterprises in partnership with the Omidyar Network and the Soros Foundation.[26]

In 2021, Shah became the founding president of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF).[27][28]

On January 1, 2023, Shah became the CEO of the nonprofit newsroom The Texas Tribune.[1][29]

Board Memberships

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Shah is a board member of The Century Foundation,[30] Consumer Reports,[31] and Internews.[32]

Awards and recognition

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Papers and articles

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  • Guiding Principles and Design of the MCA[37]
  • Trading Views[38]
  • Served on Commission for Weak States and National Security, Center for Global Development.[39]
  • Social Finance: A Primer, Center for American Progress[40]

References

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  1. ^ a b Schachter, Jim (October 26, 2022). "T-Squared: Sonal Shah is The Texas Tribune's next CEO". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Springer, Richard." Sonal Shah served as Deputy Assistant to the President for President Obama and founded the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation" Archived April 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, "indiawest.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  3. ^ Perry, Suzanne."Leader to Step Down From White House Social-Innovation Office", "philanthropy.com", accessed May 5, 2012.
  4. ^ New Social Impact and Innovation Center Funded With $10 Million Gift, February 10th, 2014
  5. ^ a b People Sonal Shah."Sonal works for google.org Global Development" Archived April 19, 2013, at archive.today, "changemakers.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  6. ^ Indiacorps publication."India Abroad" Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, December 19, 2003.
  7. ^ Bahree, Megha."Offshoring Aid", "forbes.com, May 8, 2006, accessed August 3, 2009.
  8. ^ "Sustaining News Media". Duke Magazine. May 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Lecture Series on South Asia."Sonal Shah, Founder of Indicorps and Anuja Khemka ’02", Watson Institute for International Studies, "watsoninstitute.org", February 1, 2007, accessed August 3, 2009.
  10. ^ "Obama announces transition-team staff". Politico. November 6, 2008.
  11. ^ "Sonal Shah denies links with VHP, RSS". Hindustan Times. November 11, 2008.
  12. ^ a b Global Philanthropy Forum."White House Social Innovation Office to Have Three Goals", The Chronicle of Philanthropy, "philanthropy.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  13. ^ PTI Houston."Sonal Shah to head Social Innovation Office in Obama administration", "dnaindia.com", April 23, 2009, accessed August 3, 2009.
  14. ^ Higgins, Tucker (July 18, 2019). "Pete Buttigieg hires former Goldman Sachs executive as national policy director". CNBC. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  15. ^ Nilsen, Ella (May 13, 2020). "Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are building new, policy-focused task forces". Vox.
  16. ^ "Vice President Kamala Harris Swears In President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders". Fair360. February 9, 2022.
  17. ^ "Secretary Mayorkas Announces New Homeland Security Advisory Council Members". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. March 17, 2022.
  18. ^ "Sonal Shah". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. March 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "Sonal Shah is the India Abroad Person of the Year 2003". Rediff.com. December 13, 2003.
  20. ^ "Humanity that works". India Abroad. December 19, 2003.
  21. ^ "Sonal R. Shah". The Harvard Crimson. October 14, 2012.
  22. ^ Thaindian News."Obama picks Indian American Sonal Shah as adviser" Archived November 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, "thaindian.com", November 7, 2008, accessed August 3, 2009.
  23. ^ Ferdinand, Andrea."Goldman Sachs VP Says Corporate Responsibility Part of Strategic Plan" Archived October 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, McCombs School of Business, Univ. of Texas at Austin, November 7, 2006,accessed August 3, 2009.
  24. ^ "Sonal Shah, Founding Executive Director". Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ^ Brilliant, Larry."New team members for Google.org", "The Official Google Blog", April 6, 2007, accessed August 3, 2009.
  26. ^ "Sonal Shah's Resume", "emurse.com", January 30, 2009, accessed August 5, 2009.
  27. ^ "Sonal Shah Tapped to Lead the Asian American Foundation". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. May 7, 2021. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "Asian-American Business Leaders Fund Effort to Fight Discrimination". The New York Times. May 3, 2021.
  29. ^ "The Texas Tribune Names a New C.E.O." The New York Times. October 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "The Century Foundation Welcomes New Trustees Sonal Shah and Damon Silvers". The Century Foundation. September 25, 2015.
  31. ^ "Sonal Shah". Consumer Reports.
  32. ^ "Board & Global Leadership Council". Internews. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  33. ^ India Abroad."Person of the Year 2003","rediff.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  34. ^ 2006 Great Xpectations Class."Henry Crown Fellowship List of Fellows", "aspeninstitute.com",accessed August 3, 2009.
  35. ^ National Assembly."Opening panel speech", "nextgenerationproject.org", May 16, 2006
  36. ^ "Sonal Shah". Harvard Institute of Politics. September 13, 2023.
  37. ^ Center for Global Development. "Guiding Principles for Design and Implementation of the MCA
  38. ^ Podesta, John."Trading Views", Center for American Progress, 2004
  39. ^ Commission Report."On the Brink: Weak States and National Security Center for Global Development, June 2004, accessed August 3, 2009.
  40. ^ Social Finance: A Primer, Center for American Progress, November 5th, 2013
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