Sonal Shah (economist)

Early years and education

Sonal Shah was born in Mumbai, India. She moved to the USA in 1972 at the age of 4, and grew up in Houston, Texas. 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.

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.

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.

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.

In 2004, Shah joined Goldman Sachs as a Vice President, focusing on their environmental strategy and implementation. 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.

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

Return to public service

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

Hindu activism

In 2001, Shah worked with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America, a Hindu organization, as the National Coordinator during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. Later that year 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. Indicorps volunteers have worked in the areas of education, health and sanitation, rural development, tsunami relief, and microfinance. She gave the key note address for the Ekal Vidyala Foundation of USA in 2004, talking about her work with Indicorps. When she was appointed to the President Obama's transition team, RSS and VHP leaders issued a statement calling her a "proud member of the VHP, the daughter of Ramesh Shah, a very senior VHP leader." After her appointment to Obama's team, Shah disassociated herself from the VHP and condemned its role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Awards and recognition

Papers and articles