Sonal Shah (economist)
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Sonal R. Shah (born May 20, 1968) is an American economist and public official. She is the CEO of ''
The Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a nonprofit politics and public policy news website headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Its stated aim is to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. ''The Texas T ...
'', a politics and public policy-specific nonprofit news organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Shah served as the National Policy Director for Mayor
Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025. A me ...
's run in the
2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
. From April 2009 to August 2011, she served as the director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
.Springer, Richar
" Sonal Shah served as Deputy Assistant to the President for President Obama and founded the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation"
, "indiawest.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
Perry, Suzann
"Leader to Step Down From White House Social-Innovation Office"
"philanthropy.com", accessed May 5, 2012.
Shah was the founding executive director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
. 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 Google.org, founded in October 2005, is the charitable arm of Google, a multinational technology company. The organization has committed roughly US$100 million in investments and grants to nonprofits annually. The organization is noted for severa ...
.People Sonal Sha
"Sonal works for google.org Global Development"
, "changemakers.com", accessed August 3, 2009.


Early life

Sonal Shah was born in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, India. She moved to the US in 1972 at the age of four, and grew up in Houston, Texas. She graduated from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
with a B.A. in economics in 1990 and received a master's degree in economics from
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
.Bahree, Megh
"Offshoring Aid"
"forbes.com, May 8, 2006, accessed August 3, 2009.


Career


Public service

Shah held a variety of
U.S. Department of Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
positions from 1995 until 2001. She was the director of the office overseeing strategy and programs for
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
, which included debt relief, development programs and
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
/
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
strategies. She worked with the Ministries of Finance in
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
and
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
to design the
post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
banking system. During the
Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltd ...
, she served as a senior adviser to U.S. Treasury officials who were coordinating the U.S. response.Lecture Series on South Asi
"Sonal Shah, Founder of Indicorps and Anuja Khemka ’02"
Watson Institute for International Studies, "watsoninstitute.org", February 1, 2007, accessed August 3, 2009.
In November 2008, Shah was appointed a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Project to prepare
President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...
Obama to assume the presidency on January 20, 2009. After her appointment to Obama's team, Shah rejected reports that linked her to Hindu nationalist groups. In April 2009, Shah was appointed director of the newly created White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Global Philanthropy Forumbr>"White House Social Innovation Office to Have Three Goals"
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, "philanthropy.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
The objective of this office is to coordinate governmental efforts to aid innovative nonprofit groups and social entrepreneurs to address pressing social problems.PTI Housto
"Sonal Shah to head Social Innovation Office in Obama administration"
"dnaindia.com", April 23, 2009, accessed August 3, 2009.
Shah is also working with the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
to bring a global perspective to these efforts. In July 2019, Shah joined the presidential campaign of South Bend Mayor, Pete Buttigieg as national policy director. After
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
secured the nomination in the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 election. The primaries and caucuses took p ...
, Shah served on the Biden- Sanders Unity Task Force. 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). In March 2022, Shah was appointed as a member of the
Homeland Security Advisory Council The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was created by an Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United ...
.


Private and nonprofit sector

From 2001 to 2003, Shah served at the
Center for Global Development The Center for Global Development (CGD) is a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., and London that focuses on international development. History It was founded in November 2001 by former senior U.S. official Edward W. Scott, directo ...
as Director of Operations and Programs, helping set up all aspects of the strategy, infrastructure and operations. In 2001, with her siblings Roopal and Anand, Shah founded the nonprofit Indicorps, which, akin to the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
, is a service fellowship for young Indians in the diaspora to perform grassroots and community volunteer work in India. From 2003 to 2004, she worked at the
Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy think tank, research and advocacy organization which presents a Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal viewpoint on Economic policy, economic and social issues. CAP is headquarter ...
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.Thaindian New
"Obama picks Indian American Sonal Shah as adviser"
, "thaindian.com", November 7, 2008, accessed August 3, 2009.
In 2004, Shah joined
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
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.Ferdinand, Andre
"Goldman Sachs VP Says Corporate Responsibility Part of Strategic Plan"
, McCombs School of Business, Univ. of Texas at Austin, November 7, 2006,accessed August 3, 2009.
In 2007, Shah joined
Google.org Google.org, founded in October 2005, is the charitable arm of Google, a multinational technology company. The organization has committed roughly US$100 million in investments and grants to nonprofits annually. The organization is noted for severa ...
as the head of Global Development Initiatives, and worked closely with Executive Director
Larry Brilliant Lawrence Brilliant (born May 5, 1944) is an American epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author, who worked with the World Health Organization from 1973–1976 helping to successfully eradicate smallpox. Brilliant, a technology pate ...
in guiding global economic development efforts.Brilliant, Larr
"New team members for Google.org"
"The Official Google Blog", April 6, 2007, accessed August 3, 2009.
She also worked extensively on the growth of
small and medium sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...
in partnership with the
Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over US$1.5billion to no ...
and the
Soros Foundation Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...
. In 2021, Shah became the founding president of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). On January 1, 2023, Shah became the CEO of the nonprofit newsroom ''The Texas Tribune''.


Board Memberships

Shah is a board member of
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation (established first as The Cooperative League and then the Twentieth Century Fund) is a progressive think tank headquartered in New York City with an office in Washington, D.C. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy r ...
,
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
, and
Internews Internews Network, now Internews, is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in California, formed in 1982. It was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault. Internews Europe is a ...
.


Awards and recognition

*2003: ''
India Abroad ''India Abroad'' was a weekly newspaper published from New York City, which focuses on Indian news meant for an Indian American, Indian diaspora and expatriate audience. The publication is known for its annual award ceremony for the "India Abroa ...
'' Person of the YearIndia Abroa
"Person of the Year 2003"
"rediff.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
*2006: Henry Crown Fellowship,
Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...
2006 Great Xpectations Clas
"Henry Crown Fellowship List of Fellows"
"aspeninstitute.com",accessed August 3, 2009.
*2007
Next Generation Fellow

American Assembly
Columbia University * 2012: Fall Fellow,
Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
Institute of Politics


Papers and articles

*Guiding Principles and Design of the MCA *Trading Views *Served on Commission for Weak States and National Security, Center for Global Development. *Social Finance: A Primer, Center for American ProgressSocial Finance: A Primer, Center for American Progress, November 5th, 2013
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Sonal 1968 births 21st-century American economists American Hindus American people of Gujarati descent American politicians of Indian descent Duke University alumni Harvard Institute of Politics Henry Crown Fellows Indian emigrants to the United States Living people Obama administration personnel People from Houston Politicians from Mumbai University of Chicago alumni Goldman Sachs people