Sonal Shah

Sonal Shah is a Professor of Practice and the founding Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation at Georgetown University.1 3 She is an economist and entrepreneur focused on actionable innovation in the government, business, and non-profit sectors.1 3 5 Her LinkedIn username is srshah68.2

Shah's background includes:

Serving as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and Director of the first White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.1 3 4
Leading Google’s global development initiatives for its philanthropy, Google.org.1 3
Working as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where she developed and managed the firm’s environmental strategy.1 3
Spending seven years as an international economist at the U.S. Department of Treasury, working on development issues, such as post-conflict development in Bosnia, the Asian financial crisis, and poverty reduction in Africa.1 3 5

Before joining the White House, Shah worked at the Center for American Progress, concentrating on trade, outsourcing, and post-conflict issues.1 3 She also helped establish the Center for Global Development, where she managed daily operations and developed policy and advocacy programs.1 3

Sonal co-founded Indicorps, a non-profit that provides fellowships for Indian-Americans to work on development projects in India.1 3 4

Shah received a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MA in Economics from Duke University.1 3 She is also a Senior Fellow at the Case Foundation, focusing on Impact Investing, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress on social innovation, an Aspen Crown Fellow, and a Next Generation Fellow.1 She leads the G7 International Development Working Group for Impact Investing and serves on the Boards of Social Finance, Inc. and the Washington Area of Women’s Foundation.1