Sonal Shah (economist)

Sonal R. Shah (born May 20, 1968), is an American economist, former lobbyist,[1] and public official. She 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]

For the actor, see Sonal Shah (actress).

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

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

Early years and education

Sonal Shah was born in Mumbai, India. She moved to the US in 1972 at the age of 4, 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]

Career

Public service

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.[8]

Private sector

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]

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.[9]

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.[10][11]

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.[12] She also worked extensively on the growth of small and medium sized enterprises in partnership with the Omidyar Network and the Soros Foundation.[13]

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

Return to public service

In April 2009, Shah was appointed director of the newly created White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.[15] The objective of this office is to coordinate governmental efforts to aid innovative nonprofit groups and social entrepreneurs to address pressing social problems.[16] Shah is also working with the National Security Council to bring a global perspective to these efforts.[15]

Shah had served on Biden’s Unity Task Force. In 2021, she was left out from being appointed in the Biden administration after more than a dozen Indian-American organisations raised concerns about Shah's link with right wing Hindu supremacist RSS/BJP.[17][18]

Hindu nationalist activism

Her father Ramesh Shah was the President of Overseas Friends of BJP-USA and is the founder of RSS-run Ekal Vidyalaya.[17]

In 2001, Sonal Shah worked with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America, a branch of the Hindu nationalist organization based in India, as the National Coordinator during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.[19] The VHP in India has been classified by the Central Intelligence Agency as a militant religious organization as of 2018.[20]

Later in 2001, she co-founded the non-religious, non-profit Indicorps which recruits young people of Indian origin from all over the world to volunteer in India working for Indian NGOs.[21] Indicorps volunteers have worked in the areas of education, health and sanitation, rural development, tsunami relief, and microfinance.[22] She gave the key note address in 2004 talking about her work with Indicorps for the US's branch of the India-based Ekal Vidyala Foundation (EVF). The EVF in India has been accused of running schools that pursue a Hindu-nationalist agenda and generate hatred towards minorities.[23][24] The EVF in 2005 lost public funding after the Indian federal government deemed it was "spreading hatred" against India's non-Hindu minority.[25]

When she was appointed to the President Obama's transition team, leaders of the VHP and another Hindu nationalist organization, the RSS, issued a statement calling her a "proud member of the VHP, the daughter of Ramesh Shah, a very senior VHP leader."[26] After her appointment to Obama's team and criticism of her links to India's Hindu nationalist movement, Shah disassociated herself from the VHP and condemned its role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.[27]

Board Memberships

Shah is a board member of OXFAM America and of Zev Shapiro's organization TurnUp

Awards and recognition

Papers and articles
  • Guiding Principles and Design of the MCA[31]
  • Trading Views[32]
  • Served on Commission for Weak States and National Security, Center for Global Development.[33]
  • Social Finance: A Primer, Center for American Progress[34]

References
  1. "former lobbyist".
  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. 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. 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.
  9. Thaindian News."Obama picks Indian American Sonal Shah as adviser", "thaindian.com", November 7, 2008, accessed August 3, 2009.
  10. 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.
  11. https://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/person/sonal-shah/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. Brilliant, Larry."New team members for Google.org", "The Official Google Blog", April 6, 2007, accessed August 3, 2009.
  13. "Sonal Shah's Resume", "emurse.com", January 30, 2009, accessed August 5, 2009.
  14. Higgins, Tucker (July 18, 2019). "Pete Buttigieg hires former Goldman Sachs executive as national policy director". CNBC. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  15. Global Philanthropy Forum."White House Social Innovation Office to Have Three Goals", The Chronicle of Philanthropy, "philanthropy.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  16. PTI Houston."Sonal Shah to head Social Innovation Office in Obama administration", "dnaindia.com", April 23, 2009, accessed August 3, 2009.
  17. "Biden keeps out Democrats with RSS links". Tribuneindia News Service. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  18. "Pak-origin Salman Ahmed part of foreign team". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  19. VHPA Update."Service To Humanity Is Service To God", "vhp-america", February 3, 2001, accessed August 3, 2009.
  20. "CIA classifies VHP, Bajrang Dal as millitant religious outfits". India Today. Ist. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  21. Indicorps."Program Overview","indicorps.org", accessed August 3, 2009.
  22. Indicorps."Our Projects", "indicorps.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  23. Vishnu, G (April 20, 2011). "Sangh owns one of the fastest growing education projects". Tehelka. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  24. Chaterjee, Jacob (July 19, 2005). "AICU president suspects Hindu charitable trust of forming anti–Christian schools for Indian tribals". Christian Today. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  25. "Centre stops grants to 'one-teacher schools'". The Hindu. May 19, 2005. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  26. Prashad, Vijay (2012). Uncle Swami: South Asians in America Today. The New Press. ISBN 978-1595588012.
  27. Sonal Shah renounces VHP affiliation, The Hindu, 12 December 2008.
  28. 2006 Great Xpectations Class."Henry Crown Fellowship List of Fellows", "aspeninstitute.com",accessed August 3, 2009.
  29. National Assembly."Opening panel speech", "nextgenerationproject.org", May 16, 2006
  30. India Abroad."Person of the Year 2003","rediff.com", accessed August 3, 2009.
  31. Center for Global Development. "Guiding Principles for Design and Implementation of the MCA
  32. Podesta, John."Trading Views", Center for American Progress, 2004
  33. Commission Report."On the Brink: Weak States and National Security Center for Global Development, June 2004, accessed August 3, 2009.
  34. Social Finance: A Primer, Center for American Progress, November 5th, 2013
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